My Sunglasses Are Like My Guitar - Patti Smith

Mildred Lindholm, great sunglasses, odd hiking shoe choice

Mildred's Daughter, better hiking shoes

A young woman, mid 1940's makes, what appears to be, an impromptu stop at a lovely stream while on a Sunday drive with her husband. Although her "hiking attire" is a bit strange, she's wearing fabulous sunglasses that inspire her daughter, decades later, to search for sunglasses inspired by those fashionable ones of an earlier era.

This, in turn, inspires a look at sunglasses from the past. Prehistoric Inuit people wore flattened walrus ivory glasses to block harmful reflective rays of the sun. The earliest historical reference to sunglasses dates back to ancient China and Rome; the Roman emperor Nero watched gladiator fights through polished gems.

Fast forward to 1929 when Sam Foster introduced inexpensive mass-produced sunglasses to the world. In addition to protecting the eyes, voila! another fashion statement was born.

1920's sunglasses

Both men and women could use sunglasses as accessory, and not just eye protection. Eyewear reflected all of the cultural and historical influences (think aviators with the expansion of flight) of each period.

An assortment of 40's, 50's, and 60's

General Douglas MacArthur

The 1950's brought the space age and cat eyes that were sometimes plain, and sometimes specked with sparkle. One little girl, who was squinting in most of her outdoor pictures, bought her first pair of sunglasses with the dollar her grandpa sent her. Fair-skinned, blue-eyed blonds are most susceptible to glare, and this little one would have life-long eye challenges that required eyewear. So, why not make them fun and special.

With the 60's, all things Mod burst upon the scene with the Beatles, and the decade ended with John Lennon's wire-rims.

Bob Dylan

John Lennon

One 16 year old, who followed the trends, really wanted "the look".

Way too Mod

The 70's brought a zillion versions of Jackie O's and wire-rims. But, unlike fashions of the period, they remain timeless and fabulous.

And now, a short word from Reggie....

I just wanted to remind everyone of how amazing I am. I go to Santa Fe Tails a couple of times during the week. On those days at 10:00 in the morning, my human buddies get all of us dogs howling. I just started going there on Saturdays, and they don't usually make us sing in the morning. Well, my brilliant self gets everybody howling at exactly 10:00 without the humans doing anything. They can't figure out how I know it's 10:00. I'll never tell, but everybody thinks I'm astounding. Of course.