Shop By Era To Match Your Style
Style by Decade | Shop by Era
Minimalist, maximalist, flamboyant, and whimsical, our shop-by-era collection meets you where you are and what you want to channel. From cat-eye frames of the 1950s to minimalist 1990s wireframes, curating your style to match a moment recalls an emotion.. Our collections are reminiscent of cultural movements, fashion icons, and moments in time that define decades. Travel back with us to see retro styles with fresh eyes. Shop the Vint & York Shop by Decade Collections.
FRAMES BY DECADE
THE FANTASTIC 50'S
Sophistication, experimentation, Buddy Holly, and the Cat Eye. The post-war boom brought color and new materials, showcasing eyeglasses as a fashion statement over utility. The availability and manufacture of plastic frames increased the adoption of fashionable frames that denoted individuality and new designs catered to individual faces.
1950s eyeglasses for men were primarily the Buddy Holly eyeglasses, and designers debuted the cat-eye frame for women. Both are iconic and are referenced and returned to frequently in the subsequent decades. Upswept edges and browline edges frame facial features and lift the face, adding glamour and distinction to sunglasses and prescription glasses. Marilyn Munroe and Buddy Holly popularized both, along with many other celebrities in the 1950s and beyond.
BROWSE THE 50'S
DECADE
THE STYLISH 60'S
The 1960s were a decade of significant cultural shifts. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the advocacy accompanying these movements became inextricably linked with fashion. Fashion was a vehicle for change and eyewear was a part of this. Oversized frames were a standout trend, and Jackie Kennedy popularized large, rounded sunglasses that embodied timeless elegance. Material innovation also revolutionized eyewear in the 1960s. Lightweight plastics in a more fantastic range of colors, including bright pastels, mod-inspired whites, and psychedelic patterns, mirrored the counterculture movement. Wire-rimmed glasses emerged as a minimalist and intellectual statement for bohemians and beatnics like John Lennon. Glamour and rebellion were encapsulated in the eyewear trends of the 1960s.
BROWSE THE 60'S
DECADE
THE SEXY 70'S
1970s eyewear designs continued to feature the oversized frame, but the iconic aviator style debuted. The aviator is easily the most iconic style of the 1970s, popularized by pilots; the style features teardrop-shaped lenses and thin metal frames. The 1970s also witnessed an experimentation in materials and colors that we can see in pop culture movements such as disco. Plastic chunky frames in earth tones, including amber, tortoiseshell, and deep browns, were popular, and there was a rise in gradient and tinted lenses. There also was a countervulture movement that favored the more sleep wireframe. Funky, flamboyant, and understated, the 70s cultural and design climate was a breeding ground for innovative and lasting eyewear design.
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BROWSE THE 70'S
DECADE
THE ELECTRIC 80'S
Bratpack, Valley Girls, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, the 1980s in many ways were characterized by excess and extravagance. A number of movements emerged in the 1980s that brought glasses designs with them from fitness to feminism. Some of the styles of the 1980s were thick, angular designs worn by actresses like Diane Keaton. Corporate power dressing brought rimless and semi-rimless frames as well.
Bright colors and neon accents were popular in the fitness arenas. Athletes also favored wraparound frames and mirrored lenses turned celebrities. Brands like Ray-Ban emerged with their iconic Wayfarer and aviator styles, symbols of effortless cool thanks to Andrew McCarthy and many other actors in the 1908s. Glasses in the 1980s became central to personal style.
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BROWSE THE 80'S
DECADE
THE NERDY 90'S
Stripped-down, anti-establishment, or over-the-top supermodel, choose your adventure of the 90s era. The designs varied widely, with grunge styles rejecting flashy aesthetics in favor of an understated or retro look, and the impact of supermodels and loud luxury. Eyewear of the 1990s was a revolution, nostalgia, and pop culture influences that dominated eyeglass and sunglass design.
Oversized frames from the bohemian 1970s, Wayfarers from the 1980s, and wireframes from the 1960s all had resurgences in the 1990s. Few decades recall films more memorable in eyewear than Reality Bites and Clueless. Retro frames filled Reality Bites in the coming of age grunge classic and translucent pastels in chunky frames were playfully chic in Clueless. We also witnessed rave culture, MTV-fueled shades, ala MTV Beachhouse and Jenny McCarthy in Singled Out. Grunge or experimentatal pop culture, impacted the designs of the 1990s and in the current moment, we are seeing a major influence of the 1990s.
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BROWSE THE 90'S
DECADE
THE TERRIFIC 2000'S
2000s witnessed hyperspeed technological advancement with smartphones, personal computers, and the style pendulum swung wildly from the grunge and thrifty era of the 1990s to hyper futurism. Where we started to find identities online through social media, our style became available to wider audiences and as such glasses styles were very individualistic. Rimless and semi-rimless frames were popular choices in the 2000s, metal frames in silver and titanium tones gained popularity, and wraparound sunglasses, with mirrors, gradients, and patterns were donned by pop culture icons alike. Think Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Dennis Rodman.
Oversized frames from the 1970s and 1980s were also reimagined for the millennial generation. New materials emerged to give more volume to the styles like chunky plastics in vibrant colors, tortoise shell, and patterns. Designers impacted prescription and fashion frames that defined the decade include Gucci, Oakley, Prada, and Chanel. Rimless to oversize, glasses styles increasingly became hallmarks of individualism in the 2000s.
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BROWSE THE 2000'S
VINT & YORK
EMBRACES ICONIC FASHION
Vint & York was founded in 2012, based in New York, and founded by New Yorkers dedicated to preserving retro styles as works of art. We have reimagined the vintage feel of frames of past eras and created modern, timeless, playful, and chic interpretations that perfectly frame the face. Painstaking attention is paid to the small details in design and manufacture to bring you the most advanced technology in classic styles. See for yourself, shop by era, and try them on!
Have questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Vint & York uses the same designs but is elevated with the most modern ophthalmic technology and materials. We pay homage, respect original styling, and create frames that suit facial proportions more effectively than past designs.
We offer a virtual try-on, encouraging buyers to explore our site and experiment with new styles and trends before buying.
Vint & York offers a 15-day money-back guarantee for the majority of orders placed on vintandyork.com. Glasses fitted with upgraded lenses, including blue light, ultra-thin (1.74), photochromic, progressive, RX sun lenses, polarized, bifocal lenses, digital custom lenses, or other types, are not returnable. View the full return policy of Vint & York here.