Well, Meghan Markle certainly set a trend when she wore her Linda Farrow designer sunglasses to her friend’s wedding in the UK earlier this year. At about £545 they are way beyond most of our budgets, even if they are made from Japanese titanium and then plated with 18–22 carat gold. It’s hard to believe that even at this price they were sold out around the world.
This pair of sunnies from Le Specs is a similar shape without the ‘real gold’, is available in three colours, and is much more reasonably priced.
There are several major trends in sunglasses this season. Some are way too funky for me, and are seriously only suited to a very limited market. I will let you decide what you think is practical and what works for you.
The mirrored look with coloured lenses
This is a very popular trend in glasses, but I would find them way too impractical, as they offer little or no protection from the sun. They may look great, but I need shades that protect my eyes! The mirrored lenses in this ice blue pair from Sportsgirl are also available in a range of really pretty soft pastels from pale peach, grey and soft lilac and retail for under $40.
The oversized round … my personal favourite
The oversized round sunglass can look fantastic if you can carry off the look. Sometimes, they can be bejewelled like this pair, or they can just be plain and sharp. Audrey Hepburn wore a pair of fabulous black oversized sunnies in Breakfast at Tiffany, and she looked amazing. This tortoiseshell frame is a great alternative for those who can’t wear a black frame.
The catseye or the skinny sunglass
The catseye reminds me of my mother when she wore this style of sunglass in the late 1950s. It’s very chic in white, but also look amazing in both the tortoiseshell and the black. I almost feel that this look requires a skinny crop pant, ballet slippers and a scarf wrapped around the head as Princess Grace of Monaco would have done in her sports car with the roof down!
The flat top and the aviator
The flat top or the aviator are timeless classics, suited to both men and women. I love this tortoiseshell frame, but certainly at this price they are an investment. This metal-framed pair of aviators might work along with these fabulous black and very square-framed sunnies.
You can spend a lot of money on sunglasses as an investment, where you have them polarised and your prescription added to them. Alternatively, you can go the way of the disposable fashion sunglass, and change them each year.
Do you look after your sunnies or are they scratched after the first few months? Are you diligent about wearing them for their intended purpose or are they more of fashion item? Do you have any Stylewatch questions for Peta? Email them to newsletters@yourlifechoices.com.au.
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