Glasses Were The Undisputed Champion Of Menswear Accessories This Year

Slutty little glasses for the win

By Aditi Tarafdar | LAST UPDATED: JAN 2, 2026

You’d be forgiven for thinking glasses lost their edge after last year’s office siren moment, a trend that was, let’s be clear, very much a women’s fashion phenomenon. For men, eyewear felt too adjacent to corporate cosplay, too tied up in algorithm-friendly fantasies of the corporate world at a time when the economy and job market was at a free fall. Once brat summer detonated that hyper-polished aesthetic, glasses seemed to retreat into the background.

And yes, the data supports it. Searches for eyewear dipped once Charli XCX’s unbothered energy took over the feed. Except that 2025 brought back eyewear, this time for men.

Let’s start with the obvious cultural reset: Jonathan Bailey, freshly crowned Sexiest Man of the Year, going viral for what the internet lovingly (and aggressively) dubbed his “slutty little glasses” during the Jurassic World press tour. Yes, that is the actual phrase. And no, there is no dignified way to explain it, except that those glasses were turned into a whole brand of their own. A delicate pair of glasses, framed with ultra-thin titanium wires, slightly undersized, made the internet lose its mind.

Jonathan Bailey at the Jurassic World PromoInstagram

Bailey wasn't the only one donning those delicate frames into popularity, though. Tokyo Sims’ Kole, the content creator/vlogger whose signature rimless glasses became inseparable from his deadpan, socially awkward street interviews in Shibuya was so popular this year that his look quickly evolved into a full-blown pop culture reference. (Is this one of the reasons why everyone is going to Japan suddenly? Maybe, but that's a topic for a different day).

Which brings us neatly to the “hot nerd” discourse. According to Urban Dictionary, the term refers to “a really ridiculously good-looking person who is smart and can rock a pair of glasses like no other.” Vague? Absolutely. Democratic? Painfully so. The definition essentially throws the doors open to anyone with a decent bone structure and corrective lenses.

But wait. The trend was not just about the rimless glasses. James Gunn’s Superman, which did something radical by remembering that Clark Kent is, at heart, a bit of a loser in a good, kindness-is-punk kind of way. His glasses here aren’t just cosmetic; they’re supposed to be functional in the movie, equipped with technology that makes him appear physically different to onlookers (they're literally called hypno-glasses). And on David Corenswet, with those soft curls and unapologetically thick frames, the effect works because he actually looks like a dork. Not a hot guy pretending to be awkward (no Henry Cavill will be slandered in this article; that guy looks too good to be anything other than Superman 24x7).

IMDb

Of course, there’s a parallel movement worth side-eyeing: the performative men. You know the ones. Boho-prep outfits, tote bags permanently attached, iced matcha in hand, frames chosen less for vision and more for vibes. It’s easy to roll your eyes at the,. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you’re genuinely into it, if this is actually you and not a Pinterest board come to life, why should a trend stop you?

So, if specs appeal to you genuine enough, why not check out these glasses below?