Magazine Tracks the Celebrity Allure of Ray-Ban Wayfarers

For one thing, their shape “hints at dangerousness.”

From James Dean to James Franco, the celebrity world has taken to Ray-Ban Wayfarers for generations, making the brand a phenomenon of marketing as well as fashion. Adweek takes a look at the enduring success of the sunglasses that hit the market in the 1950s. “Fresh from the drafting table of Raymond Stegeman, Wayfarers were unlike any other eyewear that had come before,” says the magazine. “Made of plastic instead of metal, its temples flared, the Wayfarer was a rebellious thing.” Indeed, according to one critic, the Wayfarer’s “distinctive trapezoidal frame” hints at “dangerousness.”

Read more and see images at Adweek