Bravado Living

Ever wonder why girls wear those giant bug-eye sunglasses? It’s because sunglasses make you look like a rockstar. They instantly upgrade your image, hide squinty eyes, and give you an effortless cool that just can’t be replicated shadeless. Unfortunately for men, we can’t just buy the biggest sunglasses we can afford, attempt to hide half our faces, and expect to graduate on the 1-10 scale (we’re on to you ladies).

So what’s the secret? Well, first you should be buying sunglasses that frame your face. Here are the most common facial structures. See which category you fall into.

Square

You have a broad forehead, strong jawline, and square chin.

Oval

You have high cheekbones, narrow chin, and a rounded forehead.

You have a long face- more narrow than it is wide, tall forehead, longer nose, high cheekbones.

Round

The width and length are roughly the same. You have round features, a soft jawline, and full cheeks.

Triangle

You have a wide forehead and narrow chin.

Diamond

You have high cheekbones, slightly narrower forehead, and a narrow chin and jawline.

You may already have an idea of which category you fall into but we want you to go look at yourself in the mirror anyway and notice your features, facial structure, and general shape of your face. This isn’t something you can just imagine and guess, you really have to go look in the mirror and make an honest assessment. Just like hearing your voice recorded for the first time, you will realize you look (or sound) a lot different then you think you do in your head.

Ok now that you know the shape of your face, we will help you pick which sunglasses look best for your face.

Square

Most “professionals” will tell you that need to pick a pair of round sunglasses like cat eyes to counterbalance the hard angles of your face. Personally, we think this is a big mistake. Women love angles, why would you want to minimize or hide them? If you have a square face, pick up a pair of aviators.

We personally like the kinds that have the rounded bottoms because they are more masculine then the square, usually plastic, versions ubiquitous in women’s magazines.

Oval

This style of face is very versatile because it has elements of several different facial structures. Regardless, we love the classic RayBan Wayfarer on this face. It’s a throwback to the 80′s that let’s people know that you mean business, but you probably play guitar for an indy band at a dive bar on the weekends. You eclectic son of a gun.

Oblong

Tear drop aviators. These type of aviators droop down your cheek and, well, resemble a tear drop. This helps add width to the face and eliminate the proportional disparity. Feel free to get some aviators with contrasting or plastic temples because those also width to your face. Don’t be tempted by square frames as these will elongate your forehead. Stick with some classic pilot aviators, and you’ll never look back.

Round

Now while the oblong face needs sunglasses to add width, you need your sunglasses to make your face longer. The best way to do this is with sunglasses with very prominent temples and brow bars. Double brow bars, top-rimmed sunglasses, and mirror finish lenses all accomplish the same effect. Rectangle lenses also work best on you, but make sure the rectangles are not too narrow as this will have the opposite effect desired.

Triangle

If you have a triangle face, you need to strengthen your jawline. Sunglasses with a very prominent lens will accomplish this for you. Strong rimmed sunglasses, or large rectangular lenses will help angle your jawline and take the point out of your chin. Look for large rectangular aviators, metal frames with rimless bottoms, and frames with a straight top line.

Diamond

This facial style is very similar to the triangle in terms of needs, but needs to be careful not to accentuate the already prominent cheekbones. Fortunately, like square faces, rectangular aviators with rounded frames will help to accomplish this objective.

A few final words of advice:

• Stick to black, silver, or brown frames
• Stick to black, brown, or mirror tinted lenses
• No white frames. Douchebag.
• No wearing them inside. Period.
• Don’t buy sunglasses without trying them on first

If you follow this advice you should be looking like a rockstar in no time.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting.

-The Haute Spot

Popularity: 16% [?]

I love these sunglasses by Oliver Goldsmith. I know I was just talking about sunglasses the other day, but these are truly worth mentioning in their own right. They are limited editions and are the result of a collaboration between Oliver Goldsmith and Aseef Vaza. If both these names sound unfamiliar, well sit back and learn. OG is possibly one of the best luxury goods makers and also one of the most stylish makers of sunglasses. Vaza is a luxury leather goods designer and is notorious for creating limited edition products. This is their bastard child.

The Vazatak is made up of vintage acetate called Bengal Blue. Looking at those colors, the name seems appropriate. It looks like if someone wear to capture a space tiger, render their bones into acetate, and then make sunglasses out of them. I love it. The frames are designed after the TAK, which was originally designed back in 1969. To sweeten the deal, you get them with a beautiful VAZA-designed pouch made out of ostrich leather. These are glasses I would take almost anywhere. There is a limited amount of them and they usually retail for around $1500 to $1600.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The perfect shades for risky business.

When someone says Ray Ban, many people immediately think of the Aviators. I love aviator sunglasses, I always have and I always will. Lately though, aviators are starting to stand out to me as obvious signs of douchery. So, time to go back to another classic look, the Ray Ban wayfarers, guaranteed to make you look cool. Classic glasses from a classic franchise.

Audrey Hepburn wore them in Breakfast At Tiffany’s and Tom Cruise sported a pair in Risky Business, a reminder that these shades have definitely put their hours in. I like them because I have a bias for vintage wear and because they remind of old school Cadillac tail fins. They are perhaps some of the best pairs of sunglasses out there, equally at home in both formal and casual settings. I prefer the classic black, but Ray-Ban has been recently coming out with colored versions.
Buy them at here

Popularity: 12% [?]

If you were thinking to yourself, you know I wish I could find some sunglasses douchier than my white Oakleys. Well they’ve arrived. Yeah we don’t know either. Coming soon to a daft punk concert near you.

BUY IT Martin Margiela Eyewear $545

Popularity: 11% [?]

The quickest upgrade to your overall look will always be sunglasses. They make you look like a movie star, hide your ugly mug, and prevent squinty eye syndrome. They look just as good with a suit as they do on the beach, and with summer approaching fast, there’s no better time to invest in a quality pair. We prefer aviators, but just get a pair that frames your face well. We prefer gold for the summer as it matches the whites and earth tone colors of summer better, but you can never go wrong with black or silver.

David Yurman "Buckle" Sunglasses

We like these elegant aviators as they aren’t too flashy with logos and brands slapped on the side of, but the trademark twist on the temple makes it unmistakably Yurman. Available in both silver and gold.

P.S.- Never wear them inside.  You’ll look like a douche. No excuses.

David Yurman ‘Buckle’ Aviator Sunglasses $695 Nordstrom

Popularity: 11% [?]