Sunglasses

Oliver Tree in 2023 Wearing Sunglasses

Sunglasses are dark tinted eyeglasses. They are often worn to protect the eyes from sunlight or as a fashion accessory. Some of the most popular brands include:

• Ray-ban
• Oakley
• Prada
• Polaroid
• Gucci
• Emporio Armani Eyewear
• DKNY
• Emblem Eyewear
• Arnette Eyewear
• Panto Glasses

Common frame styles include

• Aviators - Frames with a double bar nose bridge and often teardrop shaped lenses.
• Wayfarers - Thicker plastic frames with metal dots at the top corner of the glasses.
• Wraparound glasses - Where the lenses are curved around the face, offering greater protection and a wider field of vision.
• Clip-on sunglasses - Frames akin to Pince-nez made to clip onto the front of a pair of prescription eyeglasses.
• Fit over glasses - Designed to be donned over prescription glasses.

Common lens tints include

• grey - A neutral color
• brown - A color that gives better contrast and a "warmer" hue
• green - Ideal for golf and certain other sports
• yellow - good for overcast conditions, computers or night driving.
• Blue- In terms of fashion.

Tint intensities. The darkness of a lens tint is usually categorized in percentage or a category of four system.

• Category one tints are the lightest and mainly for fashion usage. Category one tints are usually 10 or 20% tinted.
• Category two tints are great for photosensitivity caused by indoor florescent lighting and correspond with 30% to 50% darkness
• Category three tints are standard sunglass level 60% to 80% tint.
• Category four tints are for the brightest of sunny days. These tints are usually 75% to 90%.
• Gradient lenses have a darker tint at the top and goes lighter further down the lenses.

Other words for sunglasses include:

• Sunnies - most common in British and Australian English
• dark glasses
• Smoked spectacles - Used especially for the nearly opaque glasses of the blind
• Solar shields - Sunglasses with overly large lenses
• Cooling glasses - In Indian English
• Glares - In Indian English
• Shades
• Stunna shades - Sunglasses with large lenses. Used in hip-hop circles
• Glecks - A term for both eyeglasses and sunglasses in Scottish English
• Sun cheaters - In American English