Text I - The enduring appeal of Aviator sunglasses

By Katya Foreman

8 July 2015

Sometimes a name becomes so well-known we forget its original meaning. A case in point is Ray-Ban, which was behind the world's first aviator sunglasses, conceived in the 1930s to ban rays from the eyes of US Air Force pilots. Though marketed under the Ray-Ban banner, it was the parent company brand, Bausch & Lomb - a US firm specialising in eye health products that came up with the invention, Developed as an alternative to the fur-lined goggles worn by pilots in the early 20th-Century - which definitely didn't perform technically - aviator sunglasses became the perfect solution to protect a pilot's eyes against the elements, help to avoid headaches and to combat decreased visibility caused by the blinding glare of the sun at high altitude.

The aviator was not to remain confined to the cockpit, however. Fitted with green lenses that could cut out the glare without obscuring vision, the first examples, which went on sale to the public in 1937, featured a plastic frame in the now-classic teardrop shape (echoing the form of pilot's goggles), but was remodelled with a metal frame the following year and rebranded as the Ray-Ban Aviator.

Adapted from <http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150708-the-enduring-

appeal- of-aviator-sunglasses>