Bob Dylan's Sunglasses

Regarded one of the greatest singer songwriters of all time Bob Dylan's signature sunglasses became an accessory synonymous with the musician. Tousled curls, the silm black attire and those unmistakeable sunglasses. A true 60s style icon.

With the launch of A Complete Unknown, the 2024 film which follows the early life of Dylan (played by Timothee Chalamet) in the 60s we thought we would look into the sunglasses Bob Dylan wore and the styles around them.

Credit : Alamy

The early 60s Dylan had an understated style but come the mid 60s, black jeans, black sunglasses and a black suede military jacket became his uniform.

More than just a fashion accessory, Dylan's sunglasses were a tool of survival. Come 1965 he faced an onslaught of press interrogations, fan hysteria and criticism from folk purists who were enraged by his move to electric rock.

In these moments his sunglasses became a shield giving an air of mystery and aloofness. Seen without being fully seen, the eyes can give a great deal away. The below clip shows him being interviewed in his famous black sunglasses. We found it humorous when he is asked to "suck his glasses", some really great footage.

Dylan's style has influenced countless artists and designers, and in our interview with Andy Crofts, Andy mentioned Dylan as one of his style influencers. Dylan's iconic shades have often been linked to the Ray-Ban Caribbean.

Not to be controversial but it is my theory that although most suggest that Dylan wore the early version of the B&L Ray-Ban Caribbean that is not in-fact the case.

The first tell tale sign is the rivet detail at the front of the frame. Notice how Dylan's narrows towards the bottom of the rivet, almost triangular in shape, whereas the original vintage B&L Ray-Ban Caribbean model has double pin head rivets. Now the modern version created by Luxottica tries to mimic Dylan's style with a rectangular rivet, but again it isn't quite the same.

Ray-Ban Caribbean Vintage and Modern Sunglasses

The same theory applies to the temporal sides. The rivet detail on Dylan's sunglasses is horizontal and again appears to taper. The B&L 60s vintage version again has pin head rivets and the Luxottica modern version features the RayBan signature. One of the nearest models we have found is the Polaroid 616.

Credit: Alamy

Now at present we don't have an exact pair of Bob Dylan's sunglasses, however we've curated a collection of our nearest products below. Hopefully you can draw inspiration from the music legend himself, and his symbolic style.