Fashionable shades make for cool summer styles

The sweltering heat of the summer can have a blinding effect, so shade the sun’s rays with a pair of stylish sunglasses that can simultaneously help enhance your wardrobe.

With summer here, you may already be in the midst of a vacation, job or even taking a few summer classes. Whichever option you’ve pursued this summer, warmer weather and more socializing usually follow.

Summer fashion follows this trend with sunglasses, flip-flops and shorts reigning supreme as temperatures increase and students spend time outside enjoying the change of pace and greater freedom.

But you might just find yourself still surrounded by a sea of people in Ray-Ban Wayfarers, polo shirts and colored flip-flops. If you’re looking for a way to stand out from the crowd or are interested in other quality options for the money you’ve been saving up or anticipating from a summer job, sunglasses can be a great starting point to freshen up your wardrobe.

More importantly, by altering your look with this simple change — something as understated as your eyewear — you can take maximum advantage of the summer’s inviting weather and lifestyle by dressing stylishly regardless of your summer plans.

The classic look of Ray-Ban Wayfarers is everywhere. Whether you’re walking down Forbes Avenue or sitting out on the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall lawn, the ubiquity of this college staple is easily noticeable and will continue to have a place on campus.

But alternative Ray-Ban offerings, such as the Clubmaster or classic Aviator, can give you that ocular edge over the crowds of students clinging to their neon-colored lenses on campus. These modern offerings reinvent iconic styles worn by General Douglas MacArthur, James Dean and John Lennon.

The Clubmaster and Aviator styles feature numerous frame and lens combinations, ranging from the traditional tortoiseshell frame with dark green lenses to modern animal patterns paired with bright yellow lenses. Not to mention, they can be customized on the Ray-Ban retail website to your personal liking, giving you an even more original option specific to your style.

If these Ray-Ban offerings aren’t quite what you’re looking for to decorate your face, another quality alternative is Super Sunglasses, whose Flat Top line incorporates a wayfarer-style frame with a unique upper design that comes in colors such as Matte Black and Summer Safari Cheetah. Combining an Italian design with durable construction, Super adds edginess and a modern twist to their products, evident in their Lady-Gaga-like W and brightly-colored Basic lines.

But there are still other options when choosing eyewear. In a vintage mood? Look no further than Persol’s offerings. Modeling its 714 model off the legendary style of Steve McQueen, or the “King of Cool,” Persol, an Italian company that models its business around the Italian phrase “per il sole” — or “for the sun” — uses a rich history with Ray-Ban to create classically-inspired products.

With its similar 649 and 714 models, the Italian eyewear maker retains a sense of nostalgia for the 1960s and 1970s, while maintaining its trademark fold-up-and-go construction that allows you to easily carry the glasses.

Sunglasses, as an accessory, don’t usually make or break an outfit. But especially during the summer, when the heat warrants less clothes than ever, choosing an alternative to the ever-present Wayfarer or delving into a more vintage or modern product line can definitely provide a means of standing out without breaking the budget.