Don’t you hate it when your gray sunglasses are too dark for those cloudy days, but the sunlight filtering through the clouds is painful without some sun protection?  Or how about when you’re out on the water and your brown lenses, which work great for offroad cycling, just don’t give enough protection for the intensity of the bright sun and reflected light?  And then there’s the problem of fashion.  It’s hard to get one pair of sunglasses that works well with all your outfits. Well, Porsche – yes, the fancy car people – came up with an innovative solution way back in 1978:  The P´8478 sunglass frame with interchangeable lenses.  Porsche’s eyewear line, dubbed “Porsche Design” was created in 1972 by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. It was (and still is) manufactured by Carrera.

With the resurgence of interest in 1970s aviator style eyeglass frames, Porsche has decided to relaunch the P´8478 model.  The frame is made of titanium – a super-strong, yet lightweight metal that can take the stress of bending through lens swaps. It features an innovative clip mechanism that makes swapping the lenses a breeze.  Each pair comes with a frame and two sets of high quality polycarbonate lenses with 100% UV-block and superb optics.

You can opt for a gold frame with brown and mirrored blue lens pairs, a titanium-colored frame with mirrored gray gradient and unmirrored green lenses, a gray matt frame with green and mirrored dark orange lenses, or a sleek black matt frame with mirrored olive or unmirrored brown lenses.

Never-worn vintage Porsche Design model 5627 available at Providence Optical

 

If you love the idea of Porsche eyewear and want an original vintage for your regular (non-sun) glasses, we have on hand one pair of a similar model, the 5627, which dates back to the 1980s.  The frame is semi-rimless with an innovative design featuring a nylon cord that stretches over both lenses – a truly unique feat of engineering that you could only expect from a superior industrial design company like Porsche. This is a never-worn pair in pristine condition, and we offer it for only $187 (compared to $330 by other retailers for the sunglass counterpart).  Come in and try them on for a trip back to the Age of Aquarius.