How do I sunglasses?

February 15, 2023 11:53 AM

I've never bought non-prescription sunglasses from anywhere other than a thrift store before, so this is all new to me. Where does one get good sunglasses from? Can I trust any old ones from the drug store? Warby Parker will sell me sunglasses for $100; is that really how much sunglasses cost these days?

I had cataract surgery and I think it's made me more sensitive to light, plus I get headaches, plus I want to look cool. I'm in the US and have access to all kinds of stores.

posted by The corpse in the library to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (28 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh, and polarization: is that good?
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:57 AM on February 15, 2023

Polarized sunglasses are a must if you're around water. It knocks out the glare reflecting off the surface.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:01 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

I have a lot of luck finding polarized sunglasses on Amazon for the $20-$30 price range.

I particularly like these ones in matt black - but different strokes sunglasses
posted by bbqturtle at 12:07 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

After spending way too much money on RayBans, only to lose, break, or irreparably scratch them, I switched to ShadyRays and have been quite happy. They aren’t quite as dark as I would like, but look good, are very light, and are cheap. They also offer a “no questions asked” replacement for a small fee, but I can’t vouch for that specifically.
posted by sacrifix at 12:08 PM on February 15, 2023

Sunglasses cost what you want to pay--the drugstore or gas station will sell them to you for a few bucks, Warby Parker for $100, Oakley for around double that, other folks for more, and more, all the way up to eat-the-rich money.

Polarization is good, especially if you spend time outdoors. 100% UV protection is a must.
posted by box at 12:16 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Definitely get polarized. You'll pay extra for it, but it's worth it.

After wearing prescription sunglasses, I've gotten spoiled, and find that most drugstore sunglasses just make everything darker and harder to see. Better sunglasses will tint rather than just darken.

If you're getting headaches, look at getting something that will provide some extra protection to the side of your face as well.

In addition to cheaper drugstore options, look at sporting good stores, such as Dicks, REI, Cabellas, etc. for a level up in quality.
posted by hydra77 at 12:17 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have noticed that brand name sunglasses are way nicer to actually use than cheap $10-20 sunglasses from Amazon etc. I’ve been happy with a pair of Ray Bans from Sunglasses Hut that cost around $200, and paid more than that for some Prada sunglasses that I really liked on my face (and are functional and pleasant to look through), but recognize that I’m paying for the brand and look and would likely get just as good results from cheaper sunglasses if I hunted around. I wanted to try on the sunglasses before I bought them and enjoyed the treating-myself aspect of just buying what I liked best in the store, so I didn’t hunt around- YMMV.
posted by MadamM at 12:18 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

I get the $5.99 ones in the checkout line at Home Depot and they’re fine for me but ymmv. The lenses may not be “optical quality” which means they may have distortion, which could give you headaches. My vision is so bad anyway I’m not super sensitive to it, but I don’t think it’s a deal breaker for everyone.
posted by toodleydoodley at 12:23 PM on February 15, 2023

Polarized will make it hard to see your phone screen. Good for driving, bad for texting.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 12:30 PM on February 15, 2023 [7 favorites]

I'm not picky but definitely noticed an improvement going from the $9.99 drugstore to the $20-$50 name brands. I've had good luck with Goodr (more for general use) and Tifosi (more sports focused). I don't know if $100 would get me something even better because I lose or break them too often to spend that much. For more choices, take a look at Wirecutter's recommended best cheap sunglasses.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:32 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

I love Goodr sunglasses for non-prescription sunnies: they're decent quality for a reasonable price (not so expensive that I feel like I need to handle them super delicately), come in lots of colors/styles, and are polarized. And they stay on during all the activities I've thrown at them (running, biking, hiking, etc). I've also heard good things about Knockaround, which have a design-your-own option! I wouldn't ever get non-polarized sunglasses again. Also, every pair of sunglasses I've ever worn do let decent light in from the edges/top, so if you truly want the best protection for eye health reasons, I'd look into glacier sunglasses, which are expensive but more coverage.
posted by carlypennylane at 12:34 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Polarization: mostly good. Check any pair of polarized glasses you might want against your car dashboard, phone, and any other electronic device you plan to use while wearing sunglasses. Small electronics often include a polarizing filter in the display itself, and sometimes the angle of the polarization is incompatible with the polarization of your lenses. My old iPhone SE literally could not be seen through my polarized prescription sunglasses unless I turned it at a 45° angle. There was a similar, but less severe, effect with the display on one of my digital cameras.

Where to buy: I hate suggesting that you give Luxottica any money, but they own many recognizable brands of sunglasses as well as the Sunglass Hut chain of stores. Anything you buy from them will be high quality* and they're basically in every mall everywhere (plus a lot of airports), which makes it easy to try a bunch of things on and find a style that works for you.

* Yes, I know (from personal experience buying the "same" frames before and after the change in ownership, even) that Ray-Ban frames under Luxottica ownership lost some of the quality they had when it was still a Bausch & Lomb brand, but even with that the new frames are fine and the lenses are as good as any other lenses. But I'm not going to fight anybody about it, and I'm still mad about the old school B&L Ray-Ban frames a burglar stole from our house when we were on vacation.

There are lots of mid-market glasses brands at this point that do sunglasses. Warby Parker may have stores near you and does try-ons by mail; I've bought multiple pairs of Eyebobs reading glasses and found them to be decent quality for the price; they do sunglasses and "sun readers" for reasonable prices too. My wife has computer glasses from Liingo, who also do try-ons by mail and offer sunglasses. And I'm sure the usual "glasses from the internet" companies will be happy to sell you sunglasses, but I can't vouch for any of them personally.

I bought my last pair of Ray-Bans at Nordstrom Rack for $40. They were a discontinued style and the price couldn't be beat. I didn't get polarized lenses because the frames I liked didn't come in a polarized version, and the frames they had with polarized lenses weren't a style I liked, but you might get lucky at a place like that.
posted by fedward at 12:38 PM on February 15, 2023

Polarized lenses are *usually* better but not always. They reduce glare off bounced surfaces like water and windshields. They're highly recommended for water sports. In a few cases they are worse - they can make puddles less visible, make phone and other screens completely dark (at specific orientations) and sometimes add distortions like rainbows when looking through other windows.

Most of the cost of sunglasses is branding and style. Sometimes bad quality sunglasses add weird distortions and give people headaches. Sports-specific sunglasses can come in a range of darknesses and tints, the latter which claim to improve the contrast of certain objects (like a golf ball on a green golf course) at the expense of color correctness. Darker ones (lower visible light transmission/VLT) are good for very bright situations (like noon in the middle of summer, or on a glacier) but can be too dark at other times. Some sunglasses have "reactive" or "photochromic" lenses which claim to change their darkness based on ambient lighting conditions.

If you are very sensitive to light you may want to get sunglasses that wrap around your face instead of sitting flatly in front of it. These are usually less stylish but prevent sunlight from getting in through the sides. These are usually sports-specific sunglasses like for cycling or mountaineering. Examples: Oakley M-Frame Goodr Wrap-G Julbo Vermont
posted by meowzilla at 12:39 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Make sure that what you buy has coveage for UVA and UVB. There was a problem for a while where cheap sunglasses didn't cover UVB.
posted by Candleman at 12:41 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

(If you don't want to go with full-on glacier glasses, sunglasses aimed at fisherfolk and watersports enthusiasts often have better edges/top coverage.

I did not say any of these were cool.)
posted by box at 12:42 PM on February 15, 2023

If I didn't always lose or break my sunglasses I would get a pair of Oakleys in a hearbeat. Multiple probably, one for cycling and one for general use and maybe more. I had a pair in my 20s and they were great but they got misplaced/stolen and my track record with sunglasses since then has told me that I really shouldn't spend more than $30 on a pair. If you'll be more careful than me try on a pair, they'll have them at Sunglass Hut as well as many sporting goods stores.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:45 PM on February 15, 2023

Another vote for Goodr. I'm pretty susceptible to headaches from light pressure from hats / glasses frames / etc and these don't bother me.
posted by deludingmyself at 1:15 PM on February 15, 2023

I have very sensitive eyes as a result of contact lens wear, and live in a very sunny climate. For me the best brand is Maui Jim -- but I 100% need to try glasses on in person before buying.

Polarization is 100% worth both the extra cost and the occasional inconvenience of having to remove glasses to look at screens.

Do you have a Costco membership? Some years, in February, they do a fancy sunglasses shopping event. My neighborhood Costco's one is going on right now. Price is about half of what one usually pays.
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:27 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Wirecutter used to have recommendations for cheap sunglasses. I bought a pair of Amazon for like $15 (polarized) a few years ago and they were nice enough. Amazon no longer carries them, though. I just went back to buying from Target, because to me, sunglasses aren't worth much. I drop them too often, or scratch the lenses too easily, or leave them at a restaurant. I'd rather not have to replace a $100 pair of sunglasses every few months. But if you don't mind, $100 doesn't seem completely unreasonable for a nice pair.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:36 PM on February 15, 2023

It's hard to go back to regular sunglasses after using Polarized ones. Polarized glasses block the sun, but at the same time, the surroundings are not dark like regular sunglasses.

I use Zenni.com for my prescription polarized glasses.
posted by WizKid at 1:44 PM on February 15, 2023 [3 favorites]

I don't own stock in this brand or anything but I bought a pair when I was last in Kauai, where it is frequently sunny. They look cool, are priced well and I feel that they give me better protection while I'm driving or out in the sun compared to my more expensive brands. When I lost the ones I picked up in Kauai - I just went and bought another pair from the same brand I liked them so much. They offer polarized and non-polarized lenses.
posted by rdnnyc at 3:37 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have sensitive eyes (also a contacts wearer) and wear sunglasses anytime I'm outside, even on cloudy days, although I'm not cool enough to wear them at night. I've been through cheap sunglasses, prescription sunglasses, photo-sensitive prescription glasses and everything in-between.

First, cheap sunglasses are almost always uncomfortable and they always have poor-quality lenses that either won't protect your eyes or distort your vision or both. Some expensive sunglasses are also poor quality in terms of sun protection, so paying more doesn't guarantee better sunglasses. Regardless of what you buy, I think it's important to try them on and imaging how they'll feel doing whatever it is you do when wearing sunglasses.

Polarised lenses are absolutely fantastic anywhere there are bright reflections (so anywhere the sun is truly dazzling), not just off water but anything reflective. They can create problems with some screens, so if that's important to you, make sure you check that with your screen and at different angles when trying them on. A car I used to have had 'anti-sun' windows and they reacted with polarised sunglasses in a way that created a 'rainbow' effect on the side windows.

For me, I've found that Maui Jim are absolutely the best and I won't buy anything else. They're expensive, but I look after glasses and they last me a long time, so I don't mind paying for the quality. My current pair are very comfortable, have (so far) resisted scratching after two years, stay on at speeds of up to 90 km/h on a Jetski, even when turning my head and just work so well that I hardly notice I'm wearing them. I can't recommend them highly enough, but you still need to try any sunglasses on before buying them.
posted by dg at 5:27 PM on February 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

polarization: is that good?

If you live where the sun is strong, polarized sunglasses are the absolute bomb and worth the added expense over regular sunglasses.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:24 PM on February 15, 2023

I LOVE Goodr sunglasses. They're pretty much all polarized, come in classic shapes (although not a huge variety of shapes) and are pretty rugged. Like I just stepped on a pair and they didn't break. AND THEY'RE $20!
posted by Grandysaur at 6:36 PM on February 15, 2023

I am an artist and I don't like my glasses to color what I see. I need lighter sunglasses because contrast is an issue, can't go heavy. So, I go good UV protection, light gray, reflective, and less than $9.99. Then when they break, I get to go find some more, in a big truck stop, or grocery store, my latest came from Mercado Latina, three years ago, they are still intact, clear gray behind a fronts piece of light reflective gray. For night driving I buy clear, polarized glasses, the ones I can find. They keep the wind out of my eyes.
posted by Oyéah at 7:02 PM on February 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

I buy cheap polarized sunglasses off of Amazon and either break or lose them after a year or so.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 5:44 AM on February 16, 2023

I'm surprised no one has mentioned them, but I keep going back to Knockaround for sunglasses. Decent prices and non-distorting lenses and usually the choice between polarized and non-polarized. Polarized lenses are much better for your eyes, the only time I don't use them is when I am doing electronic screen work. Polarized lenses won't let you read screens.
posted by rtimmel at 8:37 AM on February 16, 2023

I get my prescription sunglasses from Zenni Optical for about $15. I've avoided polarized because it makes viewing a phone screen very difficult.
posted by schyler523 at 11:25 AM on February 17, 2023 [1 favorite]