Clothing and accessories always drift in and out fashion according to what is ‘in’ at the time. 1980′s fashion was driven by the affluent nature of the decade and reflected in the ornate, angular garments and hairstyles that were ‘cool’ at the time. In the 1980′s it was hip to be rich and whether you were a multi-millionaire or a hard-up student, dressing like you owned the shares to Disney was most certainly the done thing. Othertimes in recent history have seen fasions come and go, people have dressed en-mass like hippies, tramps and soldiers. Accessories are all part of this and the sunglasses market has certainly seen many different trends over the years. In the late 1990′s and early 2000′s it was the turn of Oakley to enjoy a surge in sales.
At this period in time the extreme sports bandwagon was in full swing and clothes associated with the then ‘cool’ subculture were everywhere. Surf brands like Ouicksilver, O’Neil and Mambo experienced rising sales among people keen to immerse themselves in the extreme sports ‘way of life’. Oakley, a company closely associated with mountain bike-wear saw massive increases in sales of their Oakley sunglasses which echoed the style worn by ‘rad’ snowboarders, surfers and other such thrill seekers. Mens glasses such as the ‘X jacket’ and ‘Penny’ designs were top of everyone’s wish-lists.
Okely range of glasses were unique in offering designs that appealed to both hardcore extreme sports enthusiasts and the layman. The Wrap around style of the X Jacket glasses was complemented by mean looking two-tone orange or blue lenses and sculpted, agressive frames echoing the line sused on extreme sports hardware like snowboards. More subtle ranges were also produced with thinner highly detailed frames. Like any trend however the rage for Oakely sunglasses gradually subsided and gave way to the desire for other shapes such as the aviator. Oakley is still going strong as a brand however and continues to be the number one choice for the extreme sports enthusiast.