Plenty of famous people throughout history are known for their sunglasses. Just look at Bob Dylan’s Wayfarer-inspired frames, Audrey Hepburn’s humongous black frames from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Andy Warhol’s elegant Moscot Miltzen, or the perfectly round sunglasses often spotted on John Lennon. But few have embraced and made a pair iconic quite like the King of Rock ’n’ Roll himself — Elvis Presley.
Most of us think of Las Vegas, bedazzled jumpsuits, and thick black hair growing into wild sideburns when we think of Elvis. What makes that look complete are the large pilot-shaped shades, finishing off his totally unique and personal style. Noticeable on his custom frames were the letters ”EP” at the bridge, and the letters ”TCB”, short for his motto ”taking care of business”, on the actual frame.
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Elvis Presley's favorite shades came from German manufacturer Neostyle. They started making high quality sunglasses in the region of Stuttgart in South Germany in 1961, and soon word of the incredible quality of their frames spread across the world. Neostyle was a company that managed to charm not only Elvis, but other celebrities like Don King and Ray Charles as well. The Elvis-preferred model Nautic 2 can be obtained even today for just over $200.
While visiting his optician on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Elvis ordered five pairs of the Nautic 2, and subsequently three more with solid gold frames, according to Neostyle founder Konstantin Livas.
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In 2014, Elvis’ former wife Priscilla Presley released a book called ”Shades of Elvis”, an idea brought to her by photographer Christopher Ameruoso that became a passion project for the former actress and wife of the King. The book is filled with photographs of famous people wearing Elvis’ personal pair of glasses.
According to Priscilla, Elvis bought the glasses featured in the book back in 1970. They were out shopping together on Sunset Boulevard, when they stopped at Optique Boutique, a well-known optician to the stars. The shopkeeper brought out a pair that he thought would fit, since they covered his eyebrows — one of the most important aspects to consider when picking out sunglasses, according to Dennis Roberts, the store owner who made sunglasses for Hollywood celebrities. These shades have been stored in the Graceland archives since Elvis' death in 1977.
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”Everyone who held his sunglasses had so much respect and care," Priscilla told the Huffington Post in 2014. "They handled them so gently as if a fragile piece of art. Christopher said Johnny Depp just studied them for about three minutes, carefully tilting them in different positions and with utmost respect. Each person could relate to the glasses however they wanted."
Then in 2018, the pair of Elvis sunglasses used for the photo book curated by Priscilla Presley, sold at an auction for a record $130,000. This is confirmed to be the highest price ever paid at auction for a pair of Elvis glasses, per Forbes Magazine and GWS Auctions. The glasses were comprised of 14K gold, chrome and plastic, and were worn on the King’s last Hawaiian vacation in 1977. He died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42.
At the time of the auction, the owner of GWS Auctions, Brigitte Kruse, said that ”our bidders from around the world made this one of the most exciting auctions we have ever held.”
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Another pair of Elvis’ sunglasses that were made for him by Dennis Roberts sold at Julien's back in 2014, accompanied by a letter from Elvis Presley’s bodyguard Dave Hebler. The letter states that Elvis handed his glasses to Hebler for him to hold when Elvis was part of a karate demonstration. He then told Hebler he could keep the glasses. The glasses sold for $21,760.
There’s definitely an abundance of iconic sunglasses on the market, but none will ever come close to being as famed as Elvis’ custom made ”TCB” frames, just as synonymous with the King as his pompadour from the '50s or his bedazzled jumpsuit worn on stage.
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Text by David Johansson
