Wooden Framed Sunglasses

The Wood Look

What goes around comes around in the fashion industry and that's certainly true of sunglasses, the designers of which often look to the past for inspiration, as evidenced by the many retro designs on the market.

Sunglasses with a distinctive wood look have become popular of late and the style refllects mid century sunglass fashions, when wood was commonly used in the frames.

The Baghdad sunglasses below are 'wood effect' rather than real wood but they are also very reasonably priced and once they're on you really can't tell the difference. I bought a pair of these recently and they do have a definite retro look, reminiscent of the 1950s.

Baghdad retro style wood effect sunglasses

Baghdad wood look sunglasses in action

Wood and Tortoiseshell Blend

Silvano retro wayfarers with wood and tortoiseshell frames

Another popular 50s style was the combination of tortoiseshell around the glass but with wooden arms in the wayfarer style, a reproduction of which can be seen in the Silvanos in the picture the at right, although these days plastic, rather than super expensive real tortoiseshell is used.

Sustainable Sunglasses

For the environmentally conscious, Don has brought out a pair of environmentally sustainable sunglasses made from bamboo and polarised lenses. A bit more more expensive that the Baghdads, these are a prety swish pair of sunglasses and have a more masculine look, with an aviator influence.

Handmade Don bamboo sunglasses

Woodzee bamboo sunglasses

Chunky Woodzees

For an ultra trendy wood look, check out thease chunky bamboo Woodzees with an amber lens. They offer 100 percent UV protection in a style that will attract attention.

They look heavy but being bamboo they are in fact extremely light and again, environmentally sound. Available in dark Cardiff stain or light or dark colours, the Woodzees can be found here.

Louis Vuitton wood framed sunglasses with metal insert

Shwood oswald select sunglasses

Luxury Wood Frames

At the top end of the market you'd be paying a pretty penny for these luxurious Louis Vuitton sunglasses (at right) but nice if you can afford it.

The Cartier's below are slightly more affordable and reflect a nice blend between retro and modern styles - the fine wood accent looks just great with the silver frame.

Shwood (below right) also has a great range of wooden frames - again pricey but excellent quality and style. According to their spiel, they merge "precision technology with classic skilled craftsmanship to create a timeless art form". The full range can be found here.