The three blacks
- Gloss black. Polished acetate. The sharpest, most formal black; it reflects light and reads dressed up. Suits dark hair and strong features.
- Matte black. A flat, non reflective finish. Softer, sportier, more modern; it reads quieter on the face than gloss and suits fair colouring better.
- Crystal and smoke black. A translucent dark grey or black acetate that lets light through. The lightest black on the face and the current version; it keeps the outline without the weight, and it suits almost everyone.
If black frames have ever looked too hard on you, the fix is usually crystal black or a thinner rim, not a different colour.
Who black sunglasses suit
Black works where there is contrast to meet it. Dark hair and brows, deep skin and olive skin carry black easily, because the frame repeats a colour in the face. Fair skin with dark hair also suits it. The combination to think about is very fair skin with light hair and light brows, where a thick gloss black frame becomes the darkest thing in the picture by a wide margin; there, choose crystal black, matte black, a thin rim, or a brown instead. The brown sunglasses guide covers the alternative, and the black frame glasses guide makes the same argument for optical frames.
The shapes that carry black best
Black emphasises the outline, so the shape has to be worth outlining.
- Square. The classic black sunglass. Structure for a round or oval face, authority on anyone. The square sunglasses collection has the range.
- Cat eye. Black makes the lift the first thing the eye sees. The fifties shape for round, heart shaped and oval faces; the cat eye sunglasses collection has the options.
- Narrow oval. The nineties shape in black is a fashion signal: small, sharp and confident. Suits square and angular faces.
- Oversized square. Black and big is the paparazzi shape. Suits long and oval faces with strong features; on a small face it is too much.
- Rectangle. The quiet black: slim, horizontal, office friendly. Suits round and oval faces.
The one shape to approach with care in black is the round frame, which can look like a costume in thick black and works better in a thin rim or in tortoise.
Black frames or black lenses
Most black sunglasses carry a dark grey lens, not a black one, and that is right: a grey lens keeps colour true and a lens that is actually black is too dark for anything but glare on snow. The real choice is between a dark grey lens, which is the all rounder, a brown lens, which adds contrast for driving, and a gradient, which is lighter at the bottom for city days. Polarized versions of any of these cut reflected glare; the polarized versus non polarized guide explains when that matters. An all black pair, black frame and dark grey lens, is the most versatile sunglass there is. A black frame with a coloured or gradient lens is the way to make it personal.
Black sunglasses for women and for men
Black sunglasses for women most often means a black cat eye, a black narrow oval or a black oversized square; black sunglasses for men most often means a black square or rectangle, in acetate or a light plastic. The shapes below cover both, and most of the pairs are worn by everyone.
MUJOSH black sunglasses
Eight pairs in the sunglasses collection in black, verified from the product photos.
- Cinnamon in BGG, $69: a medium acetate square with polarized lenses. The classic all black pair, and the one to buy if you buy one.
- Zest in OBPG, $169: a narrow oval in polished gloss black acetate with polarized lenses. The nineties shape at its sharpest.
- Talk Nice in BBS, $79: a soft oval cat eye in black, cut for a lower nose bridge. The gentle black cat eye.
- Numer in BB, $109: a slim acetate rectangle with polarized lenses. The office black.
- Lix in OGBG, $99: an oversized acetate square with polarized lenses, cut for a lower nose bridge. The coverage black.
- Species in BGD, $135: an oversized acetate square with a rounded top line, cut for a lower nose bridge. The softer big black.
- Vintage Cat-Eye in BBB, $99: an acetate cat eye with a defined corner. The fifties black.
- Velo M0 in BBB, $135: a square in lightweight PPSU. The all day black for anyone who finds acetate heavy.
The polarized pairs are also in the polarized collection.
Caring for black frames
Black shows dust and fingerprints less than white, but it shows scratches and scuffs more, because a scratch in black acetate reads as a pale line. Keep the pair in its case rather than loose in a bag, wash the frame with lukewarm water and a drop of dish soap rather than wiping it dry, and keep it out of hot cars, where acetate can warp and a gloss finish can dull. A black frame looked after this way outlasts the trend cycle several times over.
Fit matters more in black
A black frame draws a hard line across the face, so a frame that sits crooked or slides down the nose shows it from across the room. The frame has to sit level on the brow and stay there. Many of our frames are cut for a lower nose bridge so they do; the how sunglasses should fit guide has the six checks.
The opposite of black is not white but clear: a transparent frame with a dark lens gives the same shape with none of the weight. The clear sunglasses guide covers the shades of clear and who each suits.
If you want colour in the lens on a dark frame, the blue sunglasses guide covers the blue lenses in the range and who they suit.
For the one bright colour that wears as easily as black, see the red sunglasses guide, including the burgundy and oxblood frames that replace tortoise.
Matte sunglasses
Matte sunglasses are the black sunglass with the shine taken off: a frame finished flat rather than polished, which reads quieter, more modern and a little more technical than gloss, and photographs without the highlights that a polished black throws back at the camera. Matte suits anyone who finds gloss black too hard, and it suits a bald head and a beard, where a flat finish sits more naturally than a shine. The trade is that matte shows finger marks less and scratches more, so it wants a case. Most acetate is polished, so matte is more often a metal or a moulded material; in the MUJOSH range the matte frame is Heavenly, a resort square in laser-matte metal, in rose gold with a pink lens, a brown gradient or a grey gradient. The metal frame sunglasses guide covers the rest of the metal range, and the acetate sunglasses guide explains why acetate is almost always polished.
The bottom line
Black sunglasses suit most people once the black and the shape are right: gloss for dark colouring and dressed up days, matte or crystal for fair colouring and every day, and a shape that contrasts the face. Keep the lens dark grey for the all rounder, brown for driving, gradient for the city, and make sure the frame sits level, because black shows every tilt.
Polished black acetate is one of the two colours the material does best; the acetate sunglasses guide explains why.
The lens half of the look, how dark is right and when a very dark lens is wrong, is in the dark sunglasses guide.
The cat eye is the shape black suits best; the black cat eye sunglasses guide covers it on its own.
The dressed version, black with a point of gold hardware, is the black and gold sunglasses guide.
The square is the shape most people mean by a black pair; the black square sunglasses guide covers it on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Do black sunglasses suit everyone?
Most people, with the black chosen to match. Dark colouring carries gloss black; fair colouring suits matte or crystal black and a thinner rim. The shape matters more than the colour.
Are black sunglasses in style?
Always. Black is the one sunglass colour that never goes out; the shapes rotate around it. The current versions are a narrow oval, a square and a crystal black oversized frame.
What lens colour goes with black sunglasses?
Dark grey for true colour and everyday wear, brown for contrast when driving, and a gradient for the city. A polarized version of any of them cuts reflected glare.
Matte or gloss black sunglasses?
Gloss reads formal and suits dark hair and strong features; matte reads modern and sits softer on fair colouring. If you are unsure, matte or crystal black is the easier wear.
