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Hot weather like this can prove challenging. You can’t wear what you usually wear and last year’s holiday sundress looks like a dishcloth (what happened!). But, thank heavens, there are always sunglasses.
Why we don’t take sunnies at least as seriously as shoes, I do not know. They are style plus face camouflage, and once you’re in the 50-plus zone there’s no better, not to mention more economical, way to inject some edge into your look and disguise tired eyes and wrinkles at the same time. The right ones work like a mini-facelift.
By the same token, sunglasses can also make you look older. The narrow oval ones currently enjoying a revival thanks to Love Story, the Netflix series about Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (hers were Aldo from Selima Optique), are a case in point; they might be on trend but they don’t have the coverage, so they manage to exaggerate your brow and undereye bags.
At the other end of the scale ‘shield’ styles – oversize frameless sunglasses that look like a cross between ski googles and dental safety eyewear – create a hard line just under the cheekbones which tends to exaggerate the droop of your cheeks.
Of all Demi Moore’s appearances on the red carpet at Cannes, the only one that misfired was when she wore black shield shades: although they covered half her face they made the lower, visible part, look older.
That’s not to say all oversize sunglasses are a bad idea. The key direction for sunglasses is oversize and substantial with solid acetate frames rather than wire ones; unisex cool rather than old-school glamour. Cat-eyes, butterfly shapes, round styles big and small are better off left in the drawer for now – they all have just a whiff of Florida retirement home.
Of all Demi Moore’s appearances on the red carpet at Cannes, the only one that misfired was when she wore black shield shades
The fashion forward choice is between a new look Aviator style – squarer and 70s in feel – or more futuristic shield styles (which owe a lot to Phoebe Philo’s Half Bombe style) or squared-frame sunglasses with wide temples. My current favourite sunglasses source is the Danish eyewear brand A.Kjaerbede and it stocks excellent affordable examples of all the above and many more.
Oversize Aviators with a solid bar linking the lenses across the top – or ‘browbar’ – is the shape that’s way ahead of the field and A.Kjaerbede’s Kaya (£29.95, uk.akjaerbede.com) is my favourite. They don’t finish too low down on the cheek the way classic Aviators do. (I always find that gives you a slightly dragging bloodhound look.) Part of the appeal of the browbar is that the gap above the nose lightens the heavier frames, making them more versatile than solid Aviators, and unlike, say, cat-eyes, this style looks good in cooler weather, so you can wear them year round.
I’d get them in tortoiseshell. Brown and tortoiseshell are top of the fashion charts for eyewear, as well as softer on older complexions.
Stronger animal-print finishes or ‘striped horn’ works well too; they’re great for dressing up plain clothes and those, plus some red lipstick, is all you need to make a black summer dress glamorous rather than draining.
The Rio oversize shield Aviators (£29.50) are nothing like as severe as shield styles can be (see Demi) and these are surprisingly flattering on, albeit a big statement. They could work as a counterbalance to a pretty summer dress.
Last but not least, A.Kjaerbede’s squared thick frame halo style (£29.95) are a good everyday all rounder.
I also like the Billy Square Ombre sunglasses (£30, thewhitecompany.com) which are darker on the upper frames fading to a paler brown – for something with inbuilt either/or glamour. Now is also a good time to play with brown lenses rather than black.
You can get sunglasses cheaper of course – and Mango has plenty of good styles including tortoiseshell Aviators (£22.99, shop.mango.com) and oval oversized glasses (£19.99, johnlewis.com). But the more you’re prepared to pay, the further your sunglasses will take you, the longer they will last and the better for your eyes they will be (always check the UV – A.Kjaerbede’s are 400, one of the highest levels of protection available).
The good news is that 20 years ago, you had to buy a designer pair to get the necessary quality. Now, the High Street has sunglasses that are just as desirable.
I’d look in Cos too, and buy two styles. It’s a good idea to have a medium-size rectangular black pair for a more business-like look (£65, cos.com).
One more tip for those who don’t want their sunnies to age them: don’t wear them on top of your head.
