The sun is out! Happy news for all of us. Unless, like me, you’ve lost your one and only pair of sunglasses, which I did on a recent holiday.
The Ray-Ban pair I loved and lost cost £150 and, I’ll be honest, I was fully expecting to have to pay the same again for a similar pair. Then, a miracle of timing.
Uniqlo, easily my favourite retailer for quality basics with a very precise eye for design and longevity, has just launched its first range of sunglasses.
And being Uniqlo, whose global creative director is the former Givenchy designer Clare Waight Keller, yes, the very woman who designed Meghan Markle’s couture wedding dress, these sunglasses are properly good.
When I say good, I mean excellent. The 18 designs, from elegant aviators to bold cat-eye shapes, small round frames with blue lenses, sporty visors, and more, could easily pass for classic styles from designer brands.
They all come with UV400 lenses, blocking approximately 99% of UV rays, and include technology that filters 25% of blue light. Yes, like most sunglasses, they’re plastic, but Uniqlo hasn’t cut corners where it matters most.
When I discovered that each pair costs a very purse-friendly £19.90, I practically ran to my nearest branch for a try-on. The Square Yellow pair was too much for me, and while I toyed with the Teardrop Metal aviators, the lenses didn’t block quite enough light.
In the end, I chose the Boston, a chic, subtle brown frame with rounded lenses. I love them. Their elegant style work as well with my casual everyday style of straight leg jeans and favourite Uniqlo: C T-shirt, as they do with the pretty spring dress I wore on Easter Sunday. Their warm brown hue also makes a perfect accessory to wear with icy blue, spring's most fashionable colour.
If you’re in the market for a new pair of sunglasses and, like many of us, keeping a close eye on your spending, you really can’t do better than these.
