Why WUDN Loves Aviator Sunglasses
Protect your eyes with some real wooden style made famous by aviators since 1937
(Writing about Style, Food, Liquor, Tech, and the Outdoors
Cameron Christian, Owner, WUDN
Loves Aviator Style Wooden Sunglasses, Bad golf, good wine, and a little travel
Why WUDN Loves Aviator Sunglasses
A little backstory: originally developed in the late 30s, aviators were designed to replace if not complement the bulky goggles worn by military pilots. And the closed goggle design tended to fog up at high altitudes. Not a great feature for a pilot. Early Aviators were crafted with a lightweight metal frame and brow bar that fits under the edges of a helmet. Teardrop shaped lenses providing broad coverage of the wearer's entire field of vision, and green lenses to reduce blue light eye strain and cut through glare.
Not long after after, Bausch & Lomb introduced the new Aviator style to the civilian market, calling them the Ray-Ban Aviator. From there, aviator sunglasses for men exploded in popularity, worn by flannel-suited Mad Men in the ‘60s, bell-bottomed disco dancers in the ’70s, and just about anybody who watched Top Gun in the '80s. Which I did again just this week for a little refresh before Top Gun II hits theatres this summer.
Superstars like Jay-Z, Timotheé Chalamet, and the entire cast of Fast & Furious are keeping aviators trending, and you're as likely to spot them on the runway of a Gucci show as you are on the streets of Manhattan. Their unending popularity comes down to their endless versatility: the teardrop shape means they look great on virtually all face shapes, and pair well with everything.
Protect your eyes with some real wooden style made famous by aviators since 1937
Wooden temples not your style?
Ray-Ban damn near invented aviator sunglasses nearly a century ago, and the original design remains as handsome and timeless as ever. They come in dozens of frame and lens combinations, including a slew of gradient lenses, but this gold frame and black lens pair is the preferred pairing for our Commander-in-Chief and Maverick from Top Gun.
GQ Magazine does a pretty good job running down a dozen different aviator styles you might like: The Best Aviator Sunglasses for Men Will Take Your Fits to High Altitudes. More>>
The Original Ray-Ban Rb3025 Classic Polarized Aviator Sunglasses currently available on Amazon for a measly $213.00.
The Complete Guide to Finding the Right Pair of Sunglasses to Fit Your Face Shape
Are polarized lenses helpful and should I pay more for them?
