Decluttering My Vintage Sunglasses Collection In My 50s, Plus Where To Shop The Look
I have somewhere around 100 pairs of vintage sunglasses, and if you had asked me a year ago I would not have admitted that out loud. Somewhere between my LA days and my move to Atlanta, I became the kind of collector who cannot pass up a great pair of sunglasses at an estate sale, and like a lot of Gen X women right now, I am in a season of actually looking at everything I own and asking myself whether it still earns a place in my life. So I filmed myself going through the collection, one pair at a time, trying to decide what stays and what finally goes.
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You can watch the full sort through, including every single pair below!
Why I Have About 100 Pairs Of Vintage Sunglasses
Most of these came from Poshmark, eBay, and Etsy over the years, plus a good handful from estate sales, including one unforgettable sale from a woman in LA who had the most fabulous clothes, shoes, jewelry, and sunglasses I have ever seen in one closet. I went on the first day, then went back on Sunday because that is when estate sales usually drop to half off. I love pieces that have personality, and sunglasses are such an easy way to collect that without needing a bigger closet. The problem is I get fixated. I decide I want vintage sunglasses, and then suddenly I have a hundred pairs and a drawer that will not close.
What I Am Keeping And Why
A few pairs were never even a question. My vintage Playboy sunglasses are not going anywhere, and neither are a pair of Christian Dior sunglasses I bought on Poshmark for thirty dollars that I later found out retail for five or six hundred. I also have a gray tinted pair that give off total 80s windbreaker energy that I actually wear all the time, and a pair stamped Renauld, made in France, that I love so much I could not even tell you why. What I noticed going through all of them is that the pairs I truly reach for are not necessarily the most valuable or the most designer, they are just the ones that still make me genuinely happy to put on.
What Almost Made The Let Go Pile
The easiest decisions were the pairs I have never worn in public, not once, mostly because they are prescription and give me a headache, or because they fit too tight on my face. A pair of wire frame aviators that live in their own little vintage case were the closest thing to an actual yes on getting rid of something, though ask me again next year and I will probably decide I need aviators after all. If you are also in a decluttering season, you already know exactly how that goes.
Designer Logo Sunglasses
If you love that my Christian Dior and Fendi pairs keep coming up in the video, these give you that same polished, designer feel without hunting eBay for an exact vintage match.
Colorful Vintage Inspired Frames
My favorite pairs in my own collection are almost always a colorful, chunky acetate frame, and these have that exact same handmade, vintage glam feel.
Oversized Aviators
I only kept one pair of aviators from my own collection, but if you are more of an aviator person than I am, these are a great place to start.
Geometric And Statement Shapes
A good chunk of my collection leans bohemian and a little bit weird in the best way, these have that same energy.
Free People Oversized Round And Square Styles
And if you want an easy, everyday pair that still has personality, Free People has several right now that remind me of the softer, rounder shapes in my own collection.
Shop Everything From This Post
You can also shop more of my favorite finds on my general ShopMy page.
So tell me, are you holding on to things because you genuinely love them, or because you have had them for so long that it feels hard to let go? I would love to hear what you are decluttering right now, leave it in the comments.
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