Why Is Vintage Eyewear Such An In-Demand Fashion Trend?

What's the deal with "vintage eyewear" and "vintage frames"? Why are so many celebrities like Migos, Future, French Montana, Rhianna, even Elton John seeking out rare vintage frames? If you are new to the vintage eyewear scene, you have missed a lot, but there is still a lot to see. 

Like any vintage fashion, vintage eyewear is cyclical - it is bought and sold repeatedly, until it lands with a collector who holds it for its beauty. However eventually it ends up back in circulation. The rarity of some pieces is why they are held in such high regard. Some have been unavailable for years, decades. 

So what do people see in vintage items? Who would want to wear old-style glasses?! The appeal of vintage eyewear is many.

Part of the appeal is the quality. They just don't make them like this anymore. Well, not often anyway. Most companies are not in eyewear for the love of the craft, but merely for money. So they mass-produce with low quality materials, and claim to be high quality so they can charge higher prices. Not cool. Vintage eyewear was made back when quality mattered, the materials used were precious, and people took pride in the product that carried their name... 

Part of the appeal is the originality. As they say, there's nothing original anymore. Or is there? Regardless, the majority of cookie-cutter designs on the market today means people go back to look for interesting and striking designs, to express themselves in their fashion accessories. Vintage eyewear was often made in collaboration with a professional artist, to create something fascinating and original. That's the kind of look people seek. Something new, that will last. 

Part of the appeal is image. Because high profile people are looking for the vintage quality, others who look up to them want to emulate their style. This begins a trend, and everyone wants that look. The beauty of the vintage eyewear industry is that everyone can have the 'look', while retaining originality, because there are SO many different types of eyewear, so many different designs, that everyone can make the look their own, and often personalize it with different lenses too. Different, but still on retro-trend.

For the connoisseur of quality and creativity, vintage eyewear is the epitome of style and class. Because they not only choose quality and originality, but because they nod to the past, where style was an art, not a mass-produced piece of plastic.