Ray-Ban Mens Sunglasses

Ray-Ban has been making sunglasses since 1937, when Bausch & Lomb built the Aviator for US Army Air Corps pilots who could not see past the glare at altitude. The name is short for banning

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About Ray-Ban sunglasses

In the 1930s, US Army Air Corps pilots flying higher than anyone had before were coming down with headaches and altitude sickness from the glare. Colonel John Macready took the problem to Bausch & Lomb in Rochester, New York, and the result was a green-lensed prototype called the Anti-Glare, which cut the light without dimming what a pilot could see. It went on public sale in 1937, was reworked in metal the following year, and became the Aviator. The name is simply what it did — banning rays.

Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to the Italian group Luxottica in 1999, and production moved to Italy, where it remains. Nearly a century on, the three frames the company is known for are still the three it sold most of in the 1950s and 60s.

Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses

The Wayfarer arrived in 1952, designed by Raymond Stegeman, and it mattered because it was one of the first sunglasses made in plastic rather than metal — which is why it looks nothing like anything that came before it. It nearly disappeared in the 1970s and came back through the 1980s.

Four versions are here and they differ more than the shared name suggests. The Original Wayfarer RB2140 is the widest and most angled, closest to the 1952 design. The New Wayfarer RB2132 is slightly smaller and softer through the corners, which suits narrower faces. The Mega Wayfarer is the oversized take, and the Folding Wayfarer hinges at the bridge and the temples to pack flat.

Ray-Ban Aviator, Clubmaster and newer frames

The Aviator is the original and the Old Aviator here is the closest to it — thin metal, teardrop lenses, no plastic anywhere. The Clubmaster Way takes the browline shape, where the top of the frame is heavy and the bottom is barely there, a look that came out of 1950s optical design rather than sunglasses.

Beyond the archive, the range runs to the Elliot, Flacko, Bill, Khal, Alix, Cats 5000, Daddy-O, State Street and Balorma. Several are bio-based, meaning part of the frame material comes from plant sources rather than entirely from petroleum, which is worth knowing if that matters to you.

Browse all sunglasses at Yards Store, or see what we have in our Manchester and Sheffield shops.

Ray-Ban FAQs

The Original Wayfarer RB2140 is the 1952 shape — wider, more angled at the top corners, and with a more pronounced forward tilt. The New Wayfarer RB2132 is slightly smaller with softer corners and a less extreme angle, which makes it easier to wear on a narrower face. Both are the same family; the Original is the more assertive of the two.

Ray-Ban's original green lens, developed for the Aviator in the 1930s. It transmits around 15% of visible light and is tuned to cut glare while keeping colours close to how the eye sees them, which is why it was chosen for pilots who needed to read instruments as well as see the horizon. It is still the most common lens across the range.

In Italy. Ray-Ban was founded by the American optical company Bausch & Lomb in 1937 and made in the United States for six decades, but the brand was sold to the Italian group Luxottica in 1999 and production moved to Italy, where it has stayed since.

Part of the frame material is derived from plant sources rather than entirely from petroleum. It looks and wears the same as standard acetate — the difference is in where the raw material comes from. Two of the frames here are bio-based versions of existing shapes.

Yes. Every Ray-Ban lens blocks 100% of UVA and UVB, including the clear and lightly tinted ones. Polarisation is separate and only on some models — that reduces reflected glare from water, roads and glass, and it is listed on the individual product page.