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Lou Reed's Shady Past

The Velvet Underground once said they wore sunglasses on stage “because they couldn’t stand the sight of their audience.” Now, famed frontman Lou Reed has designed a pair of his own with cult brand Illesteva. Reed celebrated the launch with L'Officiel Hommes at The Top of The Standard this week, but did not — shockingly, and to our great disappointment — show up wearing tinted shades. Nonetheless, here's a Brief History of Lou Reed Wearing Sunglasses Indoors. Despite what you might think, he was the first person in history to pull it off!


Factory Lou, with Andy


Velvets Lou


Velvets Lou, Part Deux, with Nico


Max's Kansas City Lou, with Ziggy and Iggy


American Idol Lou


Glam Rock Lou


Early-Seventies Lou


Late-Seventies Lou, at the Bottom Line


Awesomely-Eighties Lou


Lou Today

To get the Lou Reed look, you'll have to wait 'til October.

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