Echoes of the Past: The evolution of spectacles

The role of eyewear in the fashion of today is well understood by patients and opticians alike, but this hasn’t always been the case.

William Hardy’s the ‘The new concept of frames’ article from the May 28 issue of Optician from 1965 documents the way that patients and opticians views on frames were changing at the time – albeit with an air of scepticism.

‘What may appeal to us a superficial change applied to a basic design, may appeal to members of the spectacle wearing public as an attractive innovation,’ said Hardy.