Holiday Gift Guide

These are the 10 best winter sunglasses you can get right now

The days may be shorter, but the sun is still after your eyes.

Thinking of sunglasses purely in terms of the summer is nonsense; during the other nine months of the year, the days may be shorter and you may find yourself outside less, but the sun is still there nonetheless. As someone with blue eyes, I consider it a menace, and anytime it's out sunglasses are a must.

It is still worth thinking about your choice of eyewear differently, especially in the winter. Clubmasters don't hit the same way if you're not wearing a camp collar or sipping on a cold beer in the hot sun. With so much of cold weather outerwear being taken over by gorp right now, it's only right to wear something that skews athletic along with it. These shades are also more likely to be fog proof, which is even more useful now that we all have to wear masks.

To prepare you for the cold but still sunglass-worthy days ahead, we've put together a list of some of the best shades you can pick up right now. Because we're in gift guide season, these could be a perfect gift for someone else or a treat for yourself.

District Vision Keeichi Gray Cal-Tech ($219)

District Vision

District Vision holds the honor of making the coolest sunglasses for running and cycling on the market. Everything the Japanese brand does is astonishingly lightweight and hypoallergenic to avoid irritating your skin. What sets this frame apart are porous lenses that absorb moisture to prevent them from fogging or beading up with water.

Ray-Ban RB3652 ($66)

Sunglass Hut

These aren't your typical Ray-Bans. The austerely named silhouette is an updated version of the Erika, making it something of a hybrid of a sports and classic frame. As part of Sunglass Hut's sale, it's also insanely cheap and half off its original price.

Rick Owens Multicolor Shielding Sunglasses ($930)

Ssense

Rick Owens dark tech lord garms have a worthy companion this absolute unit of a shield. The gradient lens is covered by far more studs than is functionally necessary, which is a great look in futuristic excess. Owens also opted for manufacturing in Japan, so you don't have to worry about quality lacking if you shell out nearly a grand.

Bottega Veneta White Mask Sunglasses ($400)

Ssense

Facts can not get in the way of convincing me these Bottega Vaneta joints weren't in Blade Runner. And despite what the product description tells me, I'm not sure that they aren't enhanced with HUD.

Prada PR 69VS ($189)

Sunglass Hut

Whether it's Prada proper or Linnea Rossa, the Italian house routinely puts out the most covetable sporty sunglasses. These metallic frames with the logo front and center are also half off, which opens up Prada to a wider range of budgets.

Prada PR 63US ($222.50)

Sunglass Hut

When Prada's half off, I have to break my self-enforced rule of including only one item per brand in my roundup. The tiny sunglasses revolution is not yet over, and these pointy frames will fit easily below a beanie.

Dior Oblique Oval-Frame Sunglasses ($338)

Farfetch

I have a friend who wears nothing but ostentatiously large glasses and sunglasses and breaks every single one of them. I have yet to follow his lead, but the gigantic "V" in the middle of Dior's shades here makes me finally want to do it.

Études Black Rectangular Sunglasses ($385)

Ssense

Ditto for these squarer frames from Études.

Oakley Jawbreaker ($225)

Farfetch

Many wraparound sports shades on the market imitate Oakley, so why not go for the real thing? Fear not, for not everyone who wears the brand verbally abuses referees at their child's games.

Oliver Peoples Finley Vintage Sun ($471)

Sunglass Hut

I'll end things with something for the normies, because not everyone is ready to go so bold. Oliver Peoples' clear frames look great all year round, and the rose tint up front gives it just a touch more character.