The browline frame begins
Since their inception in the late 40s, browlines have consistently been among the most ubiquitous eyewear styles. Also known as Clubmaster glasses, they were originally created as a way to encourage customization – providing the buyer with interchangeable bridges, brows, and wires to allow for various sizes, fits, and colours.
A browline for every era
Thanks to its popularity among celebrities and public figures at the time, the browline design had its first bout of mainstream demand in the 50s, commonly boasting a plastic browline and temples combined with metal lower rims.
The 60s then ushered in an era of aluminium browlines, followed by a powerful return of the trend in the 80s thanks to Bruce Willis, whose character wore a tinted-lensed version of the Clubmaster in the popular Moonlighting series.
The return of the browline
Mad Men’s fierce impact on popular culture and fashion in the late 2000s ensured that this classic look would find a solid footing among 21st-century trends. In the same way that the browline frame had been associated with conformity and conservative values in the 70s and 90s, it took on a counterculture role among hipsters everywhere around 2010, before finally making its way, once again, into the mainstream – where we love to see it thrive!
Love the style? Treat yourself to the elegant Always or the surprisingly modern Discern.
