Classic Sunglasses

The Features

In many cases, one of the main features of a classic style is the oversized lens. Think of the oversized glasses of Jackie O's day. Think of the aviator styles that have been around since the 1940s. They all share one trait: their ability to shield quite a bit of sun! As long as you read the label on the glasses before you buy and make sure they're going to efficiently protect you from UVA and UVB rays, your eyes won't have to worry, and you won't get too much sun damage on a large portion of your face, either.

Aside from the big sunglasses and aviator styles, there are also the small, round lenses made most popular by John Lennon. This style is seen frequently with brightly colored lenses.

Why Some Have Better UV Protection

Size matters. As long as the lenses you're considering are equal in all other ways, the bigger the better. The more surface area the glasses cover, and the better they contour to your face, the less sun can get in and do damage to your eyes or the skin around your eyes. That's not to say that everyone should walk around sporting the fly look, but if you're having a hard time choosing between two flattering frames, choose the one that blocks the most sun. Just read the UV label.

Fit Your Face

As mentioned earlier, if your face is very small or very round, you may not want to go for the big, black, round Jackie O style glasses. That's fine. You can still grab a pair of classic sunglasses that do flatter your face shape. Aviator styles tend to look good on everyone because they're large but don't tend to be overpowering, and their curves are more flattering to a wider variety of face shapes.

Add-Ons

Classic styles don't mean you need to ignore the trends or the new developments in lenses. Anti-reflective coating, for example, or ARC, is a fairly new addition to the optical world. You may not be able to add it to cheap sunglasses, but if you're going to buy prescription sunglasses or have some custom made, you can definitely add it on. What ARC does is give you cleaner, crisper vision by reducing even more of the sun's glare. That makes it an excellent addition to sunglasses you'll be wearing while you're driving.

Different tints make things fun. The world doesn't have to be seen in all gray or amber. If you're having a pair custom made (and even if you're not), you can pick your own lens color. Want to see the world through rose-colored glasses? No problem. Make sure you try the color in outdoor lighting first. Sometimes special colors don't offer enough protection against bright light to offer your eyes the relief they deserve. If you do choose an unusual lens color, though, that's one way to update an old style.

Just because the styles don't change doesn’t mean all the details remain the same. Oversized glasses can be updated with rhinestones on the temples or even little details in the corners of the lenses. Pictures can be etched on the glass.

Materials can range from plastic to titanium. Titanium has just become prevalent in some styles. Most of the titanium frames are targeted toward men, but you can find titanium frames for women, too. Tend to break your frames? That's okay. Try out the new flex styles. They bend when you sit on them. Toss them around and the frames won't break (careful with the lenses though! If you're really rough on sunglasses, try polycarbonate lenses instead of typical plastic).

Classic styles are always a good bet, especially if you're going to be spending quite a bit on a nice pair of sunglasses. They'll never go out of style. The updates you may choose to make can be cosmetic or practical, but in most cases, they, too, will look timeless.

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