vintage glasses thread

[rodeo bill]

Don't know if anyone'll be up for this, but as well as denim, belts and shoes, I collect glasses (spectacles not shot glasses;)). Personally I'm more into spectacles than sunglasses, but it could be good to put them in here too.

My favourite brand is Rayban from the B&L made-in-US days, and if you know where to look you can still pick them up pretty cheaply. I have 4 or 5 pairs I think.

Just as a taster, and to see if anyone's interested in joining in on this one, here;s a pair of B&L rayban 'GATSBY' that I recently picked up for not a lot. I changed the lenses from dark to prescription clear, but I've kept the originals, with stickers etc. These also came with the original case and warranty, which I like:)

Bausch and Lomb sold the Rayban brand to Italian eyewear group Luxotica in I think 1994, and in my opinion B&Ls were much nicer quality, plus the fun of them being old and difficult to find. My guess is these ones are mid eighties- I got them in a tiny little opticians, and the owner said they opened in the early eighties and these were in a box of stuff from the very early days of his shop.

If you go to 'fashion' places glasses like these can go for a fortune- I've seen similar B&L raybans up for 400pounds in Dover St Market in London, and Loveless in Tokyo, but if you find the right optiocian then they;re marked down to dirt cheap as they;re old stock and not modern designer:D

My total collection's about 12 pairs, and I'll happily post more pics if people are interested and want to join in.

[lenn]

This could be a great thread, loads of potential (i wear glasses too, so i'm interested ) but i don't think it belongs in Superdenim... prolly Superfashion

[rodeo bill]

slow afternoon at work, so I took some pictures of the ones I'm wearling now...

Deadstock 1970s (I think) Made in Englan 'Savile Row' gold plated by ALGHA. I think these were originally issued on the NHS- much nicer than what you;d get now!

[rodeo bill]

This could be a great thread, loads of potential (i wear glasses too, so i'm interested ) but i don't think it belongs in Superdenim... prolly Superfashion

sorry Len- just posted then saw your reply. Thanks!

I know what you mean, but I think it could belong here as much as shoes that look better with age, workshirts etc. I'm into a more vintagey kind of look rather than too fashiony. Also to be honest now I've put it here I don;t know how to move it:o

If the moderators think it ought to be somewhere else then by all means please move it, but I'd hold out for it to be among the denimheads:)

[rodeo bill]

bonus pic on the sleeve of my Evisu Deluxe jeans jacket to prove this thread belongs in Superdenim:D

[fre-co]

Jimmyc has a collection of frames. He may be interested in this thread.

[lenn]

Hehe, i guess you're right bill. I prefer it to be here actually, i check this part of the forum a lot more often than i do superfashion.

Yea, JimmyC has loads of frames, and i believe Kiya buys 5 pairs each month too. Don't know if he has any vintage ones tho...

Ps. Bill, post that denim jacket in the denim jacket thread pls, it looks great from what i can see!

[rodeo bill]

B&L Rayban Warfarer Is. These are the base of my collection, they're the first pair of glasses I ever got, when I started needing them a few years ago, and as far as I'm concerned they;re still the original and best! I have them as prescription shades as well (pics later)

unlike the Luxotica version, the metal studs on the outside of the temples and fronts of B&L's Wayferer are actually used to hold them together, not just for decoration.

[JohnnyRed]

B&L Rayban Warfarer Is. These are the base of my collection, they're the first pair of glasses I ever got, when I started needing them a few years ago, and as far as I'm concerned they;re still the original and best! I have them as prescription shades as well (pics later)

unlike the Luxotica version, the metal studs on the outside of the temples and fronts of B&L's Wayferer are actually used to hold them together, not just for decoration.

Oh Jesus, those are awesome. Just just had a pair from the 80's fixed up, found em for 20 bucks from an antiques fair. I love em, but I'm on a lookout for the 1's everywhere. How much were they? Where's you find them?

[AL-9000]

do your guys' frames have prescription lenses in?

[rodeo bill]

do your guys' frames have prescription lenses in?

mine do! I only started wearing glasses a few years ago. I realized i needed them when I started working on small-scale technical stuff, and I guess as I spent more time in front of a computer:rolleyes:

I do know a few people who wear frames with plain lenses, but personally I'd be too lazy

[rodeo bill]

Oh Jesus, those are awesome. Just just had a pair from the 80's fixed up, found em for 20 bucks from an antiques fair. I love em, but I'm on a lookout for the 1's everywhere. How much were they? Where's you find them?

thanks Johnny:)- they;re pretty much my favourites. I was recommended to go to a lens factory in east london by an ex colleague, and they keep stock of a few frames as well. Mostly regular current designer stuff, but they had a box of old frames, including 3 pairs of deadstock Wayfarer 1s! They were frames only, so I got a pair of clear prescription, a pair of prescription sunglasses (rayban green lenses) and my colleague got the other pair as sunglasses. I think they were 50pounds for the clear, and 60pounds with ray ban lenses.

part of the fun of vintage glasses (or anything else) is finding bargains. Looking forward to seeing yours when they're done!

[rodeo bill]

these are my most special pair. They're real tortoise shell, which has been illegal to make for about 60 years I think.

THey were my Granny's, I guess from the 50s, and I found them after she died- never saw her wearing them. At the time I didn;t know they were shell, just liked the shape, but the opticians I took them too told me they were a big deal. I've since seen similar things in Dover St MArket for 5000pounds (3 zeroes) :eek:. Understandably I don;t wear them that often anymore... They're incredibly light and comfortable, and they have a beautiful translucent quality in bright light.

[rodeo bill]

These are my 2 pairs of Wayfarer sunglasses. The first one is Wayfarer 1, which I think is a bit earlier? These have my prescription lenses in, using rayban green glass:

and these are Wayfarer II- made later, with the side stud changed to the Rayban logo. these aren't prescription, so you can see the 'BL' etched into the glass at the edges of the lens (very difficult to photograph). That;s the easiest way to tell the difference between B&L rayban and Luxotica.

and some comparison shots. IIs are bigger and deeper than Is, and the arms are more crooked over your ear. They also have upward pointing angry eyebrows, instead of the down-drooping ones on. Personally I much prefer Wayferer I, but i'm glad to have both in my collection

[fre-co]

Good stuff Bill, those tortoise shell ones are pretty amazing

[rodeo bill]

thanks a lot fre$co- I'm really glad to have found them, and that they didn;t shatter when I changed the lenses...

glad to know someone's reading this- I was starting to get lonely!

[rodeo bill]

Ps. Bill, post that denim jacket in the denim jacket thread pls, it looks great from what i can see!

thanks! have done:)

[Happy Hooligan]

I actually dumbly sat a bag on my vintage wayfayers.. and cracked the left temple!

Model stamped on ear piece is L2053 XUAS

if anyone has a left ear piece in a tortoise color let me know!

[rodeo bill]

I actually dumbly sat a bag on my vintage wayfayers.. and cracked the left temple!

Model stamped on ear piece is L2053 XUAS

if anyone has a left ear piece in a tortoise color let me know!

that's really shit:(. pics of the remains please:D

[hotsauce]

My Literature teacher has a pair of those B&L Wayfarers. I asked him where he got them, and he told me about this antique shop around here that deals with antique frames and frames that have been used in films. I may have to go there for my next pair.

[Happy Hooligan]

that's really shit:(. pics of the remains please:D

will do when I get home... basically your classic 7 hinge tortoise without the chrome rayban on the side....

[rodeo bill]

unknown brand- no markings at all. I got them really cheap in an old-fashioned mall booth in Hong Kong (can;t have been more than about 15pounds including prescription lenses). Again they were old stock which the owner said had been around for years. I like the brass rivets at the fronts, and the cutout shape under the nose bridge;)

[rodeo bill]

and what I'm wearing today...

I really like these ones. They're Bausch & Lomb, but not Rayban. The swinger says 'worldwide sponsor 1994/96 Olympic Games', which was after B&L had sold the Rayban brand to Luxotica. They're branded "i's sunglasses by Bausch & Lomb", and my guess is this was their attempt to come up woth something to rival rayban. I got them as sunglasses and changed the lenses. These are glass lenses, rather than plastic. I wanted to see what it felt like, and i liked he vintagey idea of it, but in fact they're just quite heavy and a pain on your ears by the end of the day:o. They're metal with a sort of hard shiny rubber coating, not just plastic. you can see the metal insides at the end of the temple- it's more substantial than the normal wire core that plastic glasses have. It gives them a sort of enamelled, 3D effect.

edit- just noticed that on the tag next to the "i's" logo, it says c1993 Bausch&Lomb Inc. 1993 was the year they sold Rayban (I think) so that suggests they set this brand up straight afterwards... the plot thickens!

[rodeo bill]

Aviators today:)

I've not been able to find a nice pair of vinatge RayBan aviators yet, but I got these new Luxotica Rayban ones a couple of years ago, and changed the lenses to optical glass (not plastic).

I think the shape looks good as glasses, but it loses the cool look you get with them as sunglasses. They're marked RB on the metal behind the silicone nose pieces, and "made in Italy" on the inside of the side bar. I'm going to be in Hong Kong over the next few weeks and I'm going to make a real effort to track down a B&L pair- apparently they;re pretty rare as they were more popular at the time, so they tended to sell out.

[rodeo bill]

bonus RayBan case pics...

Luxottica:

and B&L:

the cases themselves can come in different shapes, but the thing to look out for is "Sunglasses by ..........." at the bottom of the rosette stamp

[Kwerk]

Does anyone know what the style is called that you see in movies on old government types, like on Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can? They look kind of like ray ban clubmasters.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DHHQ5VN9L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

[Happy Hooligan]

Does anyone know what the style is called that you see in movies on old government types, like on Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can? They look kind of like ray ban clubmasters.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DHHQ5VN9L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

most likely a shuron although many makers made them in that style

[rodeo bill]

most likely a shuron although many makers made them in that style

thanks for the tip-off HH. I'd never heard of Shuron, but they look pretty cool... http://www.shuron.com/classic.htm apart from nice looking repro frames they also seem to make leather steering wheel covers.........

Anyway, here's what I have on today... I've posted all my vintage ones now, so we move on to Japanese repro. These are by a brand called Yanagi Gawa Ichiro, and I think they're made in Japan, altough it might be Hong Kong. They came in a really lovely box, which i can post some other time. I like the quality chop on the inside of the right earpiece (only photographable with flash)

any help with translation would be much appreciated!

[rodeo bill]

Does anyone know what the style is called that you see in movies on old government types, like on Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can? They look kind of like ray ban clubmasters.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DHHQ5VN9L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

I've been taking more of a look through Shuron;s website, and these look like they might be the ones you mean?

they don;t have prices on the website, and you can;t really tell what the quality's like. But I think these look pretty cool

[Opie]

I really like this thread. Nice looks, and i don't even use glasses.

I still think it's in the wrong forum though. If it doesn't change look with age, it's the wrong place.