How To Wear Yellow Lens Sunglasses

How To Wear Yellow Lens Sunglasses

4
SHARE

A peculiar choice perhaps, but yellow lensed sunglasses can really add an intriguing and unexpected element to an ensemble. We’ve seen them pop up a few times in popular films, namely on Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) in The Big Lebowski and Raul Duke (Johnny Depp) in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In these cases, the yellow tinted lenses are signature to the look of the character. They are not worn in a simple singular scene, they worn throughout the respective films. But can the rest of us pull off the yellow lens glasses with equal aplomb?  I argue that we can and would like to share a few thoughts on how to wear yellow lens sunglasses.

Let’s first touch on a few use cases and then move on to my personal experience with the glasses. From a functional perspective, I’d like to point out three examples:
1. For hunting: yellow lenses are useful in hunting because they can help highlight the clay pigeons or bring up the contrast in an environment to help better find one’s target. Part of how they do this is by blocking out the ‘blue light’ which can help sharpen edges and improve depth perception.
2. For skiing/snowboarding: when skiing and snowboarding, yellow lenses are useful to bring out some contrast in flat and low light situations. I have a pair of Oakley Crowbars that
3. For health/wellness: given the blue light blocking functionality, many people swear by the purported health benefits of reducing blue light consumption from lights and screens; especially during the evening hours.
I will concede that I do not typically wear yellow lensed glasses for functional reasons, I primarily wear them for reasons related to style and self-expression. I just plain like them. They are fun to wear and as noted before, they can give an ensemble an extra point of interest. Or, they can serve as one more accessory to use to compliment or match with something else in your ensemble. They can pair well with earth tones, as you see here where I pair them with an olive quilted vest.

Or with other tones such as pastel and jewel tones, as you see here where I pair them with Nantucket Red-esque corduroys and a navy quilted shacket.And I’ll be honest, it is sometimes kind of fun to put a yellow tint on reality,

Now, some guys can certainly use a pair of yellow lensed sunglasses to peacock a little bit. There is nothing wrong with that, although it may not be for most.  Or one could use them as part of the signature of their look, as Walter and Raul have done.

But it is not all fun and games. I do sometimes wear yellow lensed glasses in the dusk and dawn hours to reduce some of the brightness of the sunlight while not blocking too much. On sunnier days during peak sunlight hours I do not find that yellow lenses offer the level of light blocking that I desire. But this does bring up a relevant point regarding manners.

I sit in the school of thought that it is rude to speak to someone when keeping your sunglasses on. If you can’t see someone’s eyes, can you trust that they are actively engaged in your discussion? Can you trust that they are not trying to hide something from you with their eye movements? With yellow lenses you can still see someone’s eyes, which is comforting and I would argue, lacking of the disrespect shown when wearing darker sunglasses. But of course there are always exceptions.

Wearing yellow lenses is, after all, a very subjective choice. You have to decide for yourself if wearing yellow lensed sunglasses is something for you and if so, in what situations. If you are looking to source some yellow lenses, I’ll offer two different purveyors: Revant Optics and Fuse Lenses.

What do you think, would you or do you wear yellow lens sunglasses? Let’s get a discussion going in the comments.

Keep up the good fight,
Justin

4 COMMENTS

  1. Appreciate this. I’ve always loved wearing yellow glasses—they spice up the experience, giving a little more sense of adventure and fun. I like that I can wear them indoors and you’re spot on, in my opinion, with the value of the eye contact.

    And, when you’re in bat country, they’re a necessity.

  2. Appreciate this. I’ve always loved wearing yellow lens sunglasses—they spice up the experience, giving a little more sense of adventure and fun. I like that I can wear them indoors and you’re spot on, in my opinion, with the value of the eye contact.

    And, when you’re in bat country, they’re a necessity.

LEAVE A REPLY