Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Last year, sunglasses were all about "serious glamour": oversized, superflattering, chic black shades. But this year's look is more Brains from Thunderbirds than Hollywood movie star. Ray Ban's design classic, the Wayfarer, is the shape of the moment, and black has been replaced by crayon colours, reports Simon Chilvers.
Last week, movie starlet-turned-singer Scarlett Johansson was pictured in NME wearing blue Wayfarers, while Sienna Miller was pictured accessorising a vintage frock with a pair of red Wayfarers. Miller also has a pair in blue.
Anne Hathaway recently chose an acid-pink mirrored pair to give a jolt of colour to a monochrome outfit, while Rachel Bilson wears giant Wayfarers in zingy apple green.
Wayfarers in rainbow colours are this year's answer to the cowboy hat: the accessory that defines the summer. Summer would not be the same without the cheap rush of a silly trend (cast your mind back to Crocs and sun-visors).
Katie Grand, stylist for Louis Vuitton and editor of Pop magazine, recently selected a pair of bright pink Wayfarer-esque sunglasses as one of her recommended highlights for the new season.
Designed by Giles Deacon for New Look, they have also been modelled to full fashion-effect by Agyness Deyn, supermodel, trendsetter and all-round wearer of bold colour.
Emma Elwick, market editor at British Vogue and self-confessed "glasses geek", has been teaming her bought-on-impulse cerulean blue Wayfarers with a matching T-shirt dress from Balenciaga.
Now that music festivals are such see-and-be-seen events on the celebrity calendar, the big summer fashion trends tend to be those that fuse the mood of fashion and music.
Conor McNicholas, editor of the NME, suggests that colourful Wayfarer-style shades are having a fashion moment because they suit the current music scene. "It's a classic rock 'n' roll fashion icon but given a day-glo twist. We're seeing bands musically drawing on rock heritage and excess but fusing it with the beats and the best celebratory and communal aspects of dance culture. Wearing bright Wayfarers is the most obvious way to signal that you're part of this new scene."
The Wayfarers comeback, which began last year during Ray-Ban's 70th anniversary when the brand relaunched the classic black frame after several years out of production, certainly struck a chord with the music crowd. Remember Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell and then squeeze Kirsten Dunst cavorting around in matching leathers and Wayfarers?
The iconic Wayfarer design has a history of being worn by celebrities, particularly musicians with style credentials. Designed in 1952, they were worn by the likes of John Lennon and Bob Dylan; Audrey Hepburn wore them in Breakfast at Tiffany's, their slightly off-kilter look serving to dress down her Givenchy couture wardrobe.
