Viral 'slutty little glasses' spark surge in men's statement eyewear

Last spring Tom Broughton, founder of eyewear brand Cubitts, was asked to comment on a meme featuring his company's 'Plimsoll' frames, worn by Jonathan Bailey in leaked stills from the 2025 movie Jurassic World Rebirth and dubbed by the internet as a pair of "slutty little glasses." "It all just blew up," Broughton says; a subsequent capsule collection with Bailey's Shameless Fund sold out almost instantly, thousands of pairs were gone in minutes, and after multiple restocks Broughton said Cubitts was down to "maybe our last 15 pairs," with nearly the entire run bought by men.

The same delicate, performatively bookish shape has appeared across pop culture: the frames turned up again on Glen Powell in Edgar Wright's remake of The Running Man, Tom Hiddleston wears neat Mykita Mylon Triton glasses in the new series of The Night Manager, The Traitors contestant Stephen Libby showcased circular heirloom lunettes, and Timothée Chalamet's protagonist Marty Supreme is frequently photographed in tiny rimless glasses.

Spectacles have also started appearing on catwalks at Paul Smith and Prada, and awards season featured lightly tinted lenses — around a 40% tint or less — on figures such as Jacob Elordi and Michael B Jordan. Broughton describes today's market as "bifurcated" between oversized acetate frames and a "super slim, almost-not-there vibe," and says low-key frames are waning.

Key Topics

Culture, Cubitts, Tom Broughton, Plimsoll Frames, Jonathan Bailey, Shameless Fund