Feeling That Carefree 1920's Vibe

I think of rounded metal frames as being historically important.  If you go back in time you will see small metal round frames were commonly used.  This was not about fashion.  It was an optical necessity required by available lens grinding technology at the time.  Back before we had thin and light lens materials made of high index plastics, there was only one material, and that was glass.

Small, round or rounded frame shapes were ideal back then as they still are today for keeping prescription lenses thin and the optical acuity sharp.  This is most important for stronger prescriptions, as they tend to get heavy and the optics in the periphery will be slightly distorted if made in a frame that is too large.  It would go beyond the scope of this blog post to get into the physics of why this is the case, but it certainly had a significant impact on frame design over one hundred years ago.  Eventually when lens casters developed new materials and grinding technologies to create thinner lenses it created new opportunities for frame designers.  They began to experiment with larger frames, and more creative shapes outside of the oval and round ones that had been used for so many years.

With the sun clips attached you really feel that cool and carefree 1920’s vibe that Jay Gatsby must have felt riding around town in his motorcar.

When I look at many of the frame designs in the Leisure Society collection, I see remnants of these early designs.  There are many small round shapes in the collection and most are made of metal.  In the picture above I am wearing the Ceylon with polarized sun clips attached.  I love that the Ceylon is such a nice example of the classical round shape.  It is quite a bit larger than the historically small round shapes I refer to above, but it has that timeless look and feel.  Although it is a modern design, it looks as though it could have been around for a very long time.  With the sun clips attached you will really feel that cool and carefree 1920’s vibe that Jay Gatsby must have felt riding around town in his motorcar.