The fact that sunglasses are an accessory that can be a must in any person’s wardrobe nowadays is undeniable. Although they can often be considered an additional and optional element, which can simply be forgotten on the bedside table, before going out for our usual day.
In reality, sunglasses are a very important element in our wardrobe, not only because they can be a great aesthetic detail to be able to show off, but also for their great and very useful function of protecting our eyes from too strong sun rays. For this reason, they have become a must-have to wear very quickly in history, since ancient times.
In fact, it has been since the dawn of time that our ancestors took into consideration the importance of sunglasses and tried, in every way, to be able to devise strategies to protect themselves from the sun. Obviously, at the time, the only fixed thought was practicality, so they weren’t very decorated, but times changed quickly and sunglasses became strong pieces, which dominated pop culture and the world of fashion. Over time, many types of eyewear were born, in a thousand different shapes and colors, occupying with arrogance space in the world of catwalks and the most ‘popular’ fashion. Let’s see together what has been the great impact that sunglasses have had on fashion and how it has evolved over the years.
Sunglasses in ancient fashion: from tool to accessory
As the greatest lovers of sunglasses may well know, they, in their modern sense, as we know them, were invented in the fifteenth century by an Italian duke, Mr. Gian Vincenzo Pinelli. He designed it to be able to fill some gaps that he had, as regards his sight, due to a childhood accident that damaged his eye.
From there, however, almost a hundred years passed, until the moment when eyeglasses became fashionable. In particular, the passion for this accessory broke out in the delightful Venice of the sixteenth century, with which women and children could shield their eyes from the sun.
For their construction, burnt glass from Murano, often green in color, was used, mounted on metal skeletons, often simple iron. In this way, during their daily gondola rides through the canals of the city, they could protect themselves from the sun’s rays and their reflection on the water.
Certainly, from those moments a great mania for sunglasses was born, which became a game and a privilege of the Venetian nobility, who could afford to play with their imagination and have more and more luxurious sunglasses made to measure. Even today, there are artifacts of the time that attest to the taste of the Venetian nobility of the times for sunglasses, thanks to exhibitions in Venice itself.
Today…
The impact and growth that sunglasses have had in the decades of the twentieth century is immense, as in the space of a few years, they have constantly changed shape and color, creating fashions that have never stopped renewing and changing. In fact, we can see from the photos and from the memories of the different eras, how they have become more and more different, almost unrecognizable. Today, sunglasses are an important part of fashion as well as health as more and more doctors are recommending wearing sunglasses during the day. Popular products such as shop for contact lenses at designer optics compete with other products “underneath” and they have their own market share.