Ray-Ban Wayfarer

Made popular in the 1950s and 1960s by music and film icons such as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and James Dean, Wayfarers almost became discontinued in the 1970s, before a major resurgence was created in the 1980s through massive product placements.

[9] Additional appearances in movies like The Breakfast Club, and series like Miami Vice and Moonlighting, led to sales of 1.5 million annually.

[9] Wayfarers were also worn by various musicians, including Roy Orbison, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Rick Astley, Billy Joel, Johnny Marr,[12] Blondie's Debbie Harry,[12] Madonna, Depeche Mode, Elvis Costello,[12] and members of U2[12] and Queen, as well as public figures such as Max Headroom, Jack Nicholson,[13] and Anna Wintour.

[18] Wayfarers were brought back into fashion in the late 2000s when public figures including Chloë Sevigny and Mary-Kate Olsen began wearing vintage frames.

)[23] Ray-Ban's marketing strategy was threefold: a return to the sunglasses' original, rebellious design, an "edgy" advertising campaign and "high-profile PR events", and the use of new media like MySpace to connect with consumers.

Grey Ant's Grant Krajecki designed a larger, cartoonish version of the glasses "so extreme that [they] are best worn by those with a good sense of humor".

Other Wayfarer-inspired sunglasses included Oliver Peoples' Hollis, REM Eyewear's Converse, and various designs in Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss, Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs's and Kaenon Polarized 2008 lines.

1950s singer Buddy Holly helped popularise Wayfarers
Figure 1, US design patent #169,995
Musician Roy Orbison in his trademark Wayfarers
Classic 1980s Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses (picture shows model B&L5022, another one named B&L5024 is also available, which is 2 mm wider at the nose bridge but identical otherwise)
Ray-Ban New Wayfarer sunglasses (RB2132 901L)
The sunglasses worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , although often identified as Wayfarers, are actually "Manhattan" by Oliver Goldsmith . [ 27 ]