10 Popular Types of Sunglasses to Dropship in 2024

12th-century sunglasses

The first-ever appearance of sunglasses in the world’s scene happened in the 12th century when the Chinese people searched for a tool that would help them hide away from excessive daylight. Sunglasses were predominantly used by the wealthy circles of society but also by public officials such as judges in order to conceal their faces and hide their emotions from other people. In fact, law officials used sunglasses in order to look as if they were emotionally detached from the whole judicial process in order not to give away a sense of what kind of verdict they were going to adopt.

15th-century sunglasses

Then in the 15th century, Chinese people introduced vision correction glasses to the Italians made out of a darkened layer that protected the wearer from the UV light. Three centuries later, James Ayscough attempted to find a solution to improve the sight of people by researching tinted lenses and introducing green/blue ones. He believed that changing the color might improve the sight of vision-impaired people.

20th-21st century sunglasses

The modern type of sunglasses started to appear in the 20th century when movie stars wore them on sets to protect their eyes from the very bright reflector lights. By the 1930s sunglasses had become a widely used item across the whole US. In the next decade, attempts were made to craft special sunglasses that’ll help protect pilots from high-altitude glares. Opticians and physicians joined forces to come up with a special dark green tint that’d absorb the light in the spectrum’s yellow band. Finally, the polaroid filter was invented, making sunglasses not only a health-aid product but a desirable fashionable accessory.

Yes, due to their simple and useful characteristics, sunglasses have always held a high-demand status on the market, making them a highly profitable business idea.

According to eCommerce industry statistics provided by Statista:

• The sunglasses segment has reached a revenue of US$25bn in 2024.
• The market is estimated to increase by 4.38% annually (CAGR for the period 2024-2028).
• The volume is set to amount to 1bn pieces by 2028 and it will record a 2.9% volume growth in 2026.

These estimates project an upward trend in the eCommerce eyewear sector.

Now that we’ve dived into the world of sunglasses and their market standings, the next thing we need to do is settle on what your dropshipping store should cover in terms of types of sunglasses. In general, emerging with a wider set of items as an inventory can land you an easier sale and immediate profits, but you can always direct your store towards a more narrow audience if you’re certain that the market is in need of that.

Aviator sunglasses are one of the most famous types of spectacles in the world. Produced in order to protect pilots from the sun glare while flying above the clouds, they have quickly become the most sought item on the sunglasses market.

Nowadays, these types of glasses have crossed into the fashionable zone while keeping their initial purpose as safety items. Their timeless design and pretty adaptable look were the two reasons why they kept passing the test of time and remaining in a high position in the popularity contest.

Originally developed by the company Ray-Ban, today, aviator sunglasses can be found in every fashion designer’s offer including many famous luxury brands. Thus, due to the popular demand, the Aviators are a must-have item in your dropshipping sunglasses store. Despite the original Ray-Ban aviator glasses, you can find numerous other luxury models such as the Diesel black unisex sunglasses, the Guess gold unisex aviators, and the Bally silver unisex aviator sunglasses.

Round sunglasses were first made famous by the Beatles member John Lennon and quickly became a must-have item for people who like to go to theme festivals or want to show their quirky spirit. The original ones are with an ultimately thin frame, displaying a more vintage look.

However, there are multiple variations within this style, such as those with a much thicker frame that adds a more chic touch.

So, including this item in your inventory will surely catch the eye of the modern hippie enthusiast who’ll gladly make a purchase.

After the success with the Aviator sunglasses, Ray-Ban once again took over the market with the fresh new Wayfarer glasses. The company used a different molding technology in order to develop a new design which to this day is easily recognizable. In fact, their idea back then was to leave the comfort zone of the sunglasses market that was full of products based almost exclusively on metal frames.

Ray-Ban offered a more modern shape from the already existing one, presenting the Wayfarer, a square-shaped frame with slightly rounded edges that invoke a more casual look.

Nevertheless, many companies have included a similar design in their offers, so you can find luxury branded sunglasses from the series in the offers of Diesel, Guess, Emporio Armani, Police, and many others. You can check the Diesel grey men sunglasses or the Green unisex model, or if you opt to attract consumers with more simplistic taste, go with Guess’s brown women sunglasses.

Another interesting style for your dropshipping sunglasses store that’ll surely attract many online buyers are the cat-eye sunglasses. With a date stamp from the 50s, these have a very distinguished design that can be recognized by the curvy upper frame that points outwards and resembles a cat’s eye.

Butterfly sunglasses were initially popularized by the luxury brand name Prada. This style is famous for its wide surface lenses that fully cover the eye sockets, thus providing even higher protection from harmful UV rays. Generally, the form of these sunglasses is wider on the outside and gets narrowed down towards the nose part. In fact, these lenses are a funkier variant of classical frames.

Lastly, many designer names incorporated these types of glasses in their offers. Emilio Pucci’s Gold women’s sunglasses are among some of the designs you can find at BrandsGateway.

If you choose to target a more sporty audience, you’ll definitely need to consider incorporating sporty sunglasses in your dropshipping store. These glasses provide a more streamlined look and better sunray protection. In fact, with this item, you can target athletes as they’ll always be more inclined towards the lenses that’ll enhance their physical performance and help them fully execute their potential.

You can check Fila’s sporty glasses and Bolle’s unisex sporty sunglasses that’ll attract the classical sport types, and Dsquared2’s unisex sunglasses for enriching your offer with a more modern and futuristic item.

Clubmaster sunglasses rose to fame in the 50s and 60s and initially went by the name browline sunglasses. Overall, these glasses are pretty distinctive from other types because of their particular framing that sits on the top of the lens, while the bottom half of the lens remains uncovered.

Models such as Police’s men sunglasses are a perfect example of this type, although there are also other variations such as Police’s gold rose women’s glasses and gunmetal sunglasses.

Geometric sunglasses are all those strangely shaped spectacles that emit a retro 70’s glam vibe. Whether hexagonal, octagonal, or some other geometrical shape, these glasses are meant to be worn by people that really want to stand out from the rest and execute a different look. In fact, these geometrical spectacles will always offer a pretty contoured style and show off the structure of the wearer’s face as no other model would.

Therefore, this type of sunglasses will be magnetic for the extravagant souls that seek to differ from the rest of the group. Models like Roberto Cavalli’s women’s sunglasses and Emilio Pucci’s brown women’s sunglasses are only some of the BrandsGateway’s offers to include in your dropshipping store.

This particular type of sunglasses is mainly for women and dates all the way back to the 70s when the female population used to wear them to hide their faces. Modern oversized sunglasses almost always contain a cut-out detail that is seldom on the outer edge of the frame made of plastic. In addition, the frames might have different forms like rectangular or squared, while the lenses are darkly shaded in order to provide the best possible protection from UV light.

Carolina Herrera’s brown women’s glasses, Guess’s oversized sunglasses, and Atelier Swarovski’s sunglasses are just some of the many luxury branded spectacles you should consider incorporating in your store’s stock.

Lastly, the statement type of sunglasses is a group of different styled spectacles worth being mentioned in this list. Funky designs, a fusion of modern and retro styles, and specific frames that cannot be found in other regular models are some of the features these sunglasses can be recognized for. Additionally, they can be differentiated by the different colors of the lenses.

Overall, the statement type is intended for a small audience segment that exclusively looks for this kind of glasses and is ready to make a purchase. Thus, offering them as part of your stock can mean more diverse traffic for your eCommerce store.

To emerge as a serious dropshipping business in the current market means that you need to specify or narrow down your niche in order to avoid an overwhelming and inventory-packed website. Dropshipping sunglasses for men and women can be your perfect anchor for starting a venture in this segment and can launch your business high up on the market.

Due to the still unexplored eCommerce segment for selling sunglasses, it’s a great idea to secure your place and become a serious player before the market gets oversaturated. So, now that we’ve provided some relevant information about this niche, all you have to do is conduct research, create a strategy, and shine your light in the world of dropshipping.