5 Must-Have Unisex Shades for Men and Women

Unisex sunglasses are not a marketing category. They are frames designed around proportions, shapes, and colourways that work across different face structures and styling contexts without being visually coded toward one gender. The best ones have been doing this for decades without anyone needing to call them unisex, which is probably why they have lasted.

These five styles are the ones that genuinely earn that description. Each works for both sunglasses for men and women, suits a range of face shapes, and holds up across different occasions without looking like a compromise in either direction.

1. Aviators

The aviator is arguably the most naturally unisex frame shape in existence. The teardrop lens, thin metal frame, and understated bridge have been worn equally across genders since the style moved from its military origins into civilian fashion, and the shape has never acquired the gender associations that some other frames carry.

The proportions available across the aviator format range from compact versions that suit narrower faces to oversized iterations that work on broader structures. Polarised sunglasses in the aviator shape are widely available and add the practical glare-reduction benefit to a frame that was already doing the visual coverage job well. For anyone who wants one pair of shades for men and women that works as a shared option, the aviator is the most reliable starting point.

2. Wayfarers

The Ray-Ban Wayfarer is the most recognisable unisex frame of the last century, and its longevity reflects the fact that the trapezoidal silhouette suits an unusually wide range of face shapes and styling contexts. It reads as casual without effort, works with formal dressing without looking out of place, and has accumulated enough cultural references across enough different decades that it does not feel attached to any specific moment or demographic.

The Wayfarer is available in enough size variations, from the original to the New Wayfarer to the smaller Wayfarer Folding, that finding a proportion to suit different face widths is straightforward. In classic black acetate or tortoiseshell, it remains one of the most considered choices available as a shared unisex pair.

3. Round Metal Frames

Slim round frames in gold or silver occupy a different aesthetic register to the Wayfarer but are equally unisex in how they read on different faces. The circular lens shape suits more angular face structures particularly well, softening sharper features in a way that works regardless of who is wearing them.

The minimalism of a thin round metal frame means it recedes rather than dominates, which makes it versatile across different levels of dressing. Worn with a casual weekend outfit or alongside something more considered, the frame does not clash. This adaptability is part of why the shape has remained relevant across different fashion cycles rather than being strongly associated with one era.

For running glasses and active use, round frames are less practical than wraparound designs, but for everyday lifestyle wear they represent one of the cleaner unisex options available.

4. Polarised Wraparound Sports Frames

Polarised sunglasses in a wraparound format are the practical unisex choice for anyone whose sunglasses use involves outdoor activity. Running, cycling, hiking, and water sports all benefit from the glare elimination that polarised lenses provide and the peripheral coverage that a wraparound frame adds over a standard silhouette.

The design language of performance sunglasses has become neutral enough that the sport-focused aesthetic no longer reads as gender-specific in the way it once did. Brands including Oakley and others in the sports eyewear space offer running glasses and sport-specific designs in colourways and sizes that suit a wide range of wearers without being designed for one group specifically.

For couples or households where outdoor activity is a shared interest, a quality pair of polarised sport wraparound sunglasses shared between wearers is a practical solution provided the frame width suits both faces adequately.

5. Oversized Square Frames

Oversized square frames sit at the bolder end of the unisex spectrum. The larger lens area and defined angular shape make more of a visual statement than the aviator or round metal options, but the square silhouette itself has no strong gender association and works across a wide range of face shapes, particularly those with oval or narrower proportions where the added width creates a flattering balance.

In matte finishes, particularly matte black or tortoiseshell, oversized square frames carry the kind of quiet confidence that suits both sunglasses for men and sunglasses for women without needing to be contextualised by who is wearing them. Several designers have made this shape a consistent part of their permanent range precisely because of how broadly it lands.

What Makes a Frame Genuinely Unisex

Beyond the specific styles above, a few characteristics tend to determine whether a frame works across genders rather than sitting more clearly in one category.

Characteristic	Why It Matters
Neutral colourways	Black, tortoiseshell, gold, silver read across contexts
Proportional flexibility	Available in size options that suit different face widths
Balanced silhouette	Neither overtly delicate nor aggressively structural
Timeless shape	Not strongly tied to one cultural moment or trend cycle

Frames that meet these criteria tend to be the ones that get shared, borrowed, and described as working on anyone, which is the practical test of whether a frame is genuinely unisex or simply marketed as one.

Final Say

The five styles here have each proven across decades or across different contexts that they work on a wide range of people regardless of gender. Aviators and Wayfarers have the longest track record. Round metal frames and oversized square frames offer different aesthetic registers within the same broadly unisex territory. Polarised wraparound sports frames address the active use case where the others do not.

Any of these as a shared or flexible choice will hold up better over time than a frame chosen primarily for current trend relevance, simply because none of them are dependent on a single moment in fashion to justify their place.