A stylish pair of shades can be a summer gamechanger, but which brand should you choose?
Holland-based Ace&Tate create timeless, on-trend sunglasses (Photo: Ace & Tate)
Like SPF and waterproof mascara, a stylish pair of shades are a sunshine staple. But finding a pair that can protect your eyes from the glaring sun and provide 100% UVA/ UVB protection while elevating your outfit isn’t easy talk. We’ve rounded up our go-to design sunglasses brands for women that combine style and sun protection, with shapes and silhouettes to suit every face shape.
Ace & Tate
This Holland-based brand is renowned for creating on-trend designs that also stand the test of time. They’re also committed to sustainable practices, with goals to reduce the brand’s carbon footprint and reach carbon-neutral targets by 2030. The design brand offers a wide range of sunglasses to choose from, but the Byron is a particularly popular model. Featuring round acetate frames, this laid-back yet luxurious pair of sunnies is available in four funky colours: golden brown, space (bright tortoiseshell), sugarman (khaki) and aster (lilac). From $125.
Buy at Aceandtate.com
Balenciaga
Balenciaga is beloved for its big, bold and unusual shapes (Photo: SunglassesHut.com)
Founded in 1917 by Cristóbal Balenciaga, this superstar Spanish brand is renowned for its big, bold and unusual sunglasses shapes. From sporty shades to futuristic frames, a pair of Balenciaga shades is guaranteed to elevate any outfit, which makes them particularly popular with style-conscious sun-seekers who rally against understated styles. Most of the brand’s sunglasses frames are made from coloured acetate with gold details at the temple or on the arms, but shapes vary significantly. Popular ranges include the Butterfly Sunglasses, which replicate the insect’s silhouette with a shape that flatters most face shapes, and the Cat Eye Sunglasses, which offer a modern take on the classic cat-eye shape. From $280.
Buy at SunglassesHut.com
Celine
Combining French style with urban edge, Celine eyewear is popular and highly collectible. The brand was founded by Parisian husband-and-wife team in 1945 as a children’s shoe company, but by the 1960s had established itself as a fashion powerhouse. Shades tend to be oversized, made from sturdy acetate for durability and neat hinged arms for easy transportation. Their coveted flat-top square frames flatter a variety of face shapes and can be paired with a mirrored and tinted ombre finish for a vintage-inspired look. From $360.
Buy at SunglassesHut.com
Dior
Dior is well-known for their barely-there frames (Photo: SolsticeSunglasses.com)
French designer label Dior has been serving up eyecatching and elegant eyeware since the 1960s. Today, its range encompasses hundreds of styles and shapes that appeal to women of all ages, from boomers to the Insta-generation. They’re a go-to brand for women looking for classy and cool sunglasses, generating around $223 mn from eyeware alone every year. Unlike the Italian and Spanish fashion houses, Dior’s sunglasses tend to feature slimmer frames with barely-there frames that won’t overwhelm the face. The So Real range, which took Instagram by storm in 2014, remains one of its best-sellers. These ultra-feminine shades feature millimetres-thick lenses, almost-aviator shape and absent nose bridge. From $380.
Buy at SolsticeSunglasses.com
Gucci
The epitome of cool for more than century, Gucci is renowned for its dramatic and timeless sunglasses designs for women. You’ll find all the classic shapes – cat-eye, rectangle, oval – as well as some more unusual, geometric silhouettes for more daring wearers. Most frames are made from chunky acetate in sleek black or tortoiseshell, though a few feature gold wire frames instead. Gucci’s signature oval sunglasses are universally popular and widely recommended for people with more angular features. All glasses offer offer 100% UV/UVB protection too. From $247.
Buy at Fasioneyewear.com
Izipizi
Izipizi offers a wide range of affordable design sunglasses (Photo: Izipizi)
For a more affordable sunglasses design brand, look to the Parisian-based label, Izipizi. The brand offers more than 100 styles, including retro, iconic, trapeze, round and aviator silhouettes. Their Sun #D range is particularly popular thanks to its universally flattering round frames, slick rubber texture and 100% UV protection. Shades are affordably priced at under $50 a pop too. Like Ace & Tate, the brand is committed to reducing its carbon footprint, with an aim to halve its carbon footprint and use at least 30% bio-based products by the end of 2023. From $50.
Buy at Izipizi.com
Le Specs
The aptly-named Le Specs was founded in the late 1970s and is renowned for creating undeniably chic shades at an affordable price tag. Fans of the brand include Beyonce, Rihanna, Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. The Air Heart, which sold out within seconds of Meghan Markle sporting them for her baby shower, are one of the brand’s most iconic pairs. The exaggerated Old Hollywood-style cat-eye silhouette, which nods to Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, features thick polished acetate frames that are as durable as they are stylish. From ¢60.
Buy at Matchesfashion.com
Maui Jim
Maui Jim Mavericks (Photo: Maui Jim)
Beloved for its premium, polarised lenses, Maui Jim is the third-largest sunglasses producer in the world. The brand was founded in Lahaina on the west coast of Maui in 1980, and many of its most popular designs are inspired and named after the island’s landscapes, like the Jim Red Sands and the Sugar Beach shades. There are hundreds of styles and shapes on offer, from barely-there to bold frames, but every single pair features polarised Plus 2 technology, which eliminates glare and augments colour for unrivalled visual acuity, contrast and colour. From $169.99.
Buy at SunglassesHut.com
Ray-Ban
Possibly one of the most famous and consistently cool design sunglasses brands in the world, Ray-Ban has been shielding our eyes since the early 1950s. Popular with everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Michael Jackson, the brand has added a whole string of sunglasses styles to its bow. The Classic Aviator was the first pair of shades on the scene and remains the brand’s most iconic; a timeless shape that combines exceptional quality and comfort with a flattering silhouette for most face shapes. The Original Wayfarer is a big seller too. From $150.
Buy at SolsticeSunglasses.com
Versace
Versace’s sunglasses range are instantly recognisable (Photo: SunglassesHut.com)
Versace made its name in the 1980s and early 1990s and its now one if Italy’s most famous fashion powerhouses. Beloved for their ultra-glam and theatrical creations, glasses tend to combine classical motifs with unusual silhouettes. Versace’s biggest brand ambassador was the Notorious B.I.G (Biggie Smalls), who even inspired a range of thick black frames, but they’re popular with female A-listers too. The Medusa range, inspired by ‘90s hip-hop and recognisable for its square shape and dark tinted lenses, is the brand’s biggest seller. From $230.
Buy at SunglassesHut.com