Polarized Sunnies

[TravelingGal]

Does anyone else love polarized sunglasses? I cannot live without them, as they take the glare out of everything and just "refresh" and relax my poor eyeballs. The sad thing is that there aren''t too many stylish polarized sunnies out there, as there are some restrictions in the shape of the lens. I wear a slight prescription (which doesn''t help the lens shape issue) and so I just get my polarized sunglasses made.

When I first met TGuy, he didn''t understand why I raved about them, until he tried mine on (we are close to the same prescription). Then I couldn''t get my GIRL sunglasses off him! He just loved them when we were in old cities like Split (croatia) where they have whitish/marbley walkways with very bad glare. We spend quite a few weeks trying to find a pair for him and ended up finding a pair of great Revos in Italy.

I''ve also gotten my mother into them. I swear, once you polarize, you can never go back. If anyone loves them, care to post styles? I need a new pair and would probably have to replace the lens.

 

[ephemery1]

LOOOVVVE my polarized sunglasses... my parents got them a few years ago and I scoffed at them for spending that much money on sunglasses (yes, scoffed... like with a raised eyebrow and look of disdain and everything), until I tried them on.... and was officially converted.

We were on a cruise last month and I got a new pair of Maui Jim''s in St. Maarten. I openly admit, Maui Jim is the brand my parents wear... but when I convert, I like to be thorough about it.

They had a ton of styles down there in tourist-shopping-heaven, but I went with a pretty basic black frame... sort of a cat-eye. You can search by face shape on their website, which is kinda fun.....

 

[poptart]

My senior class in high school got polarized sunglasses as gifts for graduation. They look funny on me so I only wear them sometimes, but they help my eyes SO much. My eyes have always been sensitive to light, which probably had something to do with the fact that I wore those hard gas permeable contacts from when I was 8 to 18 (it sucked). And then I had Lasik surgery because hard contacts can eventually ruin your eyes (surprise surprise), and I would have had to wear them my whole life or else my eyes would be pretty much useless! Needless to say, my eyes have taken a beating and bright light BURNS. Those sunglasses really help everything... I need to get a new pair though that actually looks semi-good, haha. So yay for this thread!

*M*

 

[TravelingGal]

Yeah, poptart, it is hard. There no high end designers that do polarized that I know of. You can find "low end" designer polarized sunnies once in awhile. I had a pair of Ralph Laurens even though I didn''t love the style because they are just so hard to find. Now that I do prescription ones, the point is moot.

Ephemery, I like those. Maui Jims are supposedly some of the best in polarized lenses, which is exactly why I DON''T buy them. Why buy a pair of glasses that are known for the lenses when I am just going to replace the lenses anyway? I did find a pair of MJs ages ago that I liked, but honestly, I find most of their styles more masculine. What do you think?

I have a pair of light blue bolle ones that are sporty and fun and I got them ages ago for my first Australia visit, but hardly wear them anymore since I need prescription. I''ll go on the hunt tonight and see if I can find any cool styles online...

 

[TravelingGal]

Found these on the MJ site...they actually have fun colors as well as black and tortoise. I never see them in the stores though, but it has been awhile...

 

[poptart]

Where do you shop for these sunglasses, anyway? I have never seen them in stores.

*M*

 

[luckyhonu]

I love polarized lenses, I can''t live without them. I put polarized lenses in all my sunglasses, for example, I have polarized lenses in my Chanel sunglasses. I also have a pair of Maui Jims that I use when I know I''m going to do outdoor sports.

 

[TravelingGal]

MJs are in almost any sunglass retailer. Luckyhonu, no problems replacing the lenses in the chanel frames? Interesting....

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 1/25/2007 8:45:59 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Ephemery, I like those. Maui Jims are supposedly some of the best in polarized lenses, which is exactly why I DON'T buy them. Why buy a pair of glasses that are known for the lenses when I am just going to replace the lenses anyway? I did find a pair of MJs ages ago that I liked, but honestly, I find most of their styles more masculine. What do you think?

Ha... good point.

And I was never thrilled with any of the MJ styles I saw either, until we stopped in this place in St. Maarten that had about a zillion... then when I went to their website, I was even more impressed. NO idea where they would carry a full selection up here in the states though... probably not many places on the East Coast smack in the middle of winter, anyway. Not sure where you live, Poptart... but you'll have to keep us updated on what you find!

 

[Sundial]

I love my polarized Maui Jim and Ray Ban sunglasses! I have some designer pairs that aren''t polarized just for fun, but I always go back to these.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/25/2007 9:05:54 PM
Author: ephemery1

Date: 1/25/2007 8:45:59 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Ephemery, I like those. Maui Jims are supposedly some of the best in polarized lenses, which is exactly why I DON''T buy them. Why buy a pair of glasses that are known for the lenses when I am just going to replace the lenses anyway? I did find a pair of MJs ages ago that I liked, but honestly, I find most of their styles more masculine. What do you think?

Ha... good point.

And I was never thrilled with any of the MJ styles I saw either, until we stopped in this place in St. Maarten that had about a zillion... then when I went to their website, I was even more impressed. NO idea where they would carry a full selection up here in the states though... probably not many places on the East Coast smack in the middle of winter, anyway. Not sure where you live, Poptart... but you''ll have to keep us updated on what you find!

Yeah...some aren''t bad, but it is HARD to find anything fashion forward (or sometimes even fashion current!) in polarized lenses. However, at least I know I can see out of them. Quite a few of my friends wear chanel...and often squint. I think the glasses are pretty, but as far as I can tell in how they''re used, they seem to make better hair accessories than eyewear!

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 1/25/2007 9:12:12 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 1/25/2007 9:05:54 PM
Author: ephemery1

Date: 1/25/2007 8:45:59 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Ephemery, I like those. Maui Jims are supposedly some of the best in polarized lenses, which is exactly why I DON'T buy them. Why buy a pair of glasses that are known for the lenses when I am just going to replace the lenses anyway? I did find a pair of MJs ages ago that I liked, but honestly, I find most of their styles more masculine. What do you think?

Ha... good point.

And I was never thrilled with any of the MJ styles I saw either, until we stopped in this place in St. Maarten that had about a zillion... then when I went to their website, I was even more impressed. NO idea where they would carry a full selection up here in the states though... probably not many places on the East Coast smack in the middle of winter, anyway. Not sure where you live, Poptart... but you'll have to keep us updated on what you find!

Yeah...some aren't bad, but it is HARD to find anything fashion forward (or sometimes even fashion current!) in polarized lenses. However, at least I know I can see out of them. Quite a few of my friends wear chanel...and often squint. I think the glasses are pretty, but as far as I can tell in how they're used, they seem to make better hair accessories than eyewear!

Ahhh yes, much like my tortoise-shell Prada headband that happens to have lenses attached........

 

[luckyhonu]

TravelingGal, I''ve never had any problems with replacing the lenses in my Chanels. The only thing is if you have wraparound sunglasses it will be difficult to put in polarized lenses.

I like looking at Maui Jims but somehow I could never find a pair that I fell in love with for everyday use.

 

[diamondfan]

I love them. I love the style of Chanel glasses, but I just have the lenses swapped out because polarized make such a big difference visually with all the glare...keeps those wrinkles away too

!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/25/2007 10:12:43 PM
Author: diamondfan
I love them. I love the style of Chanel glasses, but I just have the lenses swapped out because polarized make such a big difference visually with all the glare...keeps those wrinkles away too

!

Do you just take them to your good ole eye doc to do? For instance, I have heard that Maui Jim has a prescription option, but it costs more than what my optometrist can do it for. Not sure if some of these designers have some kind of option I don''t know about....

 

[diamondfan]

I would not change MJ''s because they come polarized. I did Lasik so I do not need RX lenses. I have my optician change the lenses in any pair of glasses I buy that do not come with them...because I am buying a fashion frame which does not necessarily have a top quality lens...the lense is the most vital part, obviously...so I get the look I like and then swap the lenses out. It is pricey, though, but definitely makes a difference.

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks for the info diamondfan. It will be tougher for me because of the Rx, as it limits the style of frame due to the lens. Pricey doesn''t matter to me...it''s the one thing I wear every day without fail. Prevents squinting, wrinkles...worth every penny right?

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi! I have a pair of polarized clip-ons that goes on top of my regular glasses. They''re great when you''re driving and the sun is in your face.

 

[diamondsrock]

I love my polarized sunglasses! I wear prescription glasses for driving (I''m near sighted) so when I decided to get sunglasses I went for the polarized and what a difference it made. I wore them more than my regular glasses.

However, about a month ago I lost them

and now I''ve had to wear my regular glasses driving. It''s awful! Once you start wearing the polarized sunglasses you don''t want to do without them. I need to get over to the eyelgass shop with my prescription and get another pair.

 

[Rosebud8506]

It is very true! Once you go polarized, you never can go back! I have a pair of regular Ray Ban sunglasses, they are the tortoise shell and they are pretty basic. I don''t LOVE them to death, but they are perfect for driving, etc. DH has the Maui Jim and he raves about them. They are very good sunglasses, but agreed, they tend to be more masculine. They were big-time pitching those at our resort in Hawaii. I used to wear Oakleys back in the day also, but those are more sporty.

Any Sunglass Hut store carries most of these brands and more. I would never go back to regular sunnies!

 

[lawmax]

These are my maui jim's in wine with rose lenses and there is nothing masculine about them! I love them!

http://www.mauijim.com/mjweb/public/catalog/consumer_sunglass_product.jsp?WS909FRAMESTYLEID=124&WS943IMAGENAME=LFR124-13.JPG

 

[TravelingGal]

Ooh, lawmax thoes are cute! I am liking mj''s ruby frame and rosier lenses. I am thinking I should just bite the bullet and have the optician folks order me a mj Rx special....

 

[Beacon]

I just had some prescription sunglasses made up and I spent the extra to have them polarized. I use these mostly for driving the car on days w/o contact lenses. I am so glad I did it this way - I love the new glasses.

Excellent idea Diamond Fan about taking in your non px pretty frames and getting new lenses put in there! I''m going to do that. I was just shopping a pair of LV sunglasses and I did really like them but I wasn''t so sure about the lenses themselves. Good idea.

 

[diamondfan]

Thanks Beacon...I have found most fashion frames have adequate lenses but not anything amazing...some come with polarized of course but not the brands I buy like Dior Chanel and Valentino. I have Maui Jims that are feather light and feel like nothing on, they are really cool, I got them when I was pregnant with my third and did not like the feel of anything heavy. They are polarized and really cool. I love big glasses now, and I use those light weight MJ''s for outdoor sports like jogging, they are super comfy and light on the nose!

 

[diamondsrock]

Date: 1/26/2007 11:45:12 AM
Author: lawmax
These are my maui jim''s in wine with rose lenses and there is nothing masculine about them! I love them!

http://www.mauijim.com/mjweb/public/catalog/consumer_sunglass_product.jsp?WS909FRAMESTYLEID=124&WS943IMAGENAME=LFR124-13.JPG

I really like these sunglasses!!!