sunglasses for college.

August 8, 2005 2:40 PM

hip (ish) sunglasses in nyc.

I want to buy my sister a belated-high school graduation present--a pair of cool shades. I know, I know I'm late. But I'm in the city and have no idea where to buy some cool shades.

posted by alkupe to shopping (10 comments total)

They're not the cheapest, but they are cool in all styles are are exceptionally well made (by hand). I recommend anything by Oliver Peoples.
posted by psmealey at 2:46 PM on August 8, 2005

I'm very picky, and mine are from Paul Frank.
posted by scazza at 4:02 PM on August 8, 2005

I always buy my sunglasses on the street (I see people sellling on 86th St on the east side, and the Union Square/NYU area, for starters). I figure, if I'm gonna lose them anyway, I mine as well only spend $5. And they usually have all the coolest styles. And for the cheap price, you could get more than one pair!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:38 PM on August 8, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

Last time I was in New York I picked up a pair at a place called 'Solstice' on Columbus Circle. They had a very decent selection.

Good gift!
posted by mosch at 6:09 PM on August 8, 2005

Are expensive sunglasses worth it from a functional perspective, or is it all fashion?
posted by mecran01 at 8:51 PM on August 8, 2005

hell yeah they're worth it, but you have to spend your money on what matters:
1. love the polarized lenses
2. i have metal sunglasses. solid metal sunglasses. with good hinges that won't break. I wear them just about every single day.
3. i have prescription lenses in there...that makes it worth getting mildly expensive frames.
That's what i paid for. But i wear them so much...the fashion part is alright. anyway, i got my sister convinced. but i think she thinks everything i do is cool.
posted by alkupe at 10:57 PM on August 8, 2005

Ditto what alkupe said. I wear contact lenses, and I have owned dozens of pairs of the cheap variety, and they all ended up being uncomfortable, flawed and just plain not very functional (scratch/bend easily). I finally broked down and bought a $185 pair of polarized Olivers two years ago, and I never go anywhere without them. They are comfortable and solid as a rock.
posted by psmealey at 3:56 AM on August 9, 2005

Just a comment about ThePinkSuperhero's post. It is a really bad idea to buy the really cheap glasses because they can actually do more damage to your eyes than not wearing glasses at all. The goal of sunglasses (besides fashion) is to block UV light from entering your eyes. Cheap shades will dilate your pupils because of their dark tint but not block any UV light. A quality pair of glasses will attenuate a large percentage of the UV light coming in, and will actually protect your eyes. Note that UV protection is not necessarily linked to how dark the lenses are either.
posted by hindmost at 4:14 AM on August 9, 2005

Also, an off topic heads up from one of my recent screw ups: I bought cheap but cool-looking scrip sunglasses from 39dollarglasses.com after reading about the site in AskMe. But I cheaped out and didn't get the polarizes lenses and it was a big mistake! You can't see anything that's in shadow at all. And I didn't even know the worrying info that hindmost posted above. Splash out for the polarized lenses.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:08 AM on August 9, 2005

Are expensive sunglasses worth it from a functional perspective, or is it all fashion?

They're functionally better. In addition to what alkupe said, the non-prescription glass is also of better quality, with no distortion that can cause eye strain.

I bought some real sungalsses a long time ago, and never wore cheap ones again. I could care less about the fashion aspect, I just enjoy being able to see clearly.
posted by mosch at 5:36 PM on August 16, 2005