Vintage Eyeglasses

DoubleXX said:

-Right you are. I have the exact same glasses; bought them about 10 years ago. Not sure if Ray Ban still makes them or not....

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DoubleXX - Out of curiosity does your's have the diamond shape shields? This company made a similar style except for the bridge Goldfinch G021-Spike Eyeglasses. This model is also hard to find.

http://optometristattic.com/COMBINATIONS.htm

splintercellsz said:

MisterGrey, thank you so much for the info! Glenn Miller... wow!

RBH, those look killer!

Here is my 'new pair'. Dated what looks to be: 8/11/23, or 8/14/23. As you can see, the earpiece is snapped, but that should be an easy replacement.

Just for kicks, here they are on my head. I don't think these work with my face shape, but if ya'll like them, I will have to go get them fitted and new lenses put in (the original ones are like magnifying glasses).

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The frames suit your face just fine. The oval is a much maligned and misunderstood eyeglass frame shape; it's too closely associated with round frames, which are not universally flattering and recently have begun to carry the stigma of "Harry Potter glasses." Oval frames are flattering on a wide variety of face shapes, yours included. I would ask: Do they give you enough periphreal vision? And, are they tight at all on the temples? If the answers are "Yes, no," then I would say go ahead with them. (May I also say that, combined with your appearance, mustache, and those glasses, you could pull off an awesome Richard Harrow for Halloween)?

Viktor said:

DoubleXX - Out of curiosity does your's have the diamond shape shields? This company made a similar style except for the bridge Goldfinch G021-Spike Eyeglasses. This model is also hard to find.

http://optometristattic.com/COMBINATIONS.htm

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As an aficionado of browline glasses, this is a question that has stymied me for years. Douglas' browlines are quite unique, and not a major model offered by any of the big browline manufacturers from back in the day: Shuron, American Optical, Victory Optical, Art Craft Optical, Bausch and Lomb. The big keys here are the rivet covers/plaques and the bridge.

Shuron's rivet covers were/are elongated rectangles with a sort of bulb shape on the end; I call them staffs.

Art-Craft's were similar, but instead of the bulb at the inner part of the rc, it sort of slanted up, creating a kind of ramp shape.

Victory Optical had little "V's".

American Optical had different types of plaques. The first, and more well known, was the stylized "wing," as seen on Malcolm X's American Optical Sirmonts (itself a very popular model). They also had plaques which were stylized little "AO"s.

Bausch and Lomb had chunky "+" signs. They also had chunky, slanted "-" signs that look similar to Art Craft's river covers, except B&L's had a much softer taper. I have seen B&L frames with the little diamond, but never any of their browlines.

A bit of a dark horse, but, since they've been on TV before, I'll mention them: They're not Universal Univis Country Squire IIs, which were the glasses worn by the character Noah "Horn Rim Glasses" Bennet on the series "Heroes" (which frustrates me to no end for their improper usage of the term). Universal Univis' RCs were almost perfect rectangles.

Ray-Bans have the diamond shape, but unless there is a perspective issue at play, the diamonds on Douglas' glasses are much narrower and fatter than Ray-Bans', which are thinner and longer.

Also note Douglas' bridge. Vintage browlines almost universally had very thick, rectangular bridges. Douglas' look more delicate and rolled, like a narrow, curved cylinder. This is what leads me to believe they are not the Goldfinch listed above.

There is the possibility that they are an older style of Ray-Ban, but, all of the photos I have found that claim to be 80s style Ray-Bans are pretty much identical to current models.

IME, the diamond shape tends to be the RC of choice for off-brand manufacturers. The Wal-Mart frame listed above is almost certainly a POMY, an in-store brand that is sadly being phased out; they're actually some of the best glasses I've ever had the pleasure of handling, and their browline was of an exceptional quality, especially compared to models offered by many other more "quality" manufacturers. I've also seen the diamond on several other off-brand browlines.

There's ONE thing that makes me hesitant in saying that they're totally generic: On the television series "Vegas" currently airing on CBS, there's a hitman character (I don't know his name) who wears the exact same glasses: The thin bridge is the dead giveaway.

I just picked up this pair of American Optical, can someone ID the style or year of the brown pair. They both look similiar to safety glasses.

MisterGrey said:

The frames suit your face just fine. The oval is a much maligned and misunderstood eyeglass frame shape; it's too closely associated with round frames, which are not universally flattering and recently have begun to carry the stigma of "Harry Potter glasses." Oval frames are flattering on a wide variety of face shapes, yours included. I would ask: Do they give you enough periphreal vision? And, are they tight at all on the temples? If the answers are "Yes, no," then I would say go ahead with them. (May I also say that, combined with your appearance, mustache, and those glasses, you could pull off an awesome Richard Harrow for Halloween)?

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They are snug, but night tight. They feel comfortable. I do have plenty peripheral vision with them on, but the lenses in them, make having them on a pain.

Could I?

My browline collection



From the top:

US Optical aluminum, worn but good.
Liberty (by Bausch and Lomb?) zyl, either new old stock/deadstock or very well restored.
American Optical Sirmont, in mint/restored condition.
My 'ringer', fake Clubmasters from an indoor flea market. I like the tortoiseshell look.

All with my prescription except the un-Rxable fakeroos.

Had a pair of black Sirmonts I loved but they chipped. The US Optical aluminums are the replacement. Got them because I had to have taper temples; they're like tailfins in glasses form.

Young fogey said:

From the top:

US Optical aluminum, worn but good.
Liberty (by Bausch and Lomb?) zyl, either new old stock/deadstock or very well restored.
American Optical Sirmont, in mint/restored condition.
My 'ringer', fake Clubmasters from an indoor flea market. I like the tortoiseshell look.

All with my prescription except the un-Rxable fakeroos.
Had a pair of black Sirmonts I loved but they chipped. The US Optical aluminums are the replacement. Got them because I had to have taper temples; they're like tailfins in glasses form.

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Love the Sirmonts...also a Crime Story fan...have both seasons on DVD

CircuitRider said:

Love the Sirmonts...also a Crime Story fan...have both seasons on DVD

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Thanks; they seem rare. Got a spare set of clear lenses for them too.

1+ Sirmonts - May I ask who restored them?

Viktor said:

1+ Sirmonts - who restored them?

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I don't know. They look new. They could be new old stock/deadstock.

I picked these Bausch&Lombs up about 2 years ago at an estate sale. Nobody in my house wears glasses. To feminine for me and my wife doesn't like the way they look on her.

Phineas Lamour said:

I picked these Bausch&Lombs up about 2 years ago at an estate sale. Nobody in my house wears glasses. Too feminine for me and my wife doesn't like the way they look on her.

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Yes, feminine; old-lady frames.

Young fogey said:

Yes, feminine; old-lady frames.

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My wife likes the style but they don't fit right with her face shape. I wouldn't mind finding the old man version.

Not quite feminine...

In the Browline war, manufacturers had to find ways to differentiate their take on the frame from others'. Often this came down to simply altering the lens shape: Many vintage browlines differ from one another largely in the shape of the lens, and, occasionally, in the placement of the bridge. (For example, Art-Craft tended to have a dropped bridge, while Shuron's bridge ran straight across the top of the frame, contiguous with the brows). Otherwise, you've got to to look at the river covers to figure out who made what. Bausch and Lomb had the unique idea of completely altering the entire shape of the frame itself. As a consequence, B&L browlines tend to be the most easily identifiable of the vintage styles, even without looking at the rivet covers.

For example...



Edited to add: This thread has been very informative for me in demonstrating just how many types of river covers B&L really used. I think it makes them unique in the kind of variety they displayed vs. other manufacturers who stuck to one distinctive type.

I got a UO giftcard for Christmas and just now ordered these:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urba...erralCat=MENS_ACCESSORIES&parentid=MORE IDEAS

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=27320399&parentid=MENS_ACCESSORIES

What do you guys think?

Well for 35 bucks they are OK. The first is a kind of a bold look.

this second pair will be going on ebay soon (deadstock, no lenses). PM me if interested :

Dr Doran said:

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super cool glasses.