Fashion Synopsis

Tom Cruise’s turn as model son gone wild in 1983's Risky Business did more for the flailing Ray Ban Wayfarer than any ad could have. His pantless, shades-wearing tribute to “Old Time Rock n’ Roll” by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band brought back the rebellious rave of 50’s style, both in music and sunglasses.

The Ray Ban Wayfarer was a popular frame style for the 50’s, and when Tom Cruise peered over the tops of the slightly squared frames in the 80’s, it just didn’t get cooler. Attitude had arrived. The timeless fashion returned to the outrageous success the glasses received when they were first created in 1952. Ray-Ban reissued the old-fashioned Wayfarer in a whole slew of fashion colors after the runaway success of the movie.

Everyone had to have a pair of the classic blacks, as well as a fashion color. Sunglasses were hotter than ever, and imitators quickly copied the telltale shape and silver tab tops. But nothing was like the originals…these shades were understated cool when wild-eyed asymmetrical frames were all the rage.

Tom Cruise would repeat the unbridled success of reissue sunglasses when he appeared in Ray Ban's aviator style shades in Top Gun, just three years later in '86.

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