Cat eye glasses
Emerald Green women's cat eye glasses. Circa 1958
TypeEyewear
Woman wearing cat eye glasses in the 1960s
Dr. Otto Wichterle wearing a male version of cat eye glasses

Cat eye glasses (sometimes called "cat eyes" or "cat glasses") are a shape of eyewear. The form is closely related to the browline style, differentiated by having an upsweep at the outer edges where the temples or arms join the frame front. Cat-eye glasses were popular in the 1950s and 1960s among women and are often associated with the Beehive hairstyle and other looks of the period. They preceded the large bug-eye glasses of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

History

An early precursor of the cat-eye eyeglass shape was American Optical's Ful-Vue product, from 1931, in which the hinges were placed on the upper portion of the eyeglass frame to reveal the wearer's eye from the sides. Window-dresser Altina Schinasi later designed what she called the Harlequin frame, named for the mask of the Harlequin character from Italian commedia dell'arte, then popular in fashion and design. Schinasi collaborated with popular boutique Lugene to manufacture them. One of the first pairs was bought by Vogue and Vanity Fair writer and socialite Clare Boothe Luce, raising the profile of the new style further. Fashion designer Claire McCardell and American Optical released their own version of the style in 1952, the first eyewear line by a fashion designer.[1]

The style was popularized in the next two decades by celebrities and actresses such as Marilyn Monroe,[2] Catherine Deneuve,[3] and Audrey Hepburn.[4] Other notable wearers of cat-eye eyeglasses include Barry Humphries as Dame Edna Everage, Jane Jacobs, Amy Lamé, Lisa Loeb, Dinah Manoff, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Chisholm,[5] Mary Whitehouse, and Barbara Windsor.

The cat-eye shape fell out of fashion after the 1960s but was revived through 1990s fashion, and was popularized again in the late 2010s, in part by models and influencers such as Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and Kendall Jenner.[5]

References

  1. ^ Glasscock, Jessica (12 October 2021). Making a Spectacle: A Fashionable History of Glasses. Running Press. ISBN 978-0762473434. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. ^ Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (17 March 2015). World Clothing and Fashion: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Social Influence. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1317451662. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  3. ^ Cole, Daniel James; Deihl, Nancy (24 August 2015). The History of Modern Fashion. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1780677972. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  4. ^ Miller, Jacqui (2014). "Audrey Is a Hep Cat Now". In Miller, Jacqui (ed.). Audrey Hepburn. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1783202065. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b Lubitz, Rachel (4 July 2018). "The very adorable history of cat-eye glasses". Mic. Retrieved 17 September 2022.

External links

Media related to Cat eye glasses at Wikimedia Commons

Types of eyewear
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