Oval sunglasses, round sunglasses and rectangle sunglasses are three generic styles of sunglasses which include oval, round and rectangular lenses respectively. They can vary a great deal in terms of size, materials and style, and are three of the most common sunglasses styles for both men and women. Oval, round, and rectangle sunglasses for women tend to be similar to the equivalent styles for men but daintier. These three styles are perfect for any era or occasion. While oval and rectangular sunglasses are not particular evocative in a vintage sense, they are great for any setting and have been worn by many celebrities. We are also looking at wire-rim round sunglasses (also known as “teashades” or “John Lennon glasses”). Other celebrities who wore teashades included Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia, and Liam Gallagher. Teashades were popular in the 60s but haven’t been a major trend in quite some time.
It’s the New Year, which means a new you, and you can cultivate a fresh, revitalizing image with brand new designer sunglasses which convey your personality and sophistication to others. So far the year is still young, but we can look to sunglasses styles 2011 made popular to get a feel for what will be trendy this year. What new sunglasses styles will change the look of the world this year? What classic sunglasses styles will persist? What designer sunglasses brands will be big in 2012?
Some of the styles which we can expect to be big this year include aviator sunglasses, cat eye sunglasses, oval sunglasses, rectangle sunglasses, round sunglasses, shield sunglasses, wayfarer sunglasses, and wraparound sunglasses. Many of these styles were prominent in previous years and even now. Not familiar with all of them? We’ll introduce you to each individual style for 2012 so that you can choose the best pair of sunglasses to suit your face and personality. Many celebrity sunglasses in 2011 were designed in these fashionable styles; chic brands included Gucci, Oakley, Prada, Versace, Carerra, Ray-Ban sunglasses and more.
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Retro sunglasses
To start with the top of our complete sunglasses style list, let’s talk about aviator sunglasses. Aviator sunglasses are a cool, retro style developed back in 1936 by Ray-Ban for pilots to wear while flying to protect their eyes. After only a year the public realized how fashionable they looked, and Ray-Ban started selling them to everyone. Aviator sunglasses are evocative of an earlier epoch and bring to mind high-flying action, as well as the many famous people who have worn them in subsequent years, including General Douglas MacArthur, Michael Jackson, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. You may also remember them from Top Gun back in the 80s, after which they again became a trendy men’s sunglasses style. Even though the 80s have come and gone, aviator style sunglasses remain a trendy best-seller.
Cat eye sunglasses are another vintage trend which was mostly popular back in the 1950s and the 1960s. Cat eye sunglasses are largely a women’s sunglasses style, hearkening back to the styles of glasses worn by classy vintage ladies like Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Windsor, Dinah Manoff, Lisa Loeb, and others. Cat eye glasses were followed up by bug-eye glasses in the 1970s, which remain a more enduring fashion. Cat eye sunglasses are still very fashionable though and in 2011 experienced some revitalization. These are great sunglasses to wear to stand out from the crowd and cultivate a vintage look.
Evergreen sunglasses
Wayfarer sunglasses
Another style of sunglasses designed by Ray-Ban is wayfarers. Wayfarer sunglasses are also a vintage style, originally very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. These sunglasses are wider at the top and narrower at the bottom and feature a trapezoidal shape. During the 1970s these sunglasses went out of fashion, but came back in style in the 1980s when they featured prominently in films and shows like The Blues Brothers, Miami Vice, and The Breakfast Club. Musicians who have sported Wayfarers include Roy Orbison, Michael Jackson, Debbie Harry, Madonna, and Michael Jackson. These are the sunglasses which are referenced by Canadian pop musician Corey Hart in his famous song Sunglasses at Night.
During the 1990s wayfarers fell out of style again, superseded by wraparound frames. In the Aughts though, Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses were redesigned in a smaller, less angular style, and once again showed signs of making a comeback. In 2008 celebrity star Edward Cullen were wearing them in Twilight, and just two years before that Katy Perry wore wayfarers in her Grammy-nominated music video “Teenage Dream.” So we may well see wayfarers making a resurgence in popularity this year. Even though they have fallen in and out of style they are perhaps among the most enduring sunglasses styles Ray-Ban has created.
Wraparound sunglasses
Two modern styles of sunglasses which became popular in the 1990s include shield sunglasses and wraparound sunglasses. Unlike other styles of sunglasses, wraparounds and shields feature a single lens instead of two separate lenses. The lenses used in these styles of sunglasses are curved slightly and include only a minimal frame and a nosepiece. With these types of sunglasses it is the sleek, aerodynamic look of the lens itself which creates the sense of style, not the frame. Shield sunglasses can feature a narrow ear stems, which sets them apart from the wraparound look, or they can feature wider ear stems, which mimics the look of wraparound sunglasses. Some wraparound sunglasses include two separate lenses, but still in the same curved style of the wraparound glasses. These glasses typically cover a wider area of the face than other sunglasses.
Oversized sunglasses
Finally, one last style which has become very popular in the Aughts is the oversized sunglasses style. In particular, the bug-eye style sun glasses of the 1970s, 80s and 90s have made a real comeback in the late Aughts. Famous celebrities, past and present, who have donned bug-eye glasses include Audrey Hepburn, Paris Hilton, Victoria Beckham, Nicole Richie, and Cheryl Tweedy. Bug-eye glasses cover a very wide area of the face and so they are particularly associated with celebrities, who wear them to hide from the paparazzi. They remain a trend among celebrities for this practical reason, and have also spread to the masses who want to evoke the same glamour in their day to day lives. They are now a very popular women’s sunglasses style and were among the top selling sunglasses of 2011.
While other styles of sunglasses do exist, we think that these are going to be the trendy sunglasses for 2012. They are all manufactured by popular and well respected sunglasses designers like Burberry, Ray-Ban, Marc Jacobs, Fendi, and Oakley. Designs are available for men and women and many unisex styles are also available. Whether you choose to go with something sleek and modern or something vintage, you’ll want to incorporate other considerations into your choice of sunglasses. Take into consideration the shape of your face, the clothing you wear, and what message you want to convey with your personal sense of style. Many of these styles of shades go way back and have stood the test of time, while others are popular because they are new and futuristic. These are all popular eyewear styles we saw in 2011 for classic, fashion and sports sunglasses, and this year many of them should be bigger than ever!
