There’s a reason that costume designers get awards: from draping actors in couture gown to designing superhero costumes, what someone wears in a film can help create and inform who a character is. And that extends beyond a simple shirt or pants; it includes everything a character wears, from their jewelry to their shoes.
In fact, for some characters their accessories become an integral and hugely recognizable part of who they are. They say the clothes make the man, but sometimes it isn’t just the clothes – it’s the eyewear.
Holly Golightly’s Sunglasses
The opening shots in Breakfast at Tiffany’s are iconic. Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly strolls down the streets of New York before landing, casually, in front of the iconic edifice of Tiffany’s. She pauses, grabs a pastry and some coffee from her to-go bag, and peruses the windows – all while wearing some truly spectacular sunglasses.
Designed by Oliver Goldsmith, the Manhattan Sunglasses became an instant classic. Since their famous debut, countless dupes have been created. But if you want the original, you can still purchase your very own pair from Goldsmith.
Men In Black Shades
Becoming a member of the Men In Black means giving up your personal identity. You give up your name, taking on an initial, and given one uniform: a black suit, a white shirt, and a pair of sunglasses. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were the first to don now iconic uniform, and the series went on to be one of the most successful and highest grossing of Smith’s career.
But the sunglasses aren’t all for looks and anonymity. In fact, they serve a very useful function: protecting MIB agents from the power of the Neurolyzer.
Maverick’s Aviators
There are a lot of things from Top Gun that made a huge cultural impact: Kenny Loggins’s “Danger Zone”, beach volleyball, and Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) aviator sunglasses. Whether he was flying a Grumman F-14 Tomcat or cruising around town on his Kawasaki Ninja, Maverick rarely went anywhere without his aviators.
And he wore these Ray-Ban classics for a reason. Per the BBC, Ray-Ban was the first to create aviator sunglasses as far back as the 1930s to help keep the sun out of the eyes of pilots. Expect to see them again in the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick.
Harry Potter’s Glasses
The Boy Who Lived has become a global icon, and there are few things more well-known than his lighting bolt scare and round reading glasses. From his first appearance on screen in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to his final moments in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry sports the same simple set of frames. They survive countless run-ins with Voldemort, The Triwizard Tournament, and several Quidditch matches.
At this point, the glasses are known the world over, and no Harry Potter costume would be complete without a pair.
Luna Lovegood’s Spectrespecs
Harry Potter isn’t the only one in the series who happened to sport a pair of memorable glasses. Luna Lovegood first appears in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She’s a delightfully quirky character with an unwavering dedication to outlandish wizarding tabloid The Quibbler.
Early on she’s seen wearing pair of Spectrespecs, a variety of magical glasses supposed to help wearers see Wrackspurts. Whether or not they’re real, the glasses did help Luna find Harry under his invisibility cloak, and their eccentric design cemented the Spectrespecs in film glasses history.
Morpheus’s Sunglasses
1999’s The Matrix has become a huge part of pop culture and is often considered one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. While the movies introduced a series of characters that have remained popular to this day, few have had as large an impact as Morpheus – and his glasses.
One of Morpheus’s most memorable scenes is when he offers Neo a red and blue pill, each perfectly reflected in the lenses of his glasses. Perched delicately on his nose, this modern take on pince-nez glasses were instantly iconic.
Blues Brothers’ Wayfarers
Few people in life get to go on a mission from God, and fewer still get to do it while singing blues hits and looking cool. But that’s just what brothers Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) do in The Blues Brothers. The two brothers make their way across the country sporting matching suits, hats, and their iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarers.
It’s hard to beat a pair of Wayfarers, they’ve been worn by the likes of Bob Dylan and Debbie Harry. The titular brothers and their glasses became instant icons.
Nick Fury’s Eyepatch
Smauel Jackson has been in dozens of movies and had many memorable roles throughout the year, but one of his most well-known is as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From his black leather trench to his eyepatch, Fury cuts an impressive figure that’s incredibly intimidating – and he probably wants it that way.
While many questions remain about the elusive and mysterious Fury, one of the biggest questions was answered in Captain Marvel: how did Fury lose his eye and get his famous eye patch? Surprisingly, an alien cat scratch.
Pola Debevoise’s Glasses
The 1953 romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire is a star-studded affair, but one of the most memorable things about the film is Pola Debevoise’s (Marilyn Monroe) glasses. As the name suggests, the three leads are trying to find and marry their very own millionaire. This includes Monroe’s Pola who, a la Dorothy Parker’s advice in “News Item”, refuses to wear her glasses in front of any men.
Luckily in the end she puts her cute cat eye style glasses on just in time to enthrall the wealthy man next to her. (And popularize the style for women.)
Clark Kent’s Glasses
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s just a guy wearing some glasses. Are there any glasses more famous than Clark Kent’s? From the pages of his early comics to his many on-screen portrayals, Kent has had a pair of glasses. In fact, they’re imperative to maintaining his secret identity. It isn’t until he takes them off that anyone even realizes he’s actually Superman.
Whether it’s the DCEU’s Henry Cavill or Christopher Reeves in the 1978 Superman – without a pair of black, thick-framed glasses there is no Clark Kent.