Aviators sunglasses– A Teardrop shaped lens with a thin metal frame. Popular with pilots, military personnel, and law enforcement personnel in the USA. They look great on any shape face but best on an oval shape face.
Wayfarers/Spicolis – Popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Teashades – Popularized by John Lennon and Ozzy Osbourne. They’re not very effective at keeping light out of your eyes, though.
Wraparounds – Associated with athletics and extreme sports.
Oversized – Associated with models and movie stars. Glamorous, darling
Mirrorshades – Mirrored coating on the surface. Used a lot by police officers in the US. They usually come in an aviator or wraparound shape
Sunglasses are not just about fashion. Sunglasses protect your eyes just like sunscreen protects your skin.
You can put a low-cost SP factor 10 on your skin and your skin will be damaged after about 30 minutes in full sun. Cheap sunglasses for your eyes are no different. Plus if you want to by sunglasses that will last a lifetime then please read on…
Sunglasses are used for specific reasons by many people. Sunglasses are purchased to help with a more comfortable driving experience in a car or boat. Cutting down on glare and improving overall contrast and clarity can perhaps save you from a headache.
Sunglasses are also needed by professionals: law enforcement, airline pilots and fire engine drivers to name just a few.
Golfers also buy sunglasses not (only) for aesthetics but for achieving that hole-in-one! Maybe that golfer you see on the course HAS paid 200 dollars for his or her sunglasses. But good sunglasses might have also helped him on the golf course also! Thier sunglasses DID protect their precious eyesight from the sun’s harmful rays.
Whatever the reason you want to buy sunglasses let the materials and quality of the sunglasses come first. Function over style.
My own Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses are worth every penny I paid for them. They are comfortable, enhance the scenery around me and I know that they are also protecting my precious eyes.
Golfers sunglasses can help contrast the fairways and greens allowing you to play a better more comfortable game of golf. The design of the glasses must also allow you to swing the golf club as if no sunglasses were there at all. Some golfers sunglasses also have eye protection from high impact in the rare case a ball or club comes your way.
There are far more things to consider than just looking cool on the golf course or in your convertible sports car
This is what you will get when spending less than $30 on sunglasses:
Inferior lens UV protection. Your glasses may indeed say “UV protection” but how much? Being outdoors in strong sunlight looking through dark plastic lenses forces your pupil to open wider, which in turn makes your eyes more susceptible to UV (ultraviolet) sun rays damage when cheaper lenses I used.
Shop for sunglasses that block out at least 96% of UVA sunlight rays and at least 99% of UVB sun rays.
Inferior lens shape. This is critical because cheap plastic lenses often will give you a distorted view oftentimes resulting in headaches.
Inferior frame materials. This is probably the most obvious difference. While it will not harm your health to have a cheap plastic frame it most likely can result in a broken frame within months of your purchase. I should know, having bought lots of sunglasses at 5 dollars each decades ago. Cheap sunglasses cannot handle the smallest abuse and often break. Plastic breaks, the hinge falls apart or the hinge just separates from the frame.
Inferior sunglass lens materials. Often acrylic is used and this is next to useless. NXT and glass are your best options.
If you prefer to shop for style over function then spending money on sunglasses is a great way to look the part at your afternoon tea party at the Hamptons. Please remember that names like Gucci and Prada will take your 500 dollars and offer you nothing more, often times less, than a 150 dollar pair of RAY-BAN’s. I am middle of the road in this regard, fashion over function can be found buying a pair of Persol sunglasses
The argument against spending more than ten dollars on sunglasses goes like this: “I only buy cheap sunglasses because I loose my sunglasses often or I sit on them in the car!” On the surface that sounds about right. However what I have found through my own experience is that spending about $100 dollars on sunglasses forces you to pay attention to the whereabouts of your sunglasses. I always use the case for my Ray Bans when not in use and I am always careful where I place them when I put them down. The more obvious benefit is that my eyes have better protection and the glasses are much better quality and design. I have owned this pair of Ray Bans since 2006! While owning these for 12 years hardly could be called “buying it for life” I think the reader will agree that 10 years or more owning the same pair of sunglasses is pretty damn good. Lifetime sunglasses will not break, but looking good on you is a lso a big MUST.
Buying guide for good sunglasses:
For sports such as running, fishing, or even walking a frame with rubberized arms would be an excellent choice. Close fitting to your face, letting in as little sunlight as possible on the sides and the top and bottom. In other words a close fit to your face. Remember if you buy your sunglasses on Amazon returning them is easy within 30 days. Often times return postage is paid for by Amazon. A close fit to the face not only keeps out sunlight but also the wind an added benefit when running or driving with the top down
Think about what predominant function you will be doing while wearing your sunglasses. The image below will guide you. One colour is missing is green, which also happens to be the tint on my Ray-Bans. A green lens, on a pair of sunglasses, also enhances contrast and that for me is important. Green and blue sunglass lenses also enhanced a yellow tennis ball!
The shape and size of your sunglasses frame should complement your face. Look at the examples below and the accompanying video to get an idea of what sunglasses frame shape you should buy when matched to the shape of your face.
Aviators – Teardrop-shaped lens and thin metal frames. Often used by pilots, military personnel, and law enforcement personnel in the US. Good with any face shape, but best with an oval shape.
Wayfarers/Spicolis – Popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Teashades – Popularized by John Lennon and Ozzy Osbourne. They’re not very effective at keeping light out of your eyes, though.
Wraparounds – Associated with athletics and extreme sports.
Oversized – Associated with models and movie stars. Glamorous, darling
Mirrorshades – Mirrored coating on the surface. Used a lot by police officers in the US. They usually come in an aviator or wraparound shape
Even a few scratches on the lens will make the sunglasses more difficult to see clearly. Caring for your sunglasses is important, however buying a very high-quality plastic called NXT polyurethane are will provide impact-resistance, are more flexible resulting in less likely to break, lighter weight and have greater optical clarity. These pair made by Costa del Mar have this plastic lens and are very popular.
Glass lenses are heavier, more expensive, and will “spider” if hit hard.
Polycarbonate lenses are not as scratch-resistant as NXT and provide less optical clarity than NXT polyurethane or glass, but the sunglasses are more affordable.
Polyamide is a less used material in sunglasses, which provides glass like optical clarity, without the danger of shattering.
There are significant differences in scratch resistance of polycarbonate lenses depending on the hard-coating finish applied during construction.
Acrylic is also affordable, but it’s the least durable and optically clear. They are also weak when exposed to heat and often deform. I do not recommend this material for your sunglasses.
Amazon.com
and Prada
will take your 500 dollars and offer you nothing more, often times less, than a 150 dollar pair of RAY-BAN’s. I am middle of the road in this regard, fashion over function can be found buying a pair of Persol sunglasses
$114.13
$142.88
$146.00Buy this now!
