Vanessa Brown is a Senior Lecturer responsible for Design Culture and Context in the School of Art and Design (Department of Fashion, Knit and Textiles) at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Brown delivers a fascinating explication of an iconic fashion accoutrement: sunglasses. She discusses how they have served as a popular cultural signifier, particularly since the 1920s, and explains their purportedly ‘cool’ quality … This short but insightful volume explores the influence of urban developments, the early turn to goggles and then eventually to Ray-Ban aviators, and the ultimate evolution of ‘modern cool.’ … According to Brown, sunglasses also were linked with African Americans, the femme fatale, white hipsters, the Beats, and late modernity … Likening shades to Breton’s top hat and Robinson’s bowler, Brown offers that they stand as ‘the ultimate symbol of the age.’ A thoroughly intriguing account. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

• 1. Introduction 2. Sunglasses and Modernity: Why do Modern Eyes Need Shading? 3. Sunglasses and Speed 4. Sunglasses and the Hi-tech Body5. From Sunlight to Fashbulbs: Sunglasses, Success, Celebrity and Glamour 6. Sunglasses and the Other – Race, Gender, the Blind and the Outlaw 7. The Spread of Outsider Cool: 1950s – Present8. Sunglasses and the Absence of Meaning 9. Conclusion10. Timeline (1750 to 1960s)BibliographyIndex

Vanessa Brown is a Senior Lecturer responsible for Design Culture and Context in the School of Art and Design (Department of Fashion, Knit and Textiles) at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Brown delivers a fascinating explication of an iconic fashion accoutrement: sunglasses. She discusses how they have served as a popular cultural signifier, particularly since the 1920s, and explains their purportedly ‘cool’ quality … This short but insightful volume explores the influence of urban developments, the early turn to goggles and then eventually to Ray-Ban aviators, and the ultimate evolution of ‘modern cool.’ … According to Brown, sunglasses also were linked with African Americans, the femme fatale, white hipsters, the Beats, and late modernity … Likening shades to Breton’s top hat and Robinson’s bowler, Brown offers that they stand as ‘the ultimate symbol of the age.’ A thoroughly intriguing account. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

• 1. Introduction 2. Sunglasses and Modernity: Why do Modern Eyes Need Shading? 3. Sunglasses and Speed 4. Sunglasses and the Hi-tech Body5. From Sunlight to Fashbulbs: Sunglasses, Success, Celebrity and Glamour 6. Sunglasses and the Other – Race, Gender, the Blind and the Outlaw 7. The Spread of Outsider Cool: 1950s – Present8. Sunglasses and the Absence of Meaning 9. Conclusion10. Timeline (1750 to 1960s)BibliographyIndex

Vanessa Brown is a Senior Lecturer responsible for Design Culture and Context in the School of Art and Design (Department of Fashion, Knit and Textiles) at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Brown delivers a fascinating explication of an iconic fashion accoutrement: sunglasses. She discusses how they have served as a popular cultural signifier, particularly since the 1920s, and explains their purportedly ‘cool’ quality … This short but insightful volume explores the influence of urban developments, the early turn to goggles and then eventually to Ray-Ban aviators, and the ultimate evolution of ‘modern cool.’ … According to Brown, sunglasses also were linked with African Americans, the femme fatale, white hipsters, the Beats, and late modernity … Likening shades to Breton’s top hat and Robinson’s bowler, Brown offers that they stand as ‘the ultimate symbol of the age.’ A thoroughly intriguing account. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

• 1. Introduction 2. Sunglasses and Modernity: Why do Modern Eyes Need Shading? 3. Sunglasses and Speed 4. Sunglasses and the Hi-tech Body5. From Sunlight to Fashbulbs: Sunglasses, Success, Celebrity and Glamour 6. Sunglasses and the Other – Race, Gender, the Blind and the Outlaw 7. The Spread of Outsider Cool: 1950s – Present8. Sunglasses and the Absence of Meaning 9. Conclusion10. Timeline (1750 to 1960s)BibliographyIndex