Dad Glasses Throughout History

March 12, 2017

Eyeglasses were invented in Italy in the 13th century, a fact which you either greet with amazement or a bored “eh, makes sense.” But only recently have they been customizable enough that the idea of glasses that just feel…dad made their way into the cultural landscape. So, with an assist from the Museum of Vision, here is a brief history of Dad Glasses.

Arguably the first type of dad glasses to make its way to America was the Prince-nez. Originated in France, these were cheap, and didn’t have temples. Instead, dads pinched them onto their noses, most notably on the nose of famed badass president and certified dad, Teddy Roosevelt.

In the 1920s, Harold Lloyd, a popular actor and comedian, started wearing round glasses made out of tortoiseshell, which soon became a popular style that dads obviously picked up on since, well, look at that dude. That dude is so dad.

The 1930s saw the first sunglasses hit the market, which are essential purchases for cool dudes and dads alike. Now, the history of the sunglasses has a long and interesting history with dads as well, but really we can sum it up with “regular dad sunglasses” leading to “oversized 70s porn glasses” to, of course, blue blockers and wraparounds.

But back to regular dad glasses.

What came next was the “dignified dad” look of the 1950s and 1960s.

Dads back then all had crew cuts and looked like they’d just run a successful meeting, at all times. Let’s just say by the time dads reached the 70’s, that level of “clean cut, classic” had…well, turned into this. The 1970s were a terrifying decade for glasses, especially dad glasses. That carried into the 80s, where the trend of “brown, oversized frames” still reigned supreme.

Since then, while many forms of dad glasses exist, the default has merged into the dull, sensible stylings we know and tolerate.