Beaming Dame Anna Wintour's striking photo without trademark sunglasses is sure to turn heads

Dame Anna Wintour's sleek, chin-grazing bob and dark sunglasses have become key signifiers of her iconography. 

However, Vogue’s global editorial director has previously admitted her glasses aren’t a fashion statement, but rather a "prop" for public appearances. "They help me see and they help me not see. They help me be seen and not be seen. They are a prop, I would say," she told the BBC.

"[Sunglasses are] incredibly useful because you avoid people knowing what you’re thinking about," she previously told CNN. "They help me when I’m feeling a bit tired or sleepy, and maybe they’ve just become a crutch and part of who I am."

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While Anna is rarely seen without her oversized shades today, back in the 80s and early 90s, she went sans-sunglasses quite often. In celebration of her 77th birthday on November 3, HELLO! are revisiting a throwback photo of the editor.

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Captured in New York in the 1980s, the photo shows Anna posing in a sleeveless black dress that featured a high neckline and figure-hugging silhouette. The garment was adorned with elegant buttons on the bodice. Anna's brunette locks were styled into her signature bob-cut with full bangs while her makeup was kept natural and radiant. Her blue eyes were on full display as she opted to go out without sunglasses. 

Anna Wintour's net worth and family

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Anna has been at the helm of the fashion industry since the early 80s. She began her career at Vogue back in 1988, when she stepped in to replace then Editor-in-Chief, Grace Mirabella According to Celebrity Net Worths, she boasts a fortune of $50 million.

The 77-year-old, now chief content officer for Condé Nast, shares son Charles and daughter Bee with her first ex-husband, child psychiatrist David Shaffer, whom she was married to from 1984 to 1999.

2027 Met Gala

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art cancelled their exhibit celebrating John Galliano's work for the 2027 Met Gala and Costume Institute exhibit. The institute's spring 2027 exhibit was titled John Galliano: Horizons In a statement supporting the designer's decision to "postpone" the exhibit, Anna hailed it as "very courageous and a measure of the man he is."

"I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support. His soaring imagination, fed by a lifetime of curiosity and research, is matched by his exceptional craft. Cut, fit, the evocative line of a bias-cut dress, color — he's a master of it all."