Horn-rimmed glasses

A pair of modern horn-rimmed glasses

Two different vintage styles of glasses: browline on the left, and horn-rimmed on the right.

Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses with frames made of horn, tortoise shell, or plastic that simulates either material. The name horn-rimmed glasses refer to their original material, although they have been most commonly made from various types of plastic. The style became popular in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s, and have been a standard for many decades.

Another characteristic is their lack of nose pads. This differentiates them from other glasses, making the profile of horn-rims appear unique. Sometimes saddle bridges are attached to distribute the weight of the glasses. These are placed on the sides and top of the frame's nose.

History

U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater

Harold Lloyd originally made eyeglass wearing popular.^{[citation needed]} In particular, he brought horn-rimmed glasses to the mainstream — his glasses were plastic. In Europe, frames were made from genuine tortoise shell and were expensive. However, in America, plastic-framed glasses were much more common because they were less expensive than tortoise shell.

Lloyd donned his plastic horn-rims in 1917 when he starred in the short comedy film, Over the Fence. The glasses contained no lens because of the reflection of the studio lights that would have resulted had glass been present. The purpose of the glasses was to differentiate Lloyd from the character he portrayed in the film. He could then go out in public without glasses and was not recognized. At this time, the horn-rimmed style was fresh. They were large enough to be dramatic without being over the top.

Lloyd wore glasses whenever he acted. He stated that "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."^[1] Lloyd's seventy-five-cent pair of horn-rimmed glasses lasted him eighteen months. He patched them with common adhesives, such as glue and chewing gum, until he had to replace them. The look could have been a catalyst for society's image of a stereotypical "nerd" who wears thick, black-framed glasses held together with tape. Lloyd influenced some younger Americans to become wearers of the glasses.

They continued to be popular through the 1930s and enjoyed a renaissance in the 1950s when musician Buddy Holly wore a series of large, bulky square pairs on tour and on his album covers. This style — dominantly in black, although also available in varying shades of tortoiseshell — remained popular from the late 1950s until the 1970s, when large, steel aviator frames became popular. Round horn-rimmed glasses came back into fashion in the 1980s, with tortoiseshell being fashionable amongst entrepreneurs and "yuppies". Colored variants also became popular amongst New Wave musicians.

They served as an early trademark of Elvis Costello's style and Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is also often seen in horn-rims. Some other pop-culture figures who are associated with horn-rim wear include Groucho Marx, Henry Kissinger, Barry Goldwater, Steve Allen, Woody Allen, Henry Miller, Phil Silvers, Gary Owens, Drew Carey, Tom Lehrer, Clark Kent, Greg Proops, Lisa Loeb and the animated characters Mister Peabody and Daria Morgendorffer.

Horn-rimmed glasses fell back out of fashion in the mid 1990s but had returned in popularity by the end of the decade and have remained fashionable since.^{[citation needed]} Modern horn-rimmed glasses have tended to be somewhat thinner/smaller (vertically), than in previous decades.

In mainstream culture, the glasses are often associated with being "nerdy". Thus, they became popular in emo, punk, indie, hipster, goth, and generally counter-culture fashion. Some trend followers wear the glasses without prescriptive lenses, purely as a fashion statement. Hot Topic, a clothing chain that markets to a counter-culture/alternative consumer base, sells the frames without prescriptive lenses. The design has long been popular for sunglasses frames, as well, perhaps most notably worn by The Blues Brothers; this style is known as Ray Ban Wayfarer.

References

1. ^ "Harold Lloyd: The Glasses". http://www.silentsaregolden.com/hlloydglassesarticle.html. Retrieved 2007-04-03. 

External links

• Horn-rimmed definition at The Free Dictionary
• "Harold Lloyd: The Glasses" by Annette M. D'Agostino
• Eyeglass frame Enotes.com
• Timeless Eyeglasses AskMen.com
• [1] AllVintageGlasses.com