Classic Eyewear Styles: Rimless Glasses

Rimless eyewear has long been considered an elegant and professional choice for upwardly mobile managers and executives, especially in the technology and financial sectors. They're a perfect accessory that matches a Rolex watch or Cartier bracelet. Just as earrings are jewelry for your ears, the right set of rimless eyeglasses are jewelry for your eyes. And they have a long history of being the eyewear of choice among society's elite.

"Three-part" rimless glasses, which have two distinct full temples and separate bridge, were first introduced as a more comfortable alternative to pince-nez frames in the 1880s. These frameless glasses were desired by the well-to-do who wanted to minimize the effect of wearing vision correcting eyeglasses on their facial features, and who also wanted frames that would more securely stay in place. In fact, the original early versions typically had coiled wrap-around temples that held the frames in place while horseback riding or fox hunting. As they were worn by the wealthy while at play, rimless glasses quickly became associated with refinement and success.

Tuxedo Cables rimless frames have wrap-around temples similar to original rimless styles.

After a decline in popularity during the 1950s-60s, rimless frames made a strong fashion comeback during the 80s. Steve Jobs was well known for his round rimless frames, which quickly were adopted by other entrepreneurs, CEOs and Wall Street investors. In the 21st century, lightweight titanium metal frames and polycarbonate lenses made rimless frames nearly weightless and extremely durable, and their popularity soared. Nowadays, rimless glasses account for about 15% of eyeglasses frames sold in the United States every year. 

Rimless frames tend to be favored by professional men and women who are looking for subtle, lightweight frames, and who also favor their elegant, refined aesthetics. They work well as fashion accents in both the corporate environment and upscale social occasions or formal events. And they don’t obscure your facial features and, in fact, tend to give you a wider field of vision. For some, wearing full frame glasses is undesirable and creates an aesthetic problem, especially if you wear makeup.

Of course, another distinct advantage of rimless eyeglasses are the many lens shape options, which makes it easy to choose the shape that best compliments your face shape and achieves the look you desire. Focusers offers six lens shape choices for each of our rimless eye frames. This makes it easy to personalize your frames to compliment your face shape.