1900s
The 1900s saw eyeglasses become an industry of their own, complete with manufacturing and distribution networks. Styles quickly changed in this century as modern celebrities began to influence fashion and new materials became available, especially plastics.Pince Nez
![Spectacles.1900s_border.jpg An advertisement brochure in the shape of an eyeglass case. The brochure has an image of a woman on one side and a man on the other. The woman is white with blonde hair and wears a lace collar. She is also wearing gold-framed eyeglass lenses clipped to the bridge of her nose. The man is white with black hair and a black mustache and he is wearing a suit. He is also wearing gold-framed eyeglass lenses clipped to the bridge of his nose. The brochure has a black border around it with small gold text.](/image.axd?id=5e726cfd-2e4a-438d-8ad6-a819fdd37d30&t=637845078471100000)
As the 19th century ended, tastes changed toward more inexpensive, everyday spectacles such as the pince-nez. French for “pinch nose,” the pince-nez was first developed in France circa 1840 and began to be imported to America after the 1850s. Their popularity was helped by political figures such as Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge who wore them regularly.
Harold Lloyd
![Spectacles.Lloyd_border.jpg A brown pair of eyeglass with circular lenses and bent earpiece ends sits on a white surface.](/image.axd?id=54a76713-ebea-4da6-bed4-98fe22ea06c9&t=637845078652600000)
Hollywood actor Harold Lloyd (1893-1971) was known for wearing tortoiseshell spectacles with large, round lenses. His 1920s era movies started a fashion craze for temple spectacles like these.
Sunglasses
In the 1930s, sunglasses became popular for the first time. Although colored lenses were available early in spectacle manufacturing, it was not until 1913 that Sir William Crookes of England created a lens capable of absorbing both ultraviolet and infrared light. Further advances in sunglass design were accomplished in order to meet the needs of military pilots in World War II (1939 - 1945). As a result, aviator sunglasses like this example became fashionable.
Plastics
By the 1940s, advances in the manufacture of plastics made a large variety of frames available in every color of the rainbow. The American Optical Company introduced the first brand name fashion eyeglasses in 1958. From there, designs went in multiple directions from the strictly utilitarian to fantasy models, like this example.