Sunglass Buying Guide

Sunglasses really add that cool factor to any outfit, whether you're on your way to work, running errands or heading out for a day of fun at the beach. Your shades don't just make you look and feel good, though, they also play an important role in protecting the health of your eyes. When you're buying sunglasses, it's important to consider not only what they look like, but also what features they have to make the styles protective and long lasting. We created our Buyers' Guide to Sunglasses so you'll know what to look for as you shop for your next hot pair of shades.

Frame Features

To understand the product descriptions for sunglasses, it's important to be familiar with the basic terms used to describe their frames. The basic parts of sunglasses are the:

?         Arms - The two parts of the frames that extend along your ears

?         Rims - The part of the frames that encircle the lenses

?         Temple - The spot where the arms meet the rims

As you shop for sunglasses, you'll run across some other terms that describe special features of certain styles, including:

?         Hand-polished - Refers to frames that have been buffed by hand to give them an even, smooth finish with no rough edges. Hand-polished frames are generally of  a higher quality than machine-polished frames since the work is completed by an individual that can touch and examine the frames rather than by a machine.

Impact Resistant - Describes frames made with materials designed to endure a sudden force, such as being dropped or having pressure exerted upon them. Although impact resistant sunglasses are more durable than standard shades, they cannot withstand severe force, such as being stepped on. 

Lens Features

Although the frames give your sunglasses their style, the lenses are what make it easier for you to see in intense sunlight or in areas with highly reflective surfaces, such as near bodies of water or snow-covered areas. To choose sunglasses that you'll be happy wearing season after season, it's important to carefully examine the details of the lenses.

All sunglasses lenses have some type of coloring. While black and brown are the most common, blue, green, orange, purple and a number of colors are also available in some styles. Keep in mind that when you look through the lenses you'll see the world tinted in their color.

Some lenses feature a gradient, which means they are darker at the top and become lighter at the bottom. Gradient lenses are useful if you need to read while wearing your sunglasses, as the lighter region at the bottom is naturally in your line of sight when you look down at a page, menu or other type of written material.

Scratch-resistance is another desirable feature for lenses and describes those with a special coating that makes them more durable. This makes the lenses stand up to small scrapes, though they can still become scratched by very hard objects, such as the blade of a key pressing against them inside of a purse.

 UV Protection

 The most important job of your sunglasses is protecting your eyes from ultraviolet light, the high energy waves emitted by the sun that can actually create burns on your eyes and lead to permanent vision impairment. The protectiveness of sunglasses is measured by how much of the two types of ultraviolet light--UVA and UVB rays--the lenses filter out. Always look for sunglasses that offer full or 100 percent UV protection, or those marked UV 400, meaning that they block out 100 percent of all light that is up to 400 nanometers in wavelength.

Now, that you understand the terminology used to describe sunglasses as well as their most important features, you're ready to begin exploring styles. Sunglasses come in a wide variety of styles, but designers tend to use a standard set of words to describe the common, fashionable styles that you'll encounter from brand to brand.

 Among these are:

-          Aviator sunglasses  typically feature wire frames and rims with lenses shaped like teardrops. Often, the lenses are mirrored and have an extra metal piece that runs parallel to the bridge of the sunglasses and connects the rims to one another.

-          Wayfarer sunglasses are made with a heavy plastic rather than metal and first debuted in 1956. Produced by a major luxury brand, wayfarer sunglasses have never fallen out of popularity. One of the most classic shapes for Wayfarers is the cat's eye, which feature dramatic, pointed temples.

-          Oversized sunglasses cover not only the eyes, but also the top portion of the cheeks. These large styles became in vogue in the 1980s.

-          Bug eye sunglasses are typically narrow and feature lenses that are a perfect oval shape. The sunglasses have a very modern look that has been popular since the start of the 2000s.

-          Teashades feature perfectly round, small lenses. Sometimes they are referred to as "Lennon" shades as John Lennon first popularized the style in the 1960s. You may also see teashades called "granny shades."

Choosing the Right Shape

Everyone's experienced the disappointment of seeing a cute pair of sunglasses on the rack and then trying them on only to find that they don't suit your facial shape. Even the most attractive pair of shades won't suit you if the style is not in balance with the rest of your face.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to know what type of facial shape you have, but fortunately, you can easily determine it with the help of a dry erase marker. While standing facing the mirror, trace the outline of your face with the marker and then step away to view the basic shape formed by the lines. Once you know that, it's easy to take the guesswork out of selecting sunglasses.

If your face is:

-          square, oval, round and butterfly-shaped frames help soften the angles.

-          oval, you are fortunate enough to be able to wear most of the different styles on the market. For something fun and different, try square frames to contrast with the contours of your cheeks and chin.

-          oblong, large frames with broad lenses will help add width to your face and balance its length.

-          round, geometric, rectangular and thin, horizontal frames will slim your cheeks.

-          diamond-shaped, your cheek bones will be accentuated by cat's eye and oval frames.

-          heart-shaped, select sunglasses that are narrow and flat or less noticeable on top with rounder or flashier bottoms to call attention away from your forehead.

-          triangular, you'll want an opposite look from heart-shaped faces with frames that have more emphasis at the tops rather than at the bottoms of the rims.