Wayfarers and other
80s Sunglasses

80s sunglasses were definitely a statement of cool, I guess as sunglasses pretty much have always been.

From Ray-Ban goodness such as the 80s Wayfarers and Aviators, immortalised by Tom Cruise, to the cheap and nasty.. Although, the nastier, the better for your 80s costume if you are doing a fancy dress.
Aviators
Aviator style sunnies, were very popular in the 70s, with shows such as CHiPs really enhancing there popularity. By the 80s, with the 70s reruns on TV all the time, they were still popular. You should easily be able to buy a pair of mirrored aviator style 80s sunnies from your local servo, or sunglasses store, as the mirrored aviator sunnies are back in fashion, big time!

RayBan Aviators
Then in 1986, Tom Cruise's role as Maverick in Top Gun, wearing the RayBan Aviator style sunnies, ensured they were a staple part of your wardrobe, if you were to be seen as ultra cool.

Of course I was all gaga over Tom Cruise in his role of Maverick, including multiple posters on my wall, and HAD to include this pic! ... Ahhh those were the days! Can you believe Katie Holmes used to think the same thing??? Anyway.. that's another story!

Ray-Ban Wayfarers

I would have to say that I branched out to Ray-Bans at this stage too, however, 80s sunglasses that I had to have were the Ray-Ban Wayfarers. The Wayfarers were in fashion for a few years before I could afford to buy a pair. What you have to understand, is that my weekly part time wage was $45 per week, and Ray-Ban Wayfarers were $159 in Australia.

Today, in Australia, the Ray-Ban Wayfarer and Aviator sunglasses are priced well over $300. Makes Amazon look like a bargain! The store person told me that the cost probably has gone up, due to their popularity boom, with the 80s fashion being embraced again.

The Ray-Ban Wayfarer was also immortalised by Tom cruise, before Top Gun was released, when Tom got his first big break in Risky Business.

Not only Tom though, the Wayfarer were made popular also by Don Henley's Boys of Summer (I love that song), Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing and of course The Blues Brothers.

I remember that I didn't realise that "Ray-Ban" was actually engraved into the glass lens, and I approached an optometrist, and inquired if they sold the Ray-Ban stickers that went on the lense. Ha ha, silly stuff. I was intending to put the "Ray-Ban" sticker on a pair of knock offs.

At the time, knock offs were very common, as who could afford $160 for sunnies? Even now, that's a lot of money for most of us. I do have to confess though, once I was a Ray-Ban girl, I have always been a Ray-Ban girl, and buy a new pair every one or two years. (Part of me not wanting to let the 80s go maybe..)

Hungry Jacks (The Aussie version of Burger King) brought out the 60s sunnies promotion, when you bought a Whopper. They sold a lot of Whoppers! As you can tell from the HJs promo, the Wayfarer style had been around for a long time. Dirty Dancing was set in the 60s.

Other 80s sunnies in the cheap end of the scale, include just about everything really. Anything mirrored, anything coloured including red or white, and anything fluro too.

Then you had those stupid 80s sunglasses that look like venetian blinds, and more recently seen in Kenya West's film clip Stronger. (shrug) Oh yeah, and don't forget the Robocop robot sunnies.

Here's a cross section of those sunnies from Amazon:

In Australia during the early to mid eighties, Le Specs were a big fashion icon, with the angle of LeSpecs, Le Tough! The ad had a beautiful young lady wearing a red, white and blue one piece swimwear, accidentally sitting on her Le Spec sunnies, and they didn't break.

Well, sex sells, and if she was wearing a bathing suit and about to sit on her sunnies, where do you think the close up was?

The Le Specs brand was relaunched in 2009, and is doing a roaring trade with the next generation as well as those re-living their youth.

Check out other cool 80s accessories to enhance your 80s outfit!