Understanding the Trend in Designer Eyeglasses

By Angela Bethea | May 14, 2012

In 1986, when the public noticed and then fell in love with Ton Cruise’s designer aviator glasses in the movie “Top Gun,” a new trend was established. The public had always wanted the same clothes or knock-offs worn by their favorite stars. Now, they wanted to be able to buy celebrity accessories as well. Sarah Palin’s rimless, rectangular Kazuo Kawasaki eyeglasses were an immediate and unexpected hit despite the fact that the same style had already been worn by David Letterman and Whoopi Goldberg. Demand for celebrity eyeglasses has grown over the last decade, and more and more brand-name designers have responded by stamping their signature on fashion sunglasses and regular eye wear.

Eyeglasses and contact lenses are big business today. The reality is that only 40 percent of the world’s population has perfect vision. Everyone else is going to need help. Furthermore, almost everyone over the age of 40 will soon need reading glasses to fight the aging process. By “spinning” eye wear as a fashion accessory and gaining the endorsements of the rich and famous, it only makes sense that prestigious names would want to be included in the enormous sales revenue.

Names such as Gucci, Versace, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Tom Ford, Dior, Boss, and Prada are only a few of the more than 500 designers who are selling eyeglasses today, and there are several good reasons to buy their fashionable products:

1. Such famous companies guard their reputation. They choose to use the best materials available to produce a high-end product that will be both durable and fashionable. High quality is a rule when protecting the brand name is important.
2. Designers like to run ahead of fashion trends as well as to create for them. This means that they stay on the cutting edge of what will be popular with the masses in the future. Buying designer glasses means you are getting the very newest styles for your money.
3. If it is important to you, buying and sporting designer eye wear can become a status symbol.
4. Fashion designers are always hungry to improve their products as they compete in a very crowded field. New materials and better processes produce creative styles and the most up-to-date innovations.
5. If imitation is the highest form of flattery, owning the same eyeglasses seen on your favorite celebrity can have its own reward.

Designer glasses do tend to be expensive, but there are some wonderful deals at online stores. If staying trendy is important to you, consider checking out what is available for both prescription and non-prescription eye wear under your favorite brand name. Among the many choices, there will be colors, styles, and shapes that are perfect for you—even if you’re not a movie star.