Retro Glasses from Avant Garde Optics, Inc.

Giant lenses and geometric shapes were staples in eyewear from the 1970s and 1980s, and few companies nailed that look better than Avant Garde Optics. In our selection of Avant Garde glasses at Eyeglasses Warehouse, you will find vintage aviators, retro square glasses, and more popular styles from the 70s and 80s.

Browse below and check back often as we add authentic vintage glasses to our inventory.

About Avant Garde Glasses Frames at Eyeglasses Warehouse

Avant Garde was one of the leading eyeglass frame distributors in the 1970s, carrying all of the iconic vintage glasses of that era. They were the only U.S. distributor of luxury eyewear from Italian manufacturer Luxottica, who would then purchase Avant Garde Optics in the early 1980s as part of their expansion into the U.S. market.

Luxottica Avant Garde glasses and other brands distributed by Avant Garde were some of the most worn in the 70s and 80s. Frames for eyeglasses and sunglasses came in shapes like:

Plastic frames dominated 1970s and 1980s women’s glasses. Men’s 1970s glasses from Avant Garde could have plastic or wire frames.

No matter the shape or frame, the size of the lenses had to be large. Unlike earlier decades where lenses covered just the eyes, 1970s glasses stretched from the wearer’s cheek to above their eyebrows. By the 1980s, glasses became even bigger.

The size of glasses was due to the introduction of plastic lenses. Plastic was easy and affordable to manufacture and half the weight of glass, making Avant Garde glasses comfortable to wear despite their size.

Avant Garde eyeglasses tended towards neutral frame colors such as tortoise shell, grey, black, and gold. Tinted lenses for 1970s sunglasses used that same neutral color palette, and many Avant Garde glasses had the graduated tinting that was popular during the time.

Our vintage 1970s and 1980s eyewear at Eyeglasses Warehouse is the perfect way to bring retro style to your daily wear or add a finishing touch to your disco costume. Find your perfect pair of 1970s glasses here on our site and add in your prescription lenses or “gradutint” lenses for the ultimate 70s look.