Buying Sunglasses

From LoveToKnow Sunglasses

When Buying Sunglasses Will Benefit You

When will buying sunglasses benefit you? Always! That is, unless you have a wide sunglasses wardrobe already. You'll add an element of style to your look, plus you'll protect your eyes from UV rays that can do quite a bit of damage over time. Protecting your peepers is the most important thing about eyewear!

Tips for Choosing Your Sunglasses

There are a few factors to consider when you choose sunglasses to take with you every day, something to match your every mood and outfit.

The Frames for Your Face

Face shape: Oval shaped faces can wear just about any shape or style. Just don’t go too big or too small, and you’re good! Is your face on the angular side? Balance with rounder frame styles. Similarly, if your face is all curves and not many lines, create the illusion of a more angular face by buying sunglasses with corners as opposed to big, round frames.

Hair color: Blondes’ best bet is to go with lighter tones. Black can look too harsh, so opt for brown or tortoise frames if you feel that the black ones overpower your delicate coloring.

Brunettes can go bold! Choose from red, white, black or any other bright or deep color. Unless you’re a very fair-skinned brunette, you may want to stay away from the pastel tones.

Redheads look beautiful in frames in hunter green, tortoise, brown and sometimes even royal blue.

Style: This is where your overall style comes in. Match your sunglasses to your clothes, especially for daily wear if you're only buying one pair. Classic wardrobes call for understated frames with gray or amber lenses. Funkier types could wear colored lenses in unusual shapes. Think trendy. If you like old-fashioned attire, check into retro or vintage sunglasses.

Buying sunglasses is all about balancing your style with your face shape. If you have a small face, opt for small sunglasses. Longer face shapes should choose large sunglasses, perhaps in the aviator style.

All These Lenses--How Do I Choose?

The first thing you should do when buying sunglasses is to consider what you’ll be using them for. Driving requires different things than playing golf, for example. Sunglasses used for hunting will be different than those for skiing.

Driving Sunglasses

Amber lenses tend to work best for driving, but polarized sunglasses take the cake. Polarized lenses cut down on glare and create contrast so that you’re able to react more quickly. If a child or small animal jumps out in front of your car, you have more time to stop. Optical shops often have some you can try on to really compare polarized and non-polarized lenses.

Sports Sunglasses

For golfing in particular, you may want to opt for cinnamon or citrus colors, rather than gray, for blocking bright sunlight while providing contrast on the green. Read more at FindArticles.com. Tennis players benefit from teal lenses; skiers from vermillion. Playing sports at night but still need protection? There are clear lenses just for that purpose.

Bolle Sunglasses and Rudy Project make fabulous sunglasses with athletes in mind. The best part is, you can change your lenses. So if you’re a man or woman of many athletic talents, you won’t have to have a new pair for every sport; just stock up on lenses of many colors.

Sunglasses for Shooting

When you’re hunting, you want the greatest amount of contrast between your target and its background, right? The way you get that is by using orange, yellow, or vermillion lenses. If you’re trying to see through a haze or low light, opt for the orange or yellow lenses. Surrounded by trees? Choose vermillion. Another option is gray. While gray lenses won’t give you more contrast between your target and its background, they are the best for shooting in bright sunlight. Even better, take it up a notch by choosing polarized lenses.

Multi-Purpose Sunglasses

For all activities, aside from regular daily wear, polycarbonate lenses are your best bet. They’re impact resistant, and won’t shatter. That’s not to say that they won’t break when you sit or step on them, but shards won’t fly into your eyes if you get hit or fall while wearing them. They crack instead.

For daily wear, plastic lenses should suffice, unless you’ve only got one good eye. In that case, you’ll still want to opt for polycarbonate.

Best Everyday Sunglasses

If you're only buying one pair of sunglasses, choose gray lenses. Choose a classic shape appropriate for your face shape and coloring. Take the rest of your wardrobe into consideration. If you're into old-fashioned styles, you may want to opt for vintage sunglasses just to keep everything in line.


 


Comments

Natasha, sometimes a fresh, unbiased opinion is exactly what you need to find the perfect pair for your face.

-- Contributed by: CrystalSchwanke

thanks for the post! I've been having so much trouble finding sunglasses that fit my face. I never thought of going to a sunglass shop and asking someone there to help me find the right pair.

-- Contributed by: Natasha Kravchuk

Fernando, please see our Technomarine Sunglasses article for more information on the brand as well as where to purchase.

-- Contributed by: CrystalSchwanke
> See All Comments on this article    


Comment on Buying Sunglasses



(Displayed with your comment)                        (Will not be displayed)
Verification Code:   
    

Sunglasses

Sign up to get free email newsletters from LoveToKnow.



PRINT THIS PAGE

EMAIL TO FRIEND


You are here: LoveToKnow » Style & Shopping » Sunglasses » Buying Sunglasses » Buying Sunglasses