I bought a pair of black Wayfarers after seeing Risky Business. I thought they had just been introduced by Ray-Ban. My Mom laughed when she saw them and said, “Those are straight from the 50s”.
Indeed the Wayfarer was introduced in 1952 and was quite popular in the 50s and early 60s. Their appearance in Risky Business was part of huge product placement push by Ray-Ban that helped make the Wayfarers the sunglasses of the 80s.
Still, regardless of their renewed trendiness, I liked them. So much so that in the early 90s, when the Wayfarer had descended into the deepest depths of unpopularity, I bought another pair. I still have and wear them.
I knew someday Wayfarers would come back in style. But after years of seemingly being the only one wearing them, it was an interesting experience when it did happen.
Several years ago I starting see a few other people wearing them — maybe one sighting in an afternoon of walking around crowded downtown Vancouver. A year or two ago it really started to take off, and just yesterday, I noticed that the majority of people I saw with sunglasses were wearing Wayfarers.
Everything old is new again — in about twenty years or so.