Sep

29

Why Designer Sunglasses are Healthier

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It can be said that all sunglasses are created equally, but it just wouldn’t be true. If you’ve ever bought a cheap pair of sunglasses you know just how wrong that statement can be. A cheap knock-off Armani pair may save you a few bucks, but they are more likely to break, they are more likely to have evaded safety checks and most importantly not all fakes or generics are even UV protection standard. Rendering them cool looking (maybe) but basically useless.

There are so many reasons to buy the real deal and only one reason to buy a generic pair or fake: money. The cost of real, brand name sunglasses is high. You can pay up to $400 for really fantastic, designer (performance-enhancing) sunnies, but is it worth it? You’ll find that there are many designer brands that are affordable. The general rule is that a decent pair of sunglasses should cost you a pretty penny in order to deliver the best in high-quality materials, R&D, standards, safety checks and of course you have to pay a bit for the branding, which makes you look cool and is thus worth a bit of dough.

Let’s examine the problems associated with going generic. First, your lenses will deteriorate quickly. You’ll find scratches and nicks in the glass or plastic very soon. You’ll also find they don’t come with any of the standard protecting coatings in most fakes. These coatings elongate the lifespan of your lenses, and also protect your eyes further. They are worth the extra cash. Especially the anti-scratch and anti-glare coatings that make life all the more lovely.

Sep

23

Allergies and Eyewear

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Allergies are a pain in the neck.. And throat. And eyes. And ears. Everywhere, really. The last thing you want when you have allergy problems is to add to the problem by tossing in a touch of agony by wearing contact lenses. Even the best hydrating lenses like Acuvue Contacts don’t stop the pain and itchiness that comes from contact lenses in allergy season. Thus, do yourself a favor and stick to eyeglasses in spring and fall when the seasons change.

Some things to keep in mind are that carrying eye drops may help you stay hydrated without overly affecting your vision or comfort. You’ll also need to wash your hands frequently. We all know you’ll be forces to touch your eyes so don’t risk them being dirty or covered in pollen. No one is disciplined enough to keep from scratching an itch, so plan ahead and keep clean and hopefully you won’t end up making any of the problems worse.

One of the best ways to keep your allergies under order is to wash your glasses every night. You can soak them in water overnight and scrub them down periodically and make sure you keep them clean. This little soaking trick makes the difference during a long spring when allergies are at their highest.

Keeping sunglasses on all season can keep some particles from getting into your eyes, and keep your eyes hidden if they do happen to be overly red or itchy. For people whose sinuses are out of control this is one of the best ways to keep your allergies a secret. Although you’ll need to be able to wear sunglasses that are not too heavy so that they don’t add more pressure to your sinuses.

Sep

6

Black vs White Sunglasses

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Sometimes it’s a simple choice to pick black or white sunglasses or eyeglasses, but then you have to consider seasonality. If you can only purchase one color, this becomes a tougher choice, still there are a few rules to follow that will help you in making this important decision. For example, Prada designer look better in black while Versace looks better in white.

Last month we covered the gold vs silver debate, and this time the rules are slightly different. For starters, we suggested that darker skin wear silver and lighter skin wear gold. But with black and white it’s the opposite rule. Pale skin looks more tan and richer against white sunglasses, and brings out the summery look and slightly blushed hues. So, to achieve a look where you come across as darker, wear white shades.

You’ll often see blondes with pale skin attempting to look more tan with white shades or white clothing, this is especially true in Europe and Australia, where blondes are often paler than their dark haired counterparts.

The opposite is also true. Black shades against dark skin bring out the warm hues in the skin town and make the skin look lighter yet with more depth, like a copper color. This is a stunning look and black against dark skin is one way to achieve this.

In this instance, wearing gold with dark skin and black shades has the double effect of pulling out the copper tones with the dark shades and then highlighting the copper with the gold earrings or necklaces. You see this in northern Africa, where women have been making their skin look gold-like for ages with similar techniques.

Aug

31

Sunnies to match your mood

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Sometimes you want to go wild, sometimes you want to be conservative. You can’t have one wardrobe that matches all your moods unless you have a very diverse wardrobe. You’ll need some wayfarers for your fun moods, and some Prada shades for your serious moods. The number of shades you’d need to have a complete wardrobe is pretty endless, but luckily there are a few key shades you can get to have a rounded outfit for every mood.

For professional moods, you’ll want to get into a decent outfit and slip into some Versace shades. These are both professional as well as attractive, so you’ll look classy without looking too conservative or too business like. The key is to look natural in whatever you are wearing, from a clown costume to a suit to a prom or wedding dress, looking natural and comfortable is the top priority.

For sporty wear, you can’t have a complete look without a pair of Nike or Adidas shades. They make a lot of sense because they are performance enhancing as well as cool looking. You don’t want to confuse people with what you are doing, and if you happen to be out of shape you need to set the mood for other people by wearing the costume of one who is working out so people know what you are up to.

Sexy looks are hard to pull of when you are covering half of your face with plastic. So, for a sexy look you either go over the top with the size or you attempt a Crawford-style look with smaller shades. Either way, go big or go home in terms of sexy style.

Aug

19

High-end Designer Sunglasses

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The best sunglasses are obviously designer shades, especially the sexy high-end ones that are a bit harder to afford but way more valuable (think: street cred, sex appeal and quality). Some of the best high-end bands are Armani for men and Versace for women. True, these aren’t unknown brands and there is a special exclusivity in newness and freshness, but then again the giants of the old guard are always impressive in their own right and Armani and Versace have stood the test of time.

There are a few key things to keep in mind when searching for high-end sunglasses. You’ll want to keep in mind your hair and skin colors before pairing your face with sunglasses that don’t match your natural beauty. If you are dark skinned, try to go for lighter shades, especially light browns. A huge fashion mistake is to wear stark contrasts, like white against black skin or vise versa. These make you look too stark and cold, and contrived.

If your skin is lighter, a slightly darker pairing is a good idea to make your skin tone pop. Like dark greens and blues against pale skin to make it look even whiter and more glimmering. Browns are an easy color to match with any skin color or style, and are thus the most versatile. Still, gold and silvers are a great backup and are excellent for bringing out shimmers in your skin.

To recap, some of the best brands for high-end fashion are Armani, Versace and similar brands like Police for men and Prada for women. These high-end brands are sexy, sleek and have a prestige all their own.

Aug

12

Sunnies for Celebs

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It isn’t every day that you see a celebrity, but when you do see them out in the wild they are usually in Tom Ford sunglasses, or else some form of Aviator and vintage-looking jeans. There seems to be a definite formula for celebrity fashion that is less innovative and more routine than people think at first glance.

For example, look at any rap music video and you’ll find a few key elements of fashion. One, there will be brand names and logos, or else recognizable art on clothing. You’ll see Carrera, Police or Dior, depending on the video. Mostly, this is because of the street credit afforded to those who can afford to wear, and who have the knowledge and style to purchase, name-brand apparel.

Then, on the opposite side of the spectrum, think about the “it” girls of the Hollywood scene. We’re talking the Jennifer Anniston and Angelina Jolie group of girls in the “it” crowd. These ladies all have a few key brands in common. The foremost for sunglasses is Tom Ford, where they seem to get models named after them. Tom Fords have the “Jennifer” “Whitney” and other models named after famous and classy movie stars and singers. This fashion trend isn’t without cliché.

For Caucasian males, the stereotype is to be overly ktich, as in Wayfarer sunglasses, or else totally cool which copies other ethnicities, or else wear sporty gear, which is what most white boys do to try to look cool. Serengeti are great for looking cool and sporty, while Nike are best for pure sport fashion.

Aug

3

Environmentally friendly glasses

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If you’re thinking of going green then you’ll need to have some serious thoughts about your wardrobe. Cotton ruins the soil and yet, it’s what many of the better and higher-quality clothing items in your wardrobe are likely made of. Plastic, once in the dump doesn’t break down, and yet many of your accessories will likely be made of plastic. So, do you buy wooden sunglasses or Prada ones? Is this an environmentally important decision? What’s next—wooden shoes?

It’s an inconvenient truth that many of the countries in the world are reporting weather changes or late, and that can only mean that we have changes yet ahead. Whether you believe these changes are man-made or natural is irrelevant, it is important to be a good guest and humans are decidedly overstaying their welcome in terms of being poor house guests. Instead of taking the option that will sit in a dump for 10,000 years it would be less selfish to make the choice where it sits in the dump for 3-5 years. Wooden frames are becoming more popular, but Ray Ban also has a series of eyeglasses made from recycles tires (the Gascan series).

Before you diss designer brands, think of the quality you buy as another way to help the environment. If you buy an item that will last and stand the test of time then you are keeping other cheap glasses out of the dump. One high-quality purchase means you won’t be buying, breaking and tossing out 3-4 other cheap gas-station sunglasses pairs. Think about that next time you are looking at spending more for a higher quality item.

Jul

27

Hottest celeb sunglasses

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Sunglasses are one of the few accessories that celebs don’t leave the house without. Well, that and an adopted African baby. Madonna very uncouthly showed up in Africa in Versace and Prada talking about equalizing wealth and other Kabalah principles of unity and oneness (although, to be fair, those are good principles). Perhaps a better charity would have been to pass out Prada sunnies to all of the children instead of school books, which will eventually be burned for fire starter because they don’t have teachers to read from them. Face slap time.

Still, some celebs manage to wear sunglasses without making themselves look too ridiculous. Surprisingly, Angelina Jolie wears high end fashion in a low-end way. By which I mean she is still accessible and aware of the general public’s perception of Hollywood stars and tries to play it down with laid-back fashion. She still adopted a black baby though, so while we love her in Ray Bans and Tom Fords we think that adopting all the children of the rainbow is a bit Rodeo Drive.

One of the celebrities out there doing it right is Kanye West. He’s been a top fashion star among men in Hollywood, and has been a huge fan of sunglasses. He has a nicely shaped face and skull so it isn’t like he is trying to hide an odd gourd. Kanye is paring with Jay Z have collaborated on a track (out soon!) so now you’ll get the chance to see and hear awesome tunes from two of Hollywood’s hottest rappers.

Jul

13

Teen Fashion Fabulous

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What are kids wearing these days? Every time I look at a high school kid I’m shocked to see even more skin than the year before. Even the designer Ralph Lauren polo shirts kids wear as part of their school uniforms have somehow become more revealing. Aside from the skin, new teen fashion seems to have gone pippie-longstockings on us. I continually see kids in knee-length socks of wild varieties from rainbow bars and stripes to an odd fascination with cartoon skulls—a contradiction that probably makes the Hells Angels scratch their beer-stained beards with confusion.

And when did it become popular to wear converse sneakers with dresses? When one or two people who are punk, alternative and cool do it then it remains interesting but when everyone and their mother (literally, I see soccer mom’s desperate for approval wearing Converse now) does it it becomes a sad and pathetic fad that we hope will die out quickly.

Along the same lines, MiuMiu sunglasses have swept teen fashion by storm, and that’s okay with us because Prada’s brainchild for youth is actually youth appropriate. The shades are a bit more fun and down-to-earth than normal Prada wear and they offer kids a mini starter-kit for high class fashion. The brand has gained notoriety as people start wearing them in Hollywood, but still it has stayed a youth fashion and that is appropriate because an older woman would look ridiculous and pathetic in MiuMiu sunglasses.

One final fashion tip- young men shouldn’t wear Police sunglasses or Serengeti sunglasses unless they have facial hair to shave. If you are too young to shave you can’t handle the fashion and masculinity of either of these weighty brands.

Jun

22

Discover External Beauty

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Internal beauty can be a really nice thing, sure, and its way more important that external beauty but a lot of time people use beauty as a method for approaching people or being approached. If you are not beautiful, you can still be interesting through fashion and how you present yourself. Don’t let an unfortunate nose or big ears hold you back, make those your stand out features and you’re sure to create an external beauty and confidence that people are always drawn to. Don’t hide tiny eyes behind big Prada sunglasses, rather buy tiny sunglasses too and keep your look alive and be proud of what you were given.

Always keep in mind that whatever image you project to the work is what people will think of you. So, take time when you put that image together and use high quality tools. Your personality may be fantastic, but unless people can see some hints about your personality through your look then they may never have the opportunity to find out how cool you are. Most people in life that you encounter you come across for only a brief moment. Did you make an impression that said “hello, I’m nice come and talk to me” or does your look scream loner? If you want to be alone, by all means put up that barrier, but if you want to be surrounded by fun people then you have to dress, act and look fun to be around too. Its all marketing, and you are selling a very important product—yourself.

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