Whatever your face shape, there’s a style of sunglasses to highlight your best features and disguise things you’d rather hide.
With the heat finally hitting us, the need to shield our eyes in style is more important than ever, so we asked sunglasses expert Stewart Walton for some advice for finding the perfect pair of shades.
RESCU: What sunglass shapes are best for these face types?
Stewart Walton: Try to find a style of sunglass that is the opposite to your features, for example, if you have an angular, defined face, its best to select something round, curvy, as this will soften what can be harsher features. Equally if you have quite a round face, find something rectangular, more defined, as round styles will only exaggerate your face shape.
We do often find people who deliberately select the opposite of what we would recommend if they want to deliver a certain look. It’s the beauty of sunglasses, they are just designed to help people find what’s cool for them!
RESCU: What’s new for this summer- colours, shapes and materials?
Stewart Walton: In the previous couple of seasons we have seen a lot of neutrals and pastel colours, this year features a lot more pop colours. We are seeing yellows, reds, vibrant blues, with some brands matching the lens colour to the frame colour for even more of a colour pop.
2012 saw the return of the iconic Clubmaster, and that’s definitely still around in a big way, but I like the evolution of the round lens trend. It has become more oversized and as a consequence easier to wear and more feminine.
As for materials, there seems to have been an explosion of mixing material with plastic-creating texture being key! Many sunglasses now feature canvas, leather and even gold, Giorgio Armani has released as part of their Garnconne collection a great cat-eye piece that combines acetate, gold plating and velvet.
RESCU: What’s the best choice of style for all round style and protection?
Stewart Walton: High wrap styles typically offer the best protection against the elements, however if you are wanting a little more style to go with it the best combination is a shield. These remain a favourite in Australia with virtually all brands offering them in their collections. A stand out this season is the Emporio Armani ‘Kajal’ shield, which is the epitome of glamour.
RESCU: Any recommendations for high fashion styles to instantly update our look?
Stewart Walton: Yes, too many to mention! I love what Burberry have done this season in their Prorsum segment. They’ve mixed classic sunglass shapes with graphic animal prints with the standout piece, being the snow leopard print, it’s effortlessly cool.
If you’re feeling more adventurous two releases this season really stood out. The first was the updated Prada Minimal Baroque. The Baroque was their key release two years ago and this year they’ve updated it in the Prada Ornate collection. It now comes adorned with over 150 crystals and is a real show stopper.
Another statement piece came from Dolce & Gabbana. They have released a Filigrana collection, where they have been able to curl, twist and plait fine threads of metal, into something really sophisticated, elegant and feminine.
If these prove to be a little too adventurous, you can easily update your look with one of the many amazing mirrored lens options, such as the Rose Mirror Ray-Ban aviator which is particularly striking.
Stewart Walton is the Director of Buying at Sunglass Hut see below his edit to suit your face shape
Image: Zimbio
