What makes sunglasses look 70s
Three things, and a pair needs two of them. Size: the lens is deep as well as wide, and the lower rim reaches the cheekbone. Shape: a teardrop, a big soft square, or a big round, never a narrow rectangle. And tint: amber, brown, rose, or a gradient that fades from dark at the brow to clear at the cheek, often on a frame that is gold or tortoise rather than black. A narrow black frame with a grey lens cannot be 70s whatever its shape; a deep tortoise square with a brown gradient is 70s whatever decade it was made. The retro sunglasses guide walks every decade from the 1950s on; this is the seventies in full, as the 90s sunglasses guide is the nineties.
The four 70s looks
- The aviator. A teardrop lens on a thin metal frame with a double bridge, sometimes with a flat brow bar across the top. Born on the airfield, worn by everyone by 1975, and the one seventies shape that never went away. Gold with a green or brown lens is the decade's version; silver with grey is the cooler one. The aviator sunglasses guide covers the shape on its own.
- The oversized square. A big soft-cornered square in acetate, in tortoise, honey or black, worn so large that the brow sits inside the frame. The shape that went from the film set to the high street, and the one the oversized sunglasses guide is really about.
- The big round. A deep round or a soft butterfly cat eye, often in a lighter acetate, with the lens dropping well below the cheekbone. The glamorous version of the decade.
- The tinted lens. Amber, rose, yellow and the two-tone gradient, on any of the three shapes above. In the seventies the lens was as much the fashion as the frame, and the tinted sunglasses guide explains what each colour does to the view.
Who each look suits
Size covers a lot, but shape still decides.
- Square and angular faces suit the aviator and the big round best, because a curved lens softens the jaw. The sunglasses for a square face guide puts the aviator near the top.
- Round faces suit the oversized square, which adds the straight lines the face lacks. The big round repeats the curve and is the one to skip. The sunglasses for a round face guide has the list.
- Long and oval faces can wear all four, and are the faces the decade was made for; the only check is that a very deep lens does not make a long face longer.
- Heart faces suit the aviator, whose teardrop is widest at the brow and narrows toward the chin, matching the face.
- Small faces should go for the aviator at a moderate size or a lighter-rimmed round rather than the oversized square, which swallows the features.
The lens colours of the decade
If the frame is the shape of 70s sunglasses, the lens is the colour of them. Brown and amber warm the view and add contrast, which is why they suit an overcast day as well as a bright one; the brown sunglasses guide covers the family. Rose and yellow are the fashion tints, light enough to show the eyes. The gradient, dark at the top and clear at the bottom, is the most seventies lens of all, because it was the one that let the eyes show at a party while still shading the road; the gradient sunglasses guide explains when it works and when a solid lens is better. Green, on a gold aviator, is the pilot's lens and the men's default of the decade. Grey is the least 70s lens, which does not make it wrong, only modern.
How to wear 70s sunglasses now
The risk with any retro decade is the costume, and the seventies has the most costume in it. Three rules keep the frame current.
Size up, but not everything. One oversized piece at a time: big sunglasses with a plain shirt and straight trousers read as now; big sunglasses with flares, a print and a wide collar read as a theme party.
Pick the frame colour from your hair, not the decade. Tortoise and honey for warm colouring and brown hair; black and dark tortoise for dark hair; gold metal for anyone. The tortoise shell sunglasses guide shows the shades.
Keep the lens darker than the original if you want to be taken seriously. A full seventies rose tint is a fashion statement; a brown gradient on the same frame is a pair of sunglasses. The decade after this one went the other way, to small and chrome, which the Y2K sunglasses guide covers; the two looks do not mix.
The fit the originals got wrong
The big frames of the seventies were built for one kind of nose, a high bridge that held the frame up and away from the cheeks. On a nose that does not rise much between the eyes, those frames slid, sat on the cheekbones and left the lens too low, which is why a lot of people remember 70s sunglasses as frames that would not stay on. A modern version fixes this with a frame cut for a lower nose bridge, or with adjustable nose pads on the metal shapes, and every pair below has one or the other. The low bridge fit sunglasses collection lists the rest, and the how should sunglasses fit guide has the three checks: frame to the temples, rim clear of the cheeks when you smile, frame still in place when you look down.
MUJOSH 70s sunglasses
Eight pairs from the sunglasses collection, by look. Prices as listed on 27 October.
The aviator
- Retro Aviator, $119: a metal aviator with a flat brow bar and adjustable nose pads, in gold with a green lens or silver with grey. The seventies pilot frame exactly.
- Retro Trendy Classic Aviator, $99: a metal aviator with adjustable nose pads and a low bridge fit, three colourways including gunmetal and silver with a violet lens. The one with the fashion tint.
- Aviator Total, $99: a metal aviator with adjustable nose pads, cut for a lower nose bridge, four colourways. The everyday aviator.
- Geometric Polygon, $119: a polygonal metal aviator with weighted temple tips and a low bridge fit. The aviator with the angles the late seventies added.
The aviator collection has the full set.
The oversized square
- Comte Oversized, $119: an oversized acetate square, cut for a lower nose bridge. The biggest square in the range and the most seventies.
- Lix, $99: an oversized acetate square with polarized lenses and a low bridge fit, three colourways for men and women.
- Verse R9, $99: an oversized acetate square, cut for a lower nose bridge, three colourways. The softer-cornered one.
The oversized collection has the rest of the big frames.
The big round and cat eye
- Jasmin, $79: an oversized cat eye in Italian acetate with polarized lenses and a low bridge fit. The butterfly shape of the decade, at the entry price.
The bottom line
70s sunglasses are big, soft-shaped and warm-tinted: the aviator, the oversized square, the big round and the tinted lens. Square faces take the aviator and the round; round faces take the square; long and oval faces take all four. Brown, amber and the gradient are the lenses of the decade, green for the pilot look. Wear one oversized piece at a time, pick the frame colour from your hair, and get a bridge that holds, because the originals did not. In the MUJOSH range, Retro Aviator is the seventies pilot frame, Retro Trendy and Aviator Total the fit-friendly aviators, Geometric Polygon the angled one, Comte Oversized, Lix and Verse R9 the big squares, and Jasmin the butterfly.
The decade after, with the mirror, the flat top and the shield, is in the 80s sunglasses guide.
The decade before, with the sharp cat eye, the thick black square and the mod white frame, is in the 60s sunglasses guide.
The seventies shapes are the festival shapes; the festival sunglasses guide covers which pairs survive a long weekend.
The oversized aviator in gold with a green lens is the decade's pair; the oversized aviator sunglasses guide covers the shape at full size.
Frequently asked questions
What sunglasses were popular in the 70s?
Aviators with a teardrop lens and a double bridge, oversized soft squares in tortoise or black acetate, big rounds and butterfly cat eyes, and tinted or gradient lenses in amber, brown, rose and yellow.
Are 70s sunglasses in style?
Yes. Oversized frames and aviators are two of the shapes that never left, and warm and gradient lenses are back with the wider frames of the last two years. Worn one piece at a time, the look reads as current rather than retro.
Who suits 70s style sunglasses?
Square and heart faces suit the aviator and the big round; round faces suit the oversized square; long and oval faces suit all of them. Small faces should keep to a moderate aviator rather than the biggest squares.
Which MUJOSH sunglasses are 70s style?
Retro Aviator, Retro Trendy Classic Aviator, Aviator Total and Geometric Polygon for the aviator; Comte Oversized, Lix and Verse R9 for the oversized square; Jasmin for the butterfly cat eye.
