Richard Ramirez Sunglasses

We Attempt to Identify the Sunglasses Worn by Richard Ramirez During his Trials

Dudded the ‘Nigh Stalker’ for this cluster of crimes, Richard Ramirez is one of America’s most notorious serial killers. I wouldn’t normally write an article regarding a convicted criminal but there seems to be a lot of attention around a certain photograph of Ramirez taken during his trial back in 1989. This series of images, shown above and below, show Ramirez wearing a distinctive pair of sunglasses and a tailored suit. To this day, it still baffles many how Ramirez was revered during this trial, almost gaining a following for celebrity/sexual status regardless of the crimes he committed.

So it was surprising to me, that he was even allowed to wear such an entire that could only benefit him further garnering status from his classy look. Even in 2023, Ramirez still has a substantial amount of people searching for the brand of sunglasses he wore (the latest being this Reddit Post from 2021) which goes to show the influence his look has on many. You only need to take one look at the comments section of this video here, to see people still fawning over him which is frankly obscene, to say the least.

It was even said, that Ramiez was planning on launching his own line of sunglasses and he was quoted he’d want to be buried in sunglasses as he’s be the ‘coolest corpse’. I have no idea if these states are true as I couldn’t find any verifiable proof he ever said these things, but for many, this just adds to this history and the bizarre fantasy surrounding Ramirez. Another instance of where Ramiez’s sunglasses hit the headlines was documented in a news article from the time of this trial. It states that Ramiez was asked several times to remove his sunglasses but he refused to do so. I quote: ”The judge did not persist but told his court reporter to write in the official trial transcript that Ramirez had refused to stand up and take off his sunglasses” (UPI.COM).

Let me get one thing straight, the purpose of this article is solely for educational, research, and archival purposes. I, The author, do not condone or promote the replication of Richard Ramirez’s look or style, as this would be inappropriate and insensitive given the severity of his crimes. The identification of the glasses worn by Richard Ramirez is presented solely as a factual matter, and not as an endorsement or recommendation of his personal style or choices. I, The author, recognize the sensitive nature of the topic and encourage readers to approach it with respect and sensitivity. With this being said, let’s now go on a hunt to see if I go about successfully identifying the sunglasses worn by Richard Ramirez.

Richard Ramirez: What we know so far

Before I start throwing various brands at you let’s start looking at what we already know. From the pictures, it’s clear that these sunglasses are in part based on Aviator Sunglasses and are one of the various Aviator-Style sunglasses Ray-Ban designed and popularised back in the 1950s. There are very few color photos of his sunglasses but the ones I could find show that the entire glasses, frame, and lenses, are completely black. Having both the date of when he wore them (1989), the general style (Aviators), and the colorway (Black) provides me with some decent information on where to begin my search.

The next thing I wanted to do, is search the internet to see what other information others have on the potential brand of these sunglasses. As previously said, the Reddit thread above is the most recent example of people talking about Ramirez’s frames. That being said, there are many other instances of others on the internet discussing his sunglasses. The likes of videos online and social media including TikTok, further confirmed to me the bizarre state in which serial killers are admired and viewed as celebrities somehow rationalizing their crimes and devaluing the severity of them – I had stumbled across a Rabbit hole.

One such example of this bizarre behavior is from a TikTok account called ‘richardsbaby84‘. This person is clearly obsessed with Ramirez creating a variety of different videos supporting the killer even going as far as the create Ramirez in The Sims, and creating one video that seems to form a religion around ‘Satan‘ (most likely due to Ramirez’s having said ‘Hail Satan‘ once). I wanted to keep searching but through better of it.

Richard Ramirez Sunglasses: Identifying the brand

After much consideration, reading, searching, and discovering things I really wish I hadn’t, I really had to stop the process of finding these sunglasses. My best guess as to the brand of sunglasses worn by Ramiez is a pair of Ray-Ban Outdoorsman. These sunglasses seem to fit the description completely with the large plastic bar extending from the Bridge connecting the two frames together. This would also align with when the trial was as the Outdoorsman sunglasses were first launched as far back as 1940. To further this, look back at old Ray-Ban catalogs and promotional materials showcasing these glasses in all-black while also committing the Ray-Ban logo on the lenses (which Ramirez’s don’t have). It’s also entirely possible that the sunglasses did have the logo on them but they were edited out so as to not cause legal trouble with the brand being associated with a criminal.

I guess I only have myself to blame for writing this article. After all, the majority of people who want to look, dress and replicate the look of Ramirez are probably the only people who seem to be a fan of this in the first place. If this is you, then I have no words. If you simply like the style regardless of who’s wearing them then I’d say these are a great pair of sunglasses and are timeless in their style. The Ray-Ban Outdoorsman sunglasses can be purchased from the official Ray-Ban website here, or find them on Amazon using the link below.