Sunglasses are a relatively modern fashion, yet experiments with eye protectors and shaded lenses extend far back in time. The earliest surviving protective eye-shields are primitive walrus ivory ‘goggles’ with narrow slits, worn by prehistoric Inuit peoples of the Arctic to reduce exposure of their eyes to sunlight. Later, the Roman Emperor Nero reputedly watched gladiatorial fights through polished emeralds held to his eyes.

Crude forms of tinted eyeglasses were known in 12th-century China, when the wealthy used pieces of smoked quartz set into rudimentary frames, to dim the sun’s glare: these also concealed emotions and facial expressions and were worn by Chinese judges in court. By the 1200s eyeglasses were being used in Italy to correct optical defects such as myopia and astigmatism, while tinted versions, as depicted in a painting by Conrad von Soest (1403), were employed in the Middle Ages, to improve sight.

There were few developments until the 1750s, when James Ayscough trialled different coloured glass, believing that blue or green lenses could correct specific vision impairments. As the use of darkened glasses progressed, the Venetians adopted green-tinted sunglasses against the sun’s dazzling reflection on the city’s lagoon. Increased travel and the establishment of European colonies in other continents fuelled demand for sun-protective gear: for example, early-19th-century overland travellers to India sometimes wore green ‘shades’ or ‘spectacles’ for the desert crossing.

In the early 1900s the use of sunglasses advanced. Hollywood movie stars wore shades as protection from the powerful studio arc lamps, while the new vogue for sunbathing from the late 1920s made tinted glasses fashionable beachwear. In 1929 Sam Foster introduced cheap mass-produced Foster Grant sunglasses to America, via Woolworth’s stores. By the 1930s sunglasses that effectively blocked harmful UV rays were becoming available, their special synthetic lenses acting as a polarising filter. The Polaroid patent was registered by Edwin H Land and in 1937 Ray Ban developed a range of anti-glare aviator glasses using the new technology. The general public now wanted modern shades that were both stylish and provided significant eye protection and during the 1950s/1960s glamorous advertising campaigns ensured that sunglasses became firmly-established as essential outdoor accessories.