i'm sick of having to squint my eyes in the sun. so despite my plans to not spend too much money this summer, i'm going to have to buy some shades. what do i have to look for? i dont know what those UV numbers do. also what is the fashion trend at the moment, safest choice of frame, good brand, etc. i guess i dont mind paying for something that'll last a long time. so help me. i dont want to have to swap my sunglasses with some blind guy and have to wear nose-pinching shades.
I've heard there is absolutely no difference between a $10 pair of shades and $250 pair...particularly fashion shades. (If you want them for sports, Oakley and others make various types for different purposes which is nice). You can look at and tell if it is well made and be sure it has the UV sticker. If you break a $10 pair, who friggin cares, right? But if you lose/break an expensive pair, it sucks. All that being said, if you ARE going to spend a little more on shades, get polarized lenses. They are nice for driving.
Aviators have been in for some time now. Don't get the huge Rayban Aviators cause the look kinda cheesy but go for something in the mid-Aviator range. Not that color, but that style.
Now go out and get yourself some big black frames with the glass so dark thay won't even know your name. And the choice is up to you cause they come in two classes: Rhinestone shades or cheap sunglasses.
One of the best brands on the market is Maui Jim. They have the best, safest lenses. Its actually the brand my eye doctor recommended when I switched to contacts from glasses. Go for their sports line of glasses.
I wear my sunglasses at night. My future's so bright i gotta wear shades. Wow that was 80's random right there.
I have a pair of $8 shades from Eckerd's that are on their sixth year. I bought one pair of nice sunglasses about 22 years ago and lost them within 6 months-- left them on a restaurant table in San Antonio (I always suspected Gene Banks). Never again!
I've always had Oakley's Probably had like a total of 5 pairs of high dollar ones and 4 of them have been stolen and i am on my most recent pair that i have kept a very watchful eye on since. I currently have the X-Metal Juliets.
forget about those trendy j-lo shades..... those things are lame. go with either costa del mar (sporting shades) or maui jims. maui makes some awesome shades and they have great lenses.... they can get pretty expensive, though (up to $300).
Someone told me it costs around $0.73 cents to produce a pair of plastic Oakley's and $2 for a metal frame. Doesn't surprise me, but it's the style, namebrand, and "lens technology" that the consumer is paying for. I have a friend who works at an outdoor store so I got a good deal on a pair of Oakly Square Wire 2.0 in black: I went for polarized since it wasn't that much more; It's a great pair and was discounted which was a plus. The thing was I couldn't decide between the black or the Fire lens: I went for black since it was more "formal". When I was up in NY I got a pair of fake Oakley's that are just like the Fire lens, but I spent $5. Now I end up wearing the fake ones 10x more than the real $200 pair because they make me look cooler. I'm an idiot. Oh, so if you want a namebrand pair, go for Oakley or Costa Del Mar. If you think it's absurd to spend more than $10 on a pair, go for the cheap ones; head to Walgreen's and get some UV ones for cheap. And if you break or lose them, you're only down $10.
I've googled and googled but I can't find anything on the quality difference between cheap sunglasses and expensive sunglasses. There are some differences in the durability of the frames but I end up twisting the earpieces off of any of them by keeping them in my pocket so I am an avowed cheapie wearer now. My one addition to the thread is that I did buy one $9 pair at Academy that ended up having an imperfection, like a ripple, in one of the lenses that really distorted the view. I think you really need to get a polarized lense to drive around in the summer, it really knocks down the glare off of the surrounding traffic. I go for dark grey green lenses in Houston but a brown or yellow lense is nice to have on those overcast days; it really picks up the contrast and they are actually quite useful for driving in the rain. Dark rose colored is actually a good compromise between the two but you look a lot more like Elton John. My last two pair were the $19.99 designer name brands from Steinmart. That's about 1/2 to 1/3 what you would pay for the same glasses at a department store.
Man whatever you do....dont get those "mirror" sunglasses. Stupidest purchase I have ever made in my freaking life. Those people that think its cool to wear them at night are complete idiots. Although a couple of them might be my friends.
