These Ray-Ban cat-eye sunglasses offer the chunky black look with extended wingtips. While vintage frames may have a few rhinestones or some filigree on the wingtip, you can still find slightly played-down versions. This is the standard look, the kind that conjures up 1950s yearbook photos of young women with chunky black cat-eye glasses. For those interested in the vintage, classic cat-eye glasses look, there are several variations that are retro-chic. Classic cat-eye glassesīecause cat-eye glasses have incorporated so many different trends over their half-century-plus of cultural prominence, you have a lot of options available in cat-eye styles. If you’re looking for the perfect pair of cat-eye glasses, consider updates to some classic styles, or go for a completely modern twist on the iconic look. They draw the eye upward through sophisticated angular lines, complementing face shapes from round to rectangular. These two elements are also what make cat-eye glasses so flattering on so many faces. How are all these different styles considered “cat-eye glasses?” While the exaggerated, upper-rim wingtip at the temple is the telltale sign of cat eyes, the bottom rim that sublimely slopes upward to the top of the wearer’s cheekbone really gives cat-eye glasses frames their signature look. Now you can wear cat-eye glasses in dozens of different ways, from vintage-inspired, brightly colored cat-eye glasses to the subtle eyebrow arch of semi-rimless, wireframe cat-eye glasses. Since then, the eye-catching style has been reimagined over and over again, working its way into nearly every glasses trend across decades. These frames first grabbed our attention as prescription or clear cat-eye glasses in the 1950s, but they really took off when Audrey Hepburn donned her elegant, tortoiseshell sunglasses version in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” ![]() Eyewear companies started to truly cater to the market for feminine frames adding stylistic touches such as diamante, gold stars and elaborate flairs to the tips of the frames.Įveryone from movie stars like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, politicians like Shirley Chisholm, professional women and stay-at-home mothers favoured the cat eye silhouette, which tended to be smaller with a super-exaggerated, upswept flair.When you think about vintage glasses, chances are your mind conjures up something in the shape of cat-eye glasses. Throughout the post-war years, the popularity of the cat eye frame for prescription lenses soared. If you want to know more about this fascinating woman I highly recommend checking out the eponymous documentary "Altina". Vogue and Life magazines credited Schinasi with revolutionizing the eyewear industry and aesthetic.Īltina exited the eyewear business in the early 40s to continue her other passions including painting, sculpture, film making and the anti-fascist and civil rights movements. In 1939 Altina was awarded the Lord & Taylor Annual American Design Award for her avant-garde transformation of the eyeglass frame into a proper fashion accessory. ![]() Her original shape designs were cut away from the romantic and whimsical harlequin masks worn at ballroom dances at the time and it is from this mask that the cat eye shape got its first name "Harlequin".Īfter initial scepticism from stores, Altina grew her business substantially over the 1930s as women across America voted with their wallets and purchased these fun, playfully shaped feminine frames. Inspired by the lack of interesting frames for women available in opticians in New York, Altina designed the first prototypes of a more glamorous silhouette. ![]() ![]() It is during this period in her late 20's that she registered her patent on the Harlequin frame. It was here that she developed a deep passion for the subject, so she changed her choice of college to art school in New York.Īltina graduated and took up work as a window dresser on Fifth Avenue for Peter Copeland, where she would collaborate with the visionary artist Salvidor Dali. The "Harlequin" FrameĪltina Schinasi was born in the Manhattan's Upper Westside in 1907, after receiving schooling in the US she made a trip to Paris in her late teens to study art. However, if we want to go right to the beginning of the cat eye story we need to learn a little about Altina Schinasi. This feline-inspired style really started to take off in the 1950s as the stars of the day took to wearing this glamourous shape on the big screen. An exaggerated upswept frame that forms the shape of a cat's eye.Īudrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Rihanna, Gigi Hadid.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |