More than a century ago, American Optical began developing specialized eyewear for different activities and professions. Nowadays eyecare practitioners call this lifestyle dispensing. The word ‘lifestyle’ didn’t exist in the English language at that time, but the concept was latent in these task-specific sunglasses.

Then, beginning in the 1920’s, sunwear received a dosage of glamour. During this decade Hollywood movie stars were often photographed wearing sunglasses as they were consistently exposed to bright studio lighting. Actors would suffer from sore eyes while on set and took to wearing sunglasses to rest their eyes while off camera and even outside the studio. Although sunwear still needed to protect eyes, style and fashion had suddenly become just as important to consumers. From this moment on, celebrities spurred new trends and people would seek out sunglasses that matched what they saw on Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Jackie Kennedy and other famous people in the public eye.

Even so, sunglasses remained a high-tech product. The advent of new technologies, from polarization to innovative lens treatments, ensured that each generation of wearers had higher performance eyewear than their parents and grandparents and continued to evolve with advances in physics, chemistry and computer design software.

The Apollo lunar program of the 1960s demonstrated that astronauts needed cutting-edge sunwear, just as pilots and motorists had in previous decades. Again, American Optical took on the responsibility for providing sunglasses for people with the most dangerous jobs.