1960's Eyeglasses

The 1960s was an era which was a turning point for vintage glasses in general and a few vintage styles in particular. Starting in the 1950's and 1960's eyeglasses suddenly had color and personality to them, Colors such as Green, blue, pink, yellow, and even red were all of a sudden seen on faces everywhere. This shift started mainly due to the popularity of different types of plastic and their use in 1960's glasses frames. Prior to this antique eyeglasses had been mainly made of metal. This limited it to the natural colors of silver steel eyeglasses and gold filled glasses which were generally gold toned as well. With the introduction of plastic during the 1950’s a whole new era of 

During the 1960s eyeglasses were so popular that for the first time people were getting plain lens 1960’s glasses just for style and the way they looked, or the allure they gave those wearing them. Prior to this during the stage of early 1900’s eyeglasses were generally seen as a medical device and the notion that someone who did not need their corrective attributes would wear them would sound ludicrous. Antique Eyeglass frames were boring, albeit beautiful and made with class not found in frames today.

The idea of wearing frames to match an outfit was another novelty first seen with 1960’s womens glasses. Prior to this era people wore gold or silver antique spectacles which could generally match any outfit one wore. There is no denying the appeal of an old pair of genuine antique pince nez. Yet this limited one’s ability to change things up, to wear a pair of vintage glasses based on what outfit you are wearing, or or based on the mood you were in. To choose a dark colored“winter pair” or a light pastel summer color. With the introduction of color in 1960’s eyeglass frames this was now a possibility!

Here are some of the styles of mens and womens vintage eyeglasses that were popular in the 1960’s

 

Cat Eye Glasses.

The popular 1950’s and 1960’s eyeglass style with the pointy upswept corners, mimicking the look of a cat’s eye. Some of the popular manufacturers of 1960’s cat eye glasses were American Optical, Bausch and Lomb, Artcraft Optical, Shuron Optical, Selecta and Romco (Rochester Optical Company,) 

Many frames Made in France were simply stamped “Frame France” and these had some of the most radical styles jeweled. Tura Optical was another manufacturer of Women's 1960’s glasses frames with their classic signature aluminum cat eye frames and their creative jewels.

 

Browline (Combination) Glasses

Browline eyeglasses are a style of 1960's era eyeglasses that became popular in the early 1950’s before the popularity of horn rimmed glasses. The top part of the frames was thicker and darker than the lower part. The name is said to be taken from the way the top part of these 1960’s eyeglass frames is similar to the eyebrows. Some of the popular models of browline glasses were Artcraft Clubman, Bausch and Lomb (B&L) Ray Ban Clubman and later Clubmaster and Shuron Ronsir.

Browline glasses were made for men and women but were largely popular and 1960's men's glasses, as cateye glasses were more popular with women. There were two general materials from the brow part and the temples, plastic and metal. Due to shrinkage that happens with age many of the plastic frames would bend out of shape and are not usable today. The Vintage Optical Shop generally sells the metal browline vintage glasses as that is most often what s available in good condition suitable for everyday use.

 

Perfect Mate 1960’s Women's Eyeglasses

Perfect Mate By American Optical was a model of vintage cat eye glasses which came with a set of interchangeable brows that would pop off and could be switched to brows with different colors and styles, some with rhinestones and various designs. They would come with 1 or 2 frames and sets of 2,3 or even 8 removable brows.

American Optical Flamettes were similar to American Optical Perfect Mate Eyeglasses but had a slightly less pointy shape. American Optical Flamettes came in sets of 3-6 interchangeable brows that could be switched at any time.

 

1960’s Plastic Horn Rimmed Glasses

Vintage Horn rimmed glasses orginally made of genuine horn or shell but historically have been mostly made of various types of plastic. Known for the bold look they give off and the seriousness that they convey. Horn Rimmed Glasses were popular 1950’s and 1960’s glasses that went out of style in the 1970’s, to be brought back only in the 2000’s partially due to retro fashion and hipster culture. 

The real change that came about in the 1960’s was the common use of plastic in manufacturing eyeglasses. This enabled limitless options of colors, shapes, and styles. The popularity of browline glasses started waning and the popularity of plastic (horn rimmed style)  glasses growing. Cat eye glasses started being made mainly of plastic as well. Those who liked the 1960’s browline glasses style could even get plastic browlines, frames made fully of plastic but mimicking the browline look.

1960s Sunglasses

During the 1960s sunglasses became as popular as they had ever been. Between cat eye sunglasses and flip up green sunglasses, vintage sunglasses in the 1960s were all the rage. Below is a selection of womens and mens 1960 sunglasses.

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