Shutter Shades

A young man wearing shutter shades.

Shutter Shades, also known as slatted shades or Venetian Blind shades are louvered sunglasses. A design of louvered sunglasses was released in America in the 1950s, and a modernized design in the early 1980s. The 1980s design became a popular youth fashion trend.

Instead of having lenses, the design is characterized by its "shutter" motif, which is part of the frame. The shades are marketed as suitable for both men and women and are available in an assortment of styles and colors. Depending on the design, Shutter Shades may not function as sunglasses; although some models contain UV resistant lenses, many do not, and only feature a series of horizontal plastic "shades," which neither provide protection for the eye from UV light nor prevent a substantial amount of light from entering the eye.

History

Shutter Shades are a design of slatted sunglasses. The first louvered sunglasses date from the 1950s, and a modernized version was released in the early 1980s. Sometime referred to as "Venetian Blinders", examples were featured in the music videos for "Glittering Prize" by Simple Minds in 1982 and "Obsession" by Animotion in 1984. They were also popularized by professional wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage, which he wore before many of his matches, as well as in his promos. Alain Mikli made a contemporary custom design for Kanye West, again influenced by the fashion of the 1980s. West popularized Mikli's design in the music video for "Stronger."^[1] In 2007, Shutter Shades, Inc. released a design, which they also patented.^[2] and coined the term "Shutter Shades," which they also trademarked with the USPTO.

References

1. Reid, Shaheem (2007-09-06). "Kanye Added Perfectionist Touch — And Venetian-Blind Glasses — To 'Stronger' Video: VMA Lens Recap". MTV. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
2. "United States Patent D590,868". USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. April 21, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2014.

External links