There’s a an eyewear trend bubbling under right now that’s been catching my attention, and I’ve been on the fence for a little while.
Rather than deep dark lenses, designed to protect your eyes and help you go incognito, sunglasses with gently tinted lenses have been growing in popularity. Think, amber, grey, pale green, gradient purple, lemon and blush pink.
They’ve been around for a bit over the past two or three years but we think this might just be the season the look skyrockets.
There’s a certain appeal in an accessory that, rather than hiding your eyes, let’s everyone know just what you’re thinking.
That, and when you slide the frames with sunny yellow, mellow blue or cheerful pink lenses on, suddenly everything looks a whole lot more cheerful (especially the Auckland weather!).
The recent rise in favour probably has more to do with the timing of the northern hemisphere summer than anything else, but we can’t discount the serious 2000s nostalgia playing a part.
We’ve also recently clocked the K-beauty approach of glasses with a pink gradient from the bottom-up, supposed to give you the look of wearing blush makeup, a sweet twist on the tint trend.
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If you peruse the ‘just-in’ section of eyewear retailers, you’ll know ‘rose-tinted’ glasses are a serious trend, as are plenty of those other light lense hues.
For those of us in winter climes, the more subtle tint is the perfect solution to reduce glare, filtering specific wavelengths of light and reducing overall brightness without being too dark for cloudy days. Yellow or light orange tints can even help objects stand out in low light, fog, or overcast conditions.
One caveat is that very light tints usually don’t provide very strong UV protection (unless specifically labeled), so beware of wearing in very bright light.
And those wanting a prescription may have to look a little harder, although its not out of the question, as this Specsavers guide goes to show.
So what’s new and notable?
Prada’s new release is a trend one-two in the form of bold retro-shaped round frames, with the sweetest pink lenses and Miu Miu’s Aube glasses are pure aughts perfection.
But what really has us sold on the idea is the smart thinking from hip New York eyewear brand Moscot. Its Dolt Tint collection features adaptive lenses that transition from light to dark depending on your environment, but in a number of more subtle colourways, rather than the extremely dark versions of previous adaptive sunglasses.
So, how do you feel about this playful glasses trend? We’re coming around.
