Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of
eyeglasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...
. Originally made out of either
horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
or
tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials. They are characterized by their bold appearance on the wearer's face, in contrast to metal frames, which appear less pronounced.
Horn-rimmed glasses were one of the first styles of eyeglasses to become a popular
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
item, after comedian
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film co ...
began wearing a round pair in his films.
[Lloyd, Annette. ''The Fashion of Harold Lloyd.'' 1996]
/ref> The glasses have enjoyed various periods of popularity throughout the 20th century, being considered especially fashionable in the 1920s–1930s and in the 1950s–1960s in particular, while ceding to rimless and wire framed glasses during the 1970s and 1990s–2000s.
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
's first appearance as Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer is the anti-hero protagonist of a number of films based on the unnamed main character, a secret agent, in the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in three of the four films based on the four pub ...
in ''The Ipcress File
''The IPCRESS File'' is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the ...
'' in 1965 featured his signature look of thick horn-rimmed glasses which made him a style icon of the 1960s. The style has brought a resurgence of popularity in the late 20th (1980s–1990s) and early 21st (2010s) centuries, with an emphasis on retro fashions. This may be due in part from the influence of hipster[
] subculture, and the television series ''Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
'', which repopularized 1960s fashions in general.[Pure Body Magazine ''Mad Men and the New Influence of 1960s Fashion.'' Pub. Aug 2011]
/ref>
History
Horn rim glasses were initially popularized by comedian Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film co ...
after he wore them in his 1917 comedy short ''Over the Fence.'' Lloyd had risen to fame playing an eccentric named Lonesome Luke, characterized by an ostentatious appearance. In an effort to break away from the character and revitalize his career, Lloyd crafted a new character who would be Luke's opposite and made distinct by a nondescript appearance. Lloyd outfitted himself in clothing popular among Americans in the 1910s, completing the ensemble with a pair of round, horn-rimmed glasses that would solidify the character's status as "ordinary." Glasses wearing had long been stigmatized, with wearers stereotyped as physically weak intellectuals,[ members of the clergy, or simply elderly;][Understanding Three-Piece Mounting]
President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's wearing of rimless eyeglasses
Rimless eyeglasses are a type of eyeglasses in which the lenses are mounted directly to the bridge and/or temples. The style is divided into two subtypes: three-piece glasses are composed of lenses mounted to a bridge and two separate temple arms ...
had only recently begun to eliminate the stigma, albeit with glasses designed to minimize their appearance.[
Lloyd named the character "The Glasses Character" or "The Glass Character" after the frames; the lenses themselves had in fact been removed, both because Lloyd did not require glasses to see, and because studio lights reflecting off of the lenses obscured Lloyd's eyes on film.] The character proved to be a tremendous success with audiences and resulted in an unexpected rise in popularity of horn-rimmed glasses:[ sales around the world rose as the popular Lloyd's appearance wearing glasses helped to dispel negative stereotypes of glasses wearers. When Lloyd ultimately broke the frames and attempted to order a new pair from the manufacturer, his check was returned along with an order of twenty frames and a note from the company thanking him for his endorsement.][ Explaining his reasons for the glasses, as well as their sartorial advantages, Lloyd said: "They make low-comedy clothes unnecessary, permit enough romantic appeal to catch the feminine eye, usually diverted from comedies, and they hold me down to no particular type or range of story."][
Horn-rimmed glasses were popular in the 1920s but steadily lost their appeal as sturdier metal styles became more economic alternatives during the Depression. Exposure to heat and sunlight rendered the plastic brittle and prone to breakage, often to the point that they would break should an optician attempt to install new lenses.][Ed Welch's Eyeglasses Warehouse: Antique Frames]
/ref>
/ref>
A variant of horn-rimmed glasses, browline glasses
Browline glasses are a style of eyeglass frames where the "bold" upper part holding the lenses resembles eyebrows framing the eyes. They were very popular during the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the United States of America. The glasses were ...
, became one of the defining eyeglass styles of the 1940s and 1950s. Invented in 1947, the style combined the aesthetics of horn-rimmed glasses with the stability of metal frames by fitting prominent plastic "brows" over the tops of metal frames, creating a distinctive look that was also sturdier than solid plastic frames. Browlines quickly became popular in post-World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
America, and composed half of all eyeglass sales throughout the 1950s. Ray-Ban introduced the Wayfarer sunglasses in 1952.
Plastic eyeglasses mounted in popularity throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, ultimately supplanting tortoiseshell as the most popular material for eyeglass frames. Buddy Holly iconisized the horn-rimmed style, with his upbeat pop culture rock and roll music. The trend died out in the 1970s with a backlash against 50s and 60s culture, as oversized metal glasses in the style of the Ray-Ban Aviator
Aviator sunglasses are a style of sunglasses that were developed by a group of American firms. The original Bausch & Lomb design is now commercially marketed as Ray-Ban Aviators, although other manufacturers also produce aviator-style sunglasses ...
became popular. Semi-round horn-rimmed glasses came back into fashion in the 1980s, with tortoiseshell being fashionable amongst entrepreneurs and "yuppies". Wayfarers were popular among New Wave musicians, which popularized them among the late 1970s anti-disco "resistance".
Horn-rimmed glasses fell back out of fashion in the 1990s but returned to popularity with the rise of the emo and hipster subcultures in the early 2000s. Many glasses manufactured during this period tended to imitate popular metal eyeglass styles, with significantly thinner frames and vertically smaller lenses. The popularization of 1960s styles by the television show ''Mad Men'' led to horn-rimmed frames produced in the 2010s being more traditional, with large lenses and thick, heavy frames.
See also
* Noah Bennet, also known as the man in horn-rimmed glasses (a.k.a. HRG), from the NBC drama ''Heroes''
*Tannereye
Tannereye Ltd is the first company in the world to produce leather covered sunglasses.. It was established in 1976 by Peter and Maureen Leunes on Prince Edward Island.
Tannereye was the first company to adhere very thin leather to optical frames ...
References
External links
*
{{Glasses
1910s fashion
1920s fashion
1930s fashion
1950s fashion
1960s fashion
2000s fashion
2010s fashion
Eyewear