I’m currently in the market for new glasses as my current ones are few years old and are starting to show wear and tear, so I did what everyone does these days and I headed to the web for inspiration. It was there that I started to see many fantastic vintage print ads for women’s eyeglasses from 1940s & 1950s and they were so wonderful that I just had to share them for today’s post.
Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Vintage Eyewear Advertising
From the 1940’s & 1950’s
1943-The Original Cat Eye Glasses. No need to look owlish, bookish, or just plain dull anymore!
Source: Flickr
1947 Vintage Victory Eyewear-Golden Honey Frame.
Source: Pinterest
1955 women’s Harlequin eyewear discussing how you can try on the glasses in the comfort of your own home (what a novel idea!).
Source: eBay
1956 better vision institute milady’s eyes vintage eyeglasses ad. Love the arms on these glasses.
Source: eBay
“How to look glamorous in glasses”-1959
Source: Pinterest
Glamour Glasses-1954. Designed as fashion accessories rather than functional. Indeed Glamorous!
Source: Pinterest
As many of us know, music influences fashion and Be-Bop was no different.
Bebop is a style of jazz that developed in the 1940s and is characterized by improvisation, fast tempos, rhythmic unpredictability, and harmonic complexity (source).
Source: Beboplashes
1959 FLAIRSPECS women’s Continental design angel cateye eyeglasses frames ad.
Source: eBay
1959 Eyeglass styles- Miss Exec comes back better than ever.
“Match the colour of your eyewear with the costume of your choice”. They are a single frame with interchangable jewel-like tops that are available in ten fashion approved colours. OMG YES! I love this idea!
Source: Pinterest
Schiaparelli-1950s. Match your eyewear to the Season, in this ad it’s the Christmas season. I’m in!
Source: Flickr
Frame your eyes in High Fashion. Wear them to the Theatre and Cocktails and wear them to glamorize business.
Source: Pinterest
These glasses suit this model so well! The 1950s hair, the pearls, the red lips…stunning ad.
After putting together this post, I realized that in the 1950s companies who sold eyeglasses, were on a big push to make them exactly like the 1943 ad above stated…”less bookish”. Wear glasses and you will be just as glamorous as your non eyeglass wearing friends. I think this is why the designs were pretty decorative as well, to match the marketing message that was being put out there.
In today’s world though, eyewear is a fashion statement and people are wearing them even if they don’t need them (lucky them!). So the advertising can really take any turn that a company wants (all depends on who their target is).
In the market for some vintage eyewear yourself? Check out websites like Etsy for what your looking for (Note: If they are no longer avail just do a quick search. Etsy is updated with 1000’s of new products daily).
Women’s 1960s Cat Eye glasses in black, made in France by Selecta Optical (avail as of May 3rd, 2023 HERE).
Source: Etsy
Vintage 1950s Aluminum Rose Gold Cat Eye Glasses.
Source: Etsy
Woman’s 1950s / 1960s beautifully etched cat eye eyeglasses frame.
Source: Etsy
Vintage 1940s Woman Clubmaster Cat Eyes Eyeglasses – Black and Gold.
Source: Etsy
1950s vintage eyeglasses-beautiful pair of ladies Zylite eyeglasses frame with beautiful decorative brows and temples.
Source: Etsy
Here is a photo of yours truly in my newest pair of vintage style glasses from CLEARLY.
QUESTION TIME: Do you wear glasses? If so, would you wear the styles pictured above? Share in the comment below.
FURTHER READING:
- ‘Women who wear Eyeglasses” – fantastic real life photos of ladies in spectacles.
- Vintage Advertising 1920s-1960s (Archived blog posts)
Liz
Hi Lizzie AWESOME post and the ads are just amazing. I’m blown away! I love how fashionable glasses were in the 50’s and how they’ve come back in style (especially for MEN) Now, to answer your question: I’m BLIND as a bat– I’ve been wearing contact lenses since I was 16. But I would never, ever wear glasses because no one looks uglier in glasses than me. I am sooo green with envy of people who look good in glasses (you are certainly one of them) but they aren’t for me. I wear my contacts even when I have dry eye. I never take them out, except to change them. I’d totally be wearing those 50’s cat-eye style glasses if I didn’t look like a freak in them! There’s one pic of me in readers for fun, but even in those I look awful. Sorry for the long reply, but I’ve been waiting for a good glasses post and I’m excited someone finally did one. 🙂
I hear ya on being blind as a bat since I was 7! Woo Hoo! lol! That is such a bummer about not being able to wear glasses, not even sunglasses? Or do you just go with it for eye sun protection? I have had a love hate relationship with glasses since the age of 7. Wearing glasses out of necessity not fashion and it was only in the last 10 years that I have made the change over to glasses that actually suit me. Which is NOT Cat Eye Glasses in their true form. This face is to darn long for that. Bummer 🙁 I like wearing glasses now (thanks for the compliment) and I actually feel that I look better WITH them (plus they hide those lines appearing around my eyes as I age hahaha).
Liz 🙂
As always, another fun read. I have linked your site on mine under https://www.avintageaddiction.com/websites-we-support
I have worn contact lens for 42 of my 60 years. I like glasses BIG and high on my brow. Since 1985 glasses are all too small for my big eyes and eyebrow shape.
If you feel like it, you should try Etsy. I’m sure that there are frames for sale on there that fit your fav style like you love. You then take them to your local eyewear retailer and get them to put your lenses in (or just wear them with contacts). Big and High are super fun though!
Liz
Lol at the bebop ad; ” these glasses have no power.” I just got new glasses last month and among hundreds of pairs, they basically all looked the same big round shape. My ones from 3 years ago are rectangles but evidently they don’t do that now. So if you are trying to stay within your insurance plan, you don’t get to be fancy and creative and get cool glasses. I guess most of us all get what’s available and that’s the fashion. Your pics are way cooler.
Oh Really? I found my glasses at Clearly and they had loads of styles (including several cool cat eye glasses), that fit right into my small insurance plan budget. But honestly the hunt can be so long and tedious that sometimes I think all the glasses look the same and that is how I have ended with frames that were just not right for me lol! Take my money and and send me home, I’m tired! hahahaha. The glasses in this post are pretty amazing, I agree.
Liz
I too am in search of a new pair of glasses so would be interested in finding out where you have been searching. I’d be happy with any of the glasses pictured in the ads above.
As much I love the look of true Cat Eye Glasses, sadly they don’t look good on this long face of mine, so I tend to just buy regular retail. But regular retail has some great styles (like my current glasses, that I love which I purchased ONLINE from Clearly). If your looking for vintage, there is loads of options online (Etsy for one is a great spot) and then you take the frames to your local eyewear for adding the lenses.
Happy Hunting!
Liz
These are fantastic! Those Schiaparelli and Martin Wells frames are making me swoon, I’d wear them in a heartbeat. I do wear glasses most of the time, and I alternate between two cheap vintage-ish pairs–rainbow cat-eye (a little boxier than a traditional cat-eye), and a classic brown tortoiseshell cat-eye. I like how deliberate vintage styles look.
It’s so fun when you can change up your look, with just a simple change of the frames. I need to purchase 2 when I finally do find the styles I want this go around. Change up my look.
Thanks for stopping by!
Liz