Clear frame or clear lens
Two different things share the name. Clear frame sunglasses are the subject here: a see through frame with a sun lens. Clear lens sunglasses are ordinary glasses frames with clear lenses worn as a fashion accessory, which is a different purchase; the clear frame glasses guide covers that side, and the optical frames in crystal acetate are there. If you want sun protection, you want the first kind, and the lens does the work.
The shades of clear
Very few clear frames are water clear, and the ones that are can look like safety glasses. The wearable versions carry a trace of colour.
- Smoke and grey crystal. A transparent grey, light or dark. The most wearable clear, because it reads as a shadow rather than a colour, and it suits every skin tone and every lens.
- Taupe, champagne and crystal brown. A warm transparent. It flatters warm and fair skin and pairs with brown and amber lenses.
- Tinted crystal. Transparent pink, blue, green or amber. A colour accent without the weight of solid colour, and the current version of the look.
- Water clear. The purest version, best in a thin rim and a dark lens, where the contrast between the invisible frame and the solid lens is the design.
Who clear sunglasses suit
Almost everyone, which is the point of the frame. Three notes. Fair skin and light hair, which can be overpowered by black, suit smoke and clear well because the frame adds shape without a dark line. Deep skin suits a clear or smoke frame with a very dark lens, where the lens does the contrasting. Warm colouring suits taupe and crystal brown. The face shape rules do not change: contrast the face, a square or rectangle for a round face, a round or cat eye for an angular one. Because the frame is see through, a clear frame can go a size larger than you would wear in black without looking heavy, which is why so many oversized sunglasses come in crystal.
The lens makes the pair
In a black frame the frame is the design; in a clear frame the lens is. Three combinations work.
- Clear frame, solid dark lens. The sharpest version: a dark grey or brown lens floating in nothing. The classic.
- Clear frame, gradient lens. Softer, more face showing through, better for the city and photographs. A grey or brown gradient in a smoke frame is the easiest pair to wear of all.
- Clear frame, mirrored lens. The statement: a silver or coloured mirror in a crystal frame reads futuristic. The mirrored sunglasses guide covers how the coating behaves.
A clear frame with a pale lens, pink or yellow, is a fashion pair rather than a sun pair, and that is fine as long as you know it.
Clear sunglasses and white sunglasses
They are often shopped together and they do different jobs. White is opaque, bright and a statement; clear is transparent, quiet and lets the face lead. If white felt like too much, clear is usually the answer; the white sunglasses guide covers the other side.
Caring for a clear frame
Transparent acetate shows what an opaque frame hides: dust inside the hinge area, sunscreen film, the fine scratches of being thrown in a bag. Two habits keep it clear. Wash the frame with lukewarm water and a drop of dish soap rather than wiping it, and keep it in the case. Very light crystal acetate can yellow slowly with years of sun and skin oils; washing slows it, and smoke and grey crystal hide it. The how to clean eyeglasses guide has the routine.
MUJOSH clear sunglasses
Five pairs in the sunglasses collection come in clear or crystal, verified from the product photos, and every one of them carries a polarized or mirrored sun lens, so the frame is see through and the lens is not.
- Lix in OTPG, $99: an oversized square in translucent light grey acetate with a grey polarized lens, cut for a lower nose bridge. The smoke frame with a dark lens, the classic combination.
- Dixrea in STS, $99: a square in grey crystal with a silver mirror polarized lens, cut for a lower nose bridge. The statement version.
- Futuristic in AGWM, $159: a square in clear grey lightweight TR90 with a light mirror lens. The futurist version.
- Numer in GB, $109: a slim rectangle in grey crystal acetate with a blue gradient polarized lens. The quiet clear.
- Verse in TBG, $99: an oversized square in clear grey acetate, cut for a lower nose bridge. The clear frame at its simplest.
Four of the five are squares, in the square sunglasses collection, and three carry the lower bridge cut, in the low bridge fit sunglasses collection. The warm crystal taupe version of the look comes and goes with stock, so if a warm clear is what you want, check the collection for the colourways on sale this season.
Fit
A clear frame hides a lot, but not a tilt: the dark lens shows the angle the moment the frame slides. The frame has to sit level on the nose. Many of our frames are cut for a lower nose bridge so they do, which is why three of the five pairs above carry it. If a frame slides on your nose, the lower bridge cut is the first thing to try before going down a size.
The bottom line
Clear sunglasses are a transparent frame with a real sun lens, and the lens is the design. Choose smoke or grey crystal if you want the easiest wear, taupe for warm colouring, a dark solid lens for the classic, a gradient for the city and a mirror for the statement. Go a size up if you like, wash the frame rather than wiping it, and let the face do the talking.
Frequently asked questions
What are clear sunglasses?
Sunglasses with a transparent or crystal frame, clear, smoke, grey or a tinted crystal, carrying a normal dark, gradient or mirrored lens. Clear lens sunglasses are a different thing: clear lenses worn as fashion, with no sun protection.
Who looks good in clear sunglasses?
Almost everyone, because a transparent frame has no colour to clash with. Fair skin and light hair suit smoke and clear especially well, warm colouring suits taupe and crystal brown, and deep skin suits a clear frame with a very dark lens.
Do clear sunglasses protect your eyes?
The lens does, not the frame. A clear frame with a UV400 sun lens protects like any other sunglass; every MUJOSH sunglass lens is UV400. A clear lens offers no sun protection.
Do clear frames turn yellow?
Very light crystal acetate can yellow slowly over years of sun and skin oils. Washing the frame rather than wiping it and keeping it in the case slows this, and smoke or grey crystal hides it.
