Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we discuss what sunglasses you should use, what materials are available,
what lenses you can pick, and how to get the best value for your money.
So why do we wear sunglasses in the first place?
Basically, there are two reasons.
On the one end, they protect our eyes from bright light and UV rays.
On the other hand, they add personal style and flair to our outfits.
So, how did we come up with sunglasses, to begin with?
If you go back in history, you will see that people actually had Ivory bone glasses with
a little slit so the snow wasn't so bright in their eyes.
Also, if you look at Romans in ancient Chinese, they had different ways, they used smoked
quartz or stones to filter the light that reach their eyes.
in 1752, someone had the idea to actually add tinted lenses into spectacle frames which
are basically sunglasses, as we know them today.
In 1936, polarized lenses first appeared and they filtered the polarizing light from horizontal
surfaces so you had fewer sparkles.
By the 1980's, top gun came around and everybody wanted aviator sunglasses.
If you want to learn more about sunglasses and their history, please check out our guide
here.
So what do sunglasses do?
First of all, they darken the light that reaches your face.
Second, they filter UVA and UVB rays, these are the rays from the sunlight that make your
skin age and can even cause skin cancer.
It's important to remember that darker lenses do not offer more UV protection.
In fact, what you need to look for is a UV label and ideally, sunglasses should have
a UV400 label because it filters the maximum amount in sunglasses.
If you want to learn more about the different standards in Australia, Europe, or the US,
please check out our guide, here.
A very important aspect of sunglasses are the lenses and cheap lenses often suffer from
visual distortion even though they can't filter rays and they darken.
The distortion becomes particularly confusing when you are for example on a bike, if you
look down, a flat surface looks like something rounded and then you know, you have a cheap
pair of sunglasses and you should definitely exchange them because it can be dangerous.
Also, a higher quality lens has more contrast which means the colors you see pop more and
usually they have better lens scratch resistant coating so your glasses will last longer.
Probably the best sunglass lenses out there come from Zeiss, today.
They're usually advertised as such because it's a quality hallmark.
Back in the day, Bausch and Lomb also had really high-quality lenses and you can usually
recognize them by a little BL on the side of the sunglasses.
They were actually bought by RayBan and today, the quality has suffered but vintage ones
had really, really, good lenses.
Another quality maker of lenses is Randolph Engineering, the ones I'm wearing right here
and it often comes with polarizing lenses and the colors pop really well.
Apart from the quality, lenses come in different colors such as brown, clear, or green, and
at the end of the day, it's a personal preference.
Some also come with a mirrored finish which in my opinion, cheapens the overall look but
again, it's a personal matter of preference.
Apart from mirrored lenses, it can also go with gradient lenses which are darker on top
and lighter at the bottom.
They offer a really cool look and I like them for that but otherwise, they're not great
when you drive, have activities or you have to move your head because you have a constant
different influx of light.
Obviously, these lenses are very retro and unless you go for that look, I strongly suggest
you choose a different style.
One thing that's really popular these days is, polarize lenses on sunglasses.
Usually, the word polarized is used to charge more for it but what exactly does it mean?
It basically means that light that is reflected from the horizontal surface such as water,
or highway, is filtered out and so when you look through something and you look at the
sea, you don't see these water sparkles, you just see a flat surface.
It can be very pleasing to the eye but at the same time, it also applies to other flat
surfaces such as your smartphone.
For that reason, I don't like driving with polarized lenses because I can't read the
instructions on my smart phone, any more.
So keep that in mind when you buy polarized lenses.
Back in the day, lenses were often made out of glass but today, you can find them in lightweight
polycarbonate and with a good coating, they're as scratch-resistant or even more.
So, how should sunglasses fit?
Well, Ideally they should cover your eyes and sit as closely to your eye as possible.
Most sunglasses today are bought off the rack and so they're made for a specific face shape
and size.
In order to find the right one for you, you have to try on many models and stay tuned
for a video where we discuss specifically how to find the perfect pair of sunglasses
for your face shape and skin tone.
Next up, let's talk about sunglass materials.
95% of sunglasses today are injection molded and they're made with plastic.
The advantage of this method is that there is very little waste in the production and
it's very inexpensive to produce and so manufacturers love it.
At the same time, they're not super durable and they also feel cheap.
Personally, I'm not a fan at all of injection molded sunglasses.
A much better version is acetate.
It's basically also plastic but the procedure is very different.
First of all, you create and entire block which is then cut into sheets out of which
sunglasses are made.
Acetate can be very clear, have these nice sparkles and you will never get it with an
injection molding.
They're also hand polished and it's a particularly nice material for tortoise shell because you
get these clear flecks next to the dark ones and an injection molded pair simply can't
keep up with that.
Simply compare these two, on this side, we have an acetate and you can clearly see the
speckles.
On this side, it's much more matte and it's not clear because it;s injection molded.
Obviously, acetate sunglasses are more expensive because it takes longer to produce and there's
more waste but at the end of the day, it's much superior and I prefer them to injection
molded anyday.
Metal sunglasses are paricularly nice during very hot weather because the frame a;ways
feels cooler but of course there are different materials.
Very lightweight options include titanium alloys, you can have nickel alloys.
So if you're allergic, make sure that particular frame is not bad for your skin otherwise,
the weight is of importance and you can simply choose what you personally like.
A luxury material for sunglasses is a genuine water buffalo horn, it's a wonderful material
because not only does it look excellent, but it also adapts to your body temperature so
it's never too warm or too cool.
Water Buffalo horn is a much more expensive material and it's not very flexible so it's
really only used in custom or bespoke sunglasses.
A quality piece that lasts for years,
Next up is tortoise shell.
Most of the time, when we talk about it, it's either injection molded or acetate but back
in the day, it was actually made from a real tortoise.Today, it is illegal to use tortoise
shell to make actual products however, if you can prove that the tortoise shell is from
pre 1973, and you have the right certificates, you can still use them.For that reason, a
pair of genuine tortoise shell sunglasses can cost up to ten thousand dollars or even
more.
Generally, you can only find them vintage or made bespoke.
In recent years, wood has been introduced to the sunglasses market and it's renewable,
often lightweight, it has a cool look, but at the end of the day, I'm not the biggest
fan of it.
To me, it doesn't feel right on my temples, on my skin, and I much rather prefer acetate
or horn.
Also, most wooden sunglasses today are made in China from rather cheap woods and I don't
know what kind of stain they add and I don't want to have anything on my skin that I don't
know what it actually is.
In terms of sunglass construction, you can find full frames out of acetate.
You can find metal frames, half frames like clubmasters, for example.
Sometimes, frameless sunglasses.
Personally, I like full frames and half frames the most, I'm not a big fan of frameless but
it's simply a matter of personal preference.
Some glass styles come and go and frameless styles were more popular ten years ago, that's
why they may look a little dated but again, it's all up to you.
Let's talk about sunglass do's and don'ts
First of all, even though it filters the UV rays and it's darker, you should never look
directly at the sunlight because it hurts your eyes.
Don't wear sunglasses at night unless you have a medical condition because it makes
you look like you're trying too hard.
Take off your sunglasses indoors.
I know they can be stylish however, the primary purpose is to protect you from sunlight and
indoors, you don't have that so you take them off.
If you go for a classic look, avid white sunglasses because there's too much of a contrast and
it looks odd.
Avoid wearing sunglasses with any kind of formal wear such as black tie or white tie.Let's
say you have a tuxedo, it simply cheapens the overall look.
Also it's an evening garment that should be worn when the sun is down or not as bright
anymore.
Invest in a pair of sunglasses that suit your face because otherwise, you spent a lot of
money on something that looks awkward and not very flattering.
Stay tuned for our next video on how to find a perfect pair of sunglasses for your face
shape and skin tone.
So at the end of the day, you should always buy the best kind of sunglass material and
lenses you can afford.
You don't want to buy a new pair of glasses every year so stick with classics such as
an aviator or a wayfarer or let's say a round model or clubmasters..
these sunglasses never go out of style and you can even give it to your grand kids, they'll
love them.
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