Sunglasses are one of the most popular fashion accessories in the world. Men, women, children, seniors and people from all walks of life wear sunglasses, and the proliferation of retail outlets and online web sites that offer discount sunglasses make this fashion accessory affordable for anyone. There are many reasons to wear sunglasses, but there are three reasons in particular. The first is to protect your eyes of course, the second is to look stylish and the third is to hide your eyes. The exact origins of sunglasses are unknown, but we do know what they were used for in the past, and surprisingly, it does not differ much from modern day uses.

The first reason to wear sunglasses is to protect your eyes. Sunglasses brands such as Gatorz sunglasses are designed specifically to shield a person’s eyes even while playing extreme-sports. Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause long-term damage to the eyes, causing certain disorders involving temporary and permanent blindness, cancer and cataracs. During the 19th century and the 20th century there was an outbreak of syphilis. One of the symptoms of syphilis was increased light sensitivity; many doctors prescribed darkly tinted spectacles for their patients to curb this side-effect. Even today many doctors give their patients sunglasses to wear after certain eye dialating and eye dying exams to protect their eyes from excessive light to sensitive eyes. Sunglasses are also important to wear while driving. To protect themselve as well as others, autoists around the world wear sunglasses. The glare of the sun can make vision impared and cause strain on the eyes, making it difficult to drive safely. Sunglasses deflect the glare and dim the brightness of the sun.

The second reason to wear sunglasses is to look good. Sunglasses have been a major component of style for decades. The five most popular and stylish glasses are listed below.

Aviators- Aviators were introduced in 1936 by Ray-Ban as a standard issue to the United States Military for aviators. They are characterized by overzised teardrop lens and a thin metal frame. This style has been particulary popular with law enforcement officers and people in the military. It has also been very trendy in the rock music scene.

Teashades- Teashades enjoyed their celebrity for most of the 1960’s and 70’s. They have small circular lenses and thin wire frames. The tint of the glasses came in various shades and was made popular by celebrities such as John Lennon, Ozzy Osbourne and Mick Jagger. They were also very popular within the counter-culture youth of the 1960’s. They are still sold today, but are much less sought after.

Wayfarers- Wayfarers are arguably the most popular sunglasses. They are characterized by thick plastic rims. The wayfarers were first introduced in 1952 by Ray-Ban and were made famous by Hollywood actors like James Dean. This style remained popular throughout the decades since its introduction and is still one of Ray-Ban’s best selling designs today.

Oversized- Oversized sunglasses are look just as they are named- oversized. The lenses are dramatically large and the frames are typically thick, plastic, and colorful. These sunglasses are not worn so much for protection as they are for silly style and entertainment. Elton John is famous for his oversized sunglasses.

Onassis- The Onassis style of sunglasses was named after Jackie Onassis Kennedy. The Onassis style is worn by women mainly. They are very large glasses, though not oversized. The lens shapes vary from oval to square and are darkly tinted. The frames are thick, more so towards the sides of the rim and are plastic.

The third reason to wear sunglasses is to hide your eyes. During the 12th century in China, Chinese officials would wear sunglasses to hide their eyes and expressions while questioning witnesses. Today celebrities wear sunglasses to hide their eyes and escape being noticed by paparazzi and overbearing fans. Sunglasses are also used to conceal black eyes, injuries to the eyes and eye deformities. Many people with eye impediments such as blindness, lazy-eye or cataracs wear sunglasses to conceal their eyes to make others uncomfortable and to aviod being socially ostracized because of the appearance of their eyes.