Simple style
Sunglasses
That moment when the sun shines brightly enough to justify wearing a favourite pair of sunglasses is a moment to lift the heart. Snap open the case, slip them on and it’s like saying hello to an old friend. Of course they offer welcome protection from harmful UV rays but that’s just the start and, to be totally honest, comes quite a long way down the list of priorities when choosing a pair. The right pair of sunglasses provides an instant and easy way to lift your look from normal to almost glamorous. Take a cue from Jackie Kennedy Onassis (right), whose over-sized pair not only shielded her from public and paparazzi scrutiny but helped to endow her with iconic fashion status.
Sunglasses also have great concealing powers: whether it’s to hide a lack of makeup, laughter lines or baggy and bloodshot eyes. Wear a pair and you can pretend that you are a wasted rock legend or a jet-lagged film star rather than someone who had a little too much prosecco the night before.
Safe behind the tinted lenses and the cheekbone-flattering frames, you can be anyone you choose, or at least a boosted version of yourself. Bono, that inveterate wearer of tinted, wrap-around shades (Emporio Armani, if you’re curious) knows
“Safe behind the tinted lenses, you can be anyone you choose”
this only too well: without them, he confesses, he would look like “an ordinary little Irish man”.
Although eye protection can be traced back to prehistory when Inuits squinted against the sun through slits in walrus-ivory glasses, sunglasses first became popular when worn by film stars in the 1920s. Worn on set, they shielded their eyes from powerful arc lights. Mass production began in 1929 when Sam Foster manufactured the first inexpensive versions made from celluloid, under the Foster Grant label. Before you knew it, everyone had a pair.
Nowadays, of course, there are many different options to choose from but certain styles are a constant. Aviators, which were introduced in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb to be worn by US military pilots (and worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun) with their large, light frames will remain forever cool, and Ray-Ban’s Wayfarers with their thick, black, tapered frames sported by Roy Orbison, James Dean and Buddy Holly, will always be hip. The only word of caution is that however tempting, don’t wear a pair indoors or when it’s raining – that isn’t cool at all.