Established in 1975, Oakley is a leading sports performance brand. Oakley sponsors a large number of athletes and is an official on-field partner and licensee of the NFL. The brand holds only 600 patents for sports-related products such as eyewear, materials and performance gear. Oakley’s product range includes lifestyle products such as eyewear, backpacks, and apparel. The Oakley brand began in 1975 with motorcycle grips. Most people don’t know that the material used in the motorcycle grips is still integrated into the earlocks of the brand’s eyewear range. After all with Oakley sunglasses, nothing more needs to be said.
The Beginning of Oakley
Oakley first began to experiment in the eyewear range in 1980. It started with the O-Frame goggles, which quickly gained commercial success within the sporting industry. The first sunglasses in their eyewear range were released in 1984. Oakley called them the ‘Factory Pilot Eyeshades’ and were sports-inspired glasses similar to ski goggles. A more casual style, the ‘Oakley Frogskin’, was released the following year. Oakley’s eyewear range is the perfect choice for any fitness fan, and the brand has sponsored members of the US Olympic Team since 2012. Their product range is made with technical innovation that aims to produce a product that works for athletes both in training and during professional competitions. The brand also stocks productive eyewear for the U.S Army.
Purchased by Luxottica
Produced by Luxottica, who now owns the brand after a $2.1 billion purchase deal in 2007. The brand represents and produces some of the most recognisable designer eyewear glasses on the market. This makes Oakley eyewear a great investment piece. Oakley now produces goggles, eyeglasses and sunglasses in their eyewear range, with options for both men and women. Their eyewear range is extensive both in terms of optical eyewear and sunglasses, with an almost unparalleled range of styles and lenses offered by Oakley. These sunglasses dominate the activewear market, and their functionality makes them a must-have for anyone who prioritises comfort and versatility in their eyewear.
Womens Oakley Sunglasses
In their sunglasses range, Oakley produces two main collections aimed at sports and lifestyle needs. Their bestselling women’s sunglasses are the ‘Low Key’ model. This model comes in six colours and features Oakley’s Prizm Lens technology and glare-free filtering. The Prizm polarised lenses come in sapphire, rose gold and black. These styles are great for on-the-go and can be worn every day, with a sophisticated and sleek style that gives them a look of understated elegance. The sunglasses are deliberately lightweight, making them the perfect choice for travelling.
Another popular women’s sunglasses style is Oakley’s ‘Eye Jacket Redux’, available in four colour-ways, which uses Oakley’s exclusive lens technology to enhance the colour and contrast of the lenses. Inspired by the model originally carried by Oakley in 1994 and has been updated with their latest patented technology, making it ideal for both sports use and daily wear.
Oakley’s best-selling women’s optical eyewear glasses are the ‘Halifax’ style, available in four satins inspired colours. The cat-eye model is ultra-lightweight and its minimalistic style makes it perfect for any face shape. Developed using the brand’s ‘O Matter’ technology. This makes them one of the most comfortable optical eyewear options on the market. Colour options for the ‘Halifax’ style ranges from rose-gold through to a classic chrome and black.
Mens Oakley Sunglasses
In the men’s eyewear range, the best selling sunglasses are their ‘Whisker’. This frame comes in five colour-ways and features Prizm Polarised technology, which increases the colour and contrast of the lenses. This style has been in the company’s catalogue since the beginning. Oakley has updated with a sculptured inspired design and the brand’s patented Unobtainium earsocks. Designed to give the perfect fit for wearing during sports. They have an adjustable grip-fit nose-pads to keep them sitting perfectly on your face.
Another best selling design is the ‘Radar EV Path’ sunglasses which are developed with cycling in mind. Available with both Prizm and Prizm Polarised technology, these sunglasses feature larger lenses and extend your range of view to include the upper peripheral region, ensuring your safety while playing sports or cycling. The shield style, with its metal icon accents, features shapable ear-socks and notepads for ultimate comfort. With the athlete in mind, Oakley sells a series of replacement parts for the ‘Radar EV Path’, making them a great investment piece that you can easily repair and replace any parts that suffer from age.
Oakley Brings an Aviator to the Mix
Within Oakley’s men’s eyewear range, their best seller is their ‘Stagebeam’. The Stagebeam style which updates the classic circular aviator glasses with a metal brow bar to modernise the frame. With functionality in mind, the ‘Stagebeam’ style includes a latch clip to let you attach your glasses to your shirt, making sure you never lose another pair of glasses again. For fans of a more classic and sleek design, the brand’s second best selling style, the ‘Cogswell’, is a highly functional style with a retro feel. Featuring Oakley’s TruBridge and Unobtainium technology, this style is highly customisable to get the best fit for your face.
Oakley stocks several of their best selling styles in a dedicated youth fit for children. This includes one of their best selling styles the ‘Knuckler’. This model comes in four different colour-ways including the bold matte sea green. Their youth range is designed to be both functional and durable, and each eyewear piece is designed with practicality in mind. The eyewear range for children features Oakley’s O-Matter frame material, which makes them lightweight and easy to wear for any child.
Oakley Accessories
All Oakley eyewear products come with sleek black case, microfibre bag and a changeable nose-pad where applicable. Oakley also stocks several accessories to go along with their eyewear pieces. These include additional microfibre bags, leash kits and their ‘ellipse o array case’. The case makes the perfect travel accessory for any athlete who needs to take their sports sunglasses on the go, with room for additional lenses. Oakley glasses are the perfect choice for any athlete. Their eyewear range is specifically designed with comfort and functionality in mind to give you a product that will last a lifetime.
The top competitor for Oakley is Ray Ban. If you liked this article consider reading the article about Ray Ban.
