Aviator

Introduced in 1937 by the Ray-Ban Company as a necessary piece of equipment for military pilots who needed protection from the glare of excessive sunlight, the Aviator style of sunglasses grew in popularity until they are now the single best selling style in the world. Aviators are known for their large lenses that can completely shade the eyes and thin frames which generate a light weight for ease and comfort of wear.

Almost every manufacturer or designer of sunglasses issues a series of Aviator sunglasses. The process of creating polarized aviator sunglasses improves the non-glare properties of the lenses. Most of the top quality aviator sunglass sport thin metal frames for durability though there have been many brands that use plastics for sale to the civilian population for merely fashion purposes.

While aviator sunglasses hit a drop in popularity in the early 1980's, the release of the Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun" in 1986 skyrocketed aviator sunglasses back to the top of the fashion lists. With their stylish lines aviator sunglasses are still practical as well as good looking. The wide lenses protect the eyes from many airborne dangers.

American Optical Company features a line of aviator sunglasses that sport a titanium wireless frame and precision lenses that conform to industry standards for UV protection. Christian Dior has taken the basic aviator sunglasses and created a whole new look. While they still design the thin wire frame look on some models, their specialty is a wide framed variety of aviator sunglasses that come with lenses in a multitude of fashion colors from green and bronze all the way to pink. The Gucci Palladium aviator sunglasses are another designer style that puts a unique spin on the common aviator look. Randolf also makes uniquely designed aviator sunglasses for all occasions.

Aviator sunglasses are made with style modifications for not only men and women but have lines of youth oriented aviator sunglasses. There are many places in stores and online where you can find discount prices on aviator sunglasses. The cheap replicas you sometimes come across should be investigated carefully or avoided as some of the cheap sunglasses that are made as replicas of the famous brands do not always manufacture their products to the same established standards for maximum eye protection. There are some replicas that actually offer no real protectin from the sn, nor do they offer warranties on their inferior quality products.