Are Oakley Sunglasses Still Stylish?
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 affulent 80s, dress that reflected your aparent wealth was all the rage, dressing like you owned an estate and bevy of sports cars was most certainly ‘in’. At others points in recent history it has been stylish to dress like you are a street beggar, or a computer geek, or an old man. 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.
The Oakley glasses offered a new range of designs that were by no means subtle and really had a mean look that perfectly complimented their extreme sports heritage. The X Jacket range featured brightly coloured two tone lenses and chunky silver frames creating a dynamic, aggressive look that so many grew to love. More subtle ranges were also produced with thinner highly detailed frames. The publics ferocious appetite for Oakleys eventually died down 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
