Sunglasses: a history of protective, fashionable and popular eyewear

I never go out without my sunglasses.

Usually, there are pairs in my purse, in my car, and in my jacket in the trunk.

In fact, I'm proud and ashamed to admit that I do wear "indoor, winter, nighttime" sunglasses, as Ed Sheeran so eloquently puts it in his recent song "New Man".

As impractical as that line sounds, the tradition of sunglasses use has long since moved beyond what is currently considered the norm.

The origins of sunglasses go beyond simple UV protection and style.

Once upon a time, tinted lenses were also used to hide, magnify, and correct.

Sunglasses became a necessity for the Inuit living in the far north.

Probably due to the reflective nature of snow (white), sunlight was very strong for the Inuit.

However, their version of sunglasses was not designed as they are today.

Instead of wide, tinted lenses, the Inuit carved sunglasses from walrus ivory.

They were round and connected by a nose bridge.

The ivory blocked almost all the light from their eyes, except for the light that snuck through the tiny slits.

The intensity was not affected, but the amount of direct exposure to sunlight was certainly reduced.

In 13th century China, sunglasses were a staple of the courtroom.

Sunglasses made of "smoky quartz" were used to prevent the prosecution and defense from being able to read the judge's expression while serving as a judge during a trial.

This may have provided a better sense of justice, as arguments were not altered or influenced by accidental facial reactions.

On the other side of the world, modern Venetian glassblowers are thought to have made hand-held magnifying glasses or monocles (sometimes called "reading stones") to help those with visual impairments in reading the gold-filled monocrystal galleries of the 20th century.

In the early modern period (CC written by SA 3.

0), the use of color and dark features was explored to help people with impaired vision.

Although eyeglasses using prisms and the like had already been used in practice to correct vision, it was around the 18th century that the first indications of the use of color and color for correction appeared.

A man named James Ayscough attempted to correct certain impairments by using blue or green glass.

However, Eskouf's job was to invent scientific instruments - his mentor invented the first microscope.

The relationship between microscopes and prescription lenses is fairly obvious (both allow for magnification of text and images), so Eskauf's leap to tinted lenses was really no leap at all.

His suggestion for tinted lenses was as a corrective solution, possibly to combat color blindness or depth perception.

In any case, Eskouge's glasses are considered a precursor to the "cool" sunglasses that Life magazine touted in the 1930s, with blue lenses and metal wire frames.

(Arlington House) Sunglasses didn't emerge as a strictly fashionable dimmer until the 20th century, based on the previous work of men like Ayscough and combining it with new optical technology.

The widespread distribution of sunglasses is credited to Sam Foster: movie stars appreciated the way the lenses protected their eyes from the spotlight on movie sets, and later how the glasses camouflaged them from the paparazzi.

Of course, once famous people started wearing the product in public, the public flocked to the tradition.

Soon, tinted lenses were marketed as "cool" and "mysterious".

This is a commercial for Foster Grant's mass-produced fashion sunglasses.

The adoption of aviators by the military (Rubell's Vintage) only further enhanced the reputation of sunglasses as fashionable.

The name Ray Ban is well known in sunglass circles, and he designed the anti-glare aviator in 1936, using the same technology as the new Polaroid camera.

The main tool that Polaroid inadvertently contributed to the sunglasses business was the sunglasses company borrowing their polarized lenses to provide anti-glare technology, ensuring that sunlight was filtered to prevent damage to the eyes.

By 1938, when Life magazine began reporting on the "new fashion" of sunglasses, Ray Ban's aviator tycoon Niewiroski Jr.

was seen on a crowded beach or outdoor shopping center, simply glancing at the sunglasses.

A quick glance around a crowded beach or outdoor shopping center reveals that the fad has never faded, but rather has grown in popularity and variety.

Now, sunglasses can be used both to protect against the sun and to correct vision - a vast improvement over the color that Eskauf tried to use to correct vision.

In many ways, prescription sunglasses were the actual origin of eyewear, the culmination of color correction purposes, and, of course, their eventual development into celebrity couture.

However, while some believe that non-prescription eyewear is still an unnecessary fad, it should not be forgotten that they have evolved from hundreds of years of innovative endeavors.

Their uses, tints, and corrective capabilities may have evolved over time, but the protective benefits of sunglasses remain strong.

Above: detail from an 1807 portrait of a young man wearing sunglasses.

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She will be attending the University of Glasgow in 2015, majoring in Celtic and Viking Archaeology, . Read Mor.