Silver Screen Shades: 20 Best Movie Sunglasses

Eddie Murphy’s shades in Beverley Hills Cop were, at the time of filming, cool, sharp, and able to switch to fit the situation – much like the character he payed. Made by Porsche Design, the sunglasses had the ability to easily switch out lenses. That meant without tools, the owner could simply pull out one pair of colored lenses, and throw in a different pair. While they aren’t being made today, it isn’t hard to find them on online auction sites.

Purchase: $140+

Wayfarers are, alongside the Clubmaster, quite possibly the most frequently donned shades in the movie business. Developed in 1956, they were worn by musicians like Bob Dylan, actors like James Dean, and of course, by funny men John Belushi and Dan Akyroyd in this classic film. So while you could point to a dozen different examples of Ray Bans appearing in famous movies, none really beats out this comedy.

Purchase: $153

You’ve likely never heard of Cobra. That is probably for the better. The mid-1980s Stallone vehicle is just about as bad as they come. Those shades, however, are a different story. In fact, the wire-framed aviators may be the only redeeming part of this rote Hollywood shoot-em-up. They’re still made by Ray Ban, though we couldn’t find any with those cool blue-mirrored lenses.

Purchase: $153

Eastwood’s Harry Callahan is a cop so tough that he can shoot down criminals in the street while chewing on a sandwich And his choice in shades? As dead on as his aim. You can still pick up the early 1970s shades from Ray Ban online

Purchase: $193

Drive was such an arresting movie, and Gosling’s unnamed driver so charismatic, that after seeing the film – full grown men went out and bought jackets with gigantic gold scorpions on the back. We’re happy to tell you, there is a more reasonable way to channel the style of Nicolas Winding Refn’s protagonist – by snagging a pair of his shades.

Purchase: $385

Not a kid alive didn’t, at one point, want to be Ferris Bueller. The whip-smart teen and his antics won over an entire generation and then some. The movie still stands up as one of the greats to this day, much like the timeless shades Broderick’s character threw on while driving around Chicago in a red drop-top sports car.

Purchase: $203

The nihilism and post Cold War boredom of the 1990s was distilled nowhere better than in David Fincher’s rendition of Chuck Palahniuk’s great novel Fight Club. The dark, violent story stayed more or less true to the book, but distinguished itself in large part because of the striking visuals and sounds (cue The Pixies). Exploding buildings, clashing outfits, and Tyler Durden’s weirdo sunglasses all contributed to that. Like the rest of his personality, they are brash, wild, and clashing.

Purchase: $700+

Despite being made nearly 24 years ago, Besson’s character Leon is just about the spitting image of every freelance designer or web developer that works out of your neighborhood cafe. Sure, those hipsters may not kill for a living while still somehow having a heart of gold, but they definitely rock the look. The exact pair of sunglasses worn by Jean Reno in this early ’90s film are incredibly hard to find these days, but if you keep your eye out for a pair – they may pop up on eBay or other auction sites.

Purchase: $900+

If the theme song for this movie immediately came to mind when you scrolled down to see this image, then you likely remember the frenzy around the movie sunglasses that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones wore in Men In Black. These alien fighting super-spooks helped redefine what cool sunglasses looked like, and all while protecting earth from deep space monsters.

Purchase: $193

Out of all of Hollywood’s leading men, Cary Grant remains among the coolest. He had a laid back, cool demeanor to him, but wasn’t too casual. A good distillation of his style, in fact, were the shades he wore in North By Northwest. The exact make and model of these sunglasses are much debated over – but from the research we did, it seems most likely that they were Tart Arnel frames. They can still be bought today, though they’re displayed on Tart’s site as having clear lenses.

Price On Request

The scene of the gang doomed criminals walking out of a diner at the start of Reservoir Dogs, all with their shades on, is perhaps among the most iconic in all of Hollywood’s history. That’s saying something for an industry that makes its dough by creating moments and scenes. That is why we felt we had to include these sunglasses – even though they were already included above.

Purchase: $203

When the costume designers began the task of putting together the most dapper spy in the world’s outfit – Bond watches and all – they also had to answer the question of what pair of sunglasses to have him wear. Should he go with something classic, or with something a little more contemporary. Well, they split the difference and gave him a pair of aviators made by one of the most well respected designers working today, Tom Ford.

Purchase: $395

Arnold Schwarzeneggers breakout roll barely featured any dialog. It was just a lot of shots of him looking menacing and muscular. The pair of sunglasses he donned to help him do all of that scary-robot-ing? Gargoyles. The bulky glasses are still available today, though not quite in the exact same style as they appears in the mid 1980s classic.

Purchase: $100

For how chill and laid back The Dude is, his movie sunglasses were pretty high-end. Originally created in the 1960s, these big framed sunglasses have a kind of lovable quality to them not dissimilar from Bridge’s characters chilled-out protagonist.

Purchase: $200

As is always the case with gamblers, things at some point go south. When the relationship between Paul Newman and Tom Cruise’s characters do just that in The Color of Money, it is settled in a dramatic, televised game of pool. The pair of shades Newman wears while pocketing balls? Cartier.

Purchase: $200+

Not only have we all seen these sunglasses on Zack Galifianakis’ fuzzy mug, but we’ve seen them at pretty much every single costume party for the last decade or so. And fair enough. While BluBlockers definitely have a cornball vibe to them, they’re a fun oversized addition to anyone’s collection of shades.

Purchase: $32

Spy movies, in large part because of Bond’s influence, always embrace the fashion of the time. So when the costume department was putting together items to be worn in Ritchie’s reboot of an old Spy Vs. Spy film, they were sure to include some 1960s-looking movie sunglasses for Cavill to sport.

Purchase: $475

If this list had been cut in half, we would’ve still included these Persol’s worn by McQueen. The blue-lensed shades are just about as classic as they come – and for what it is worth, they’re still pretty stylish even by today’s standards. While finding the exact blue-lensed version the king of cool sported in the late ‘60s film is a little difficult, they’re definitely still out there.

Purchase: $400

Out of all of our picks in this list, this pair of movie sunglasses plays the most pivotal roll in the movie they appear in. Once our protagonist George Nada puts them on, they reveal the world is being controlled by aliens and their sneaky, suggestive advertising. We couldn’t find the exact pair that Nada wears in the movie, but our closest guess was this pair from Retro Superfuture.

Purchase: $175

Flyin’ jets and riding motorcycles in and above San Diego required only the best in eye protection, so naturally a young Tom Cruise gravitated towards Randolph Engineering’s American made sunglasses. These aviators widely loved not only because they were built right here in the states, but because they capture the timeless style perfectly.

Purchase: $230