Do you pay a little or a lot for your sunglasses? As with most things in a free enterprise system, there are items that run the gamut of price points and feature sets — and sunglasses are no exception. So, with this mission in mind, the Daily News took to the streets in the long days of the sun, to see what some Midland residents look for in their sunglasses purchases.
Bonnie Gregg said she prefers to buy what she considers moderately priced sunglasses. The pair she had with her as she played cards with friends at the Midland Mall food court were purchased from Elder-Beerman. In between hands of pinochle, Gregg pointed to a large potted plant that stood near the food court. A lone pair of sunglasses sat unnoticed on the rim of the planter with no owner in sight. “That is why I don’t spend a lot on sunglasses. I would lose them,” she said with a laugh. “I would probably pay more for sunglasses if they were prescription, though.”
“You can buy a pair and a spare,” said Midland resident and fellow card player Vicki Leigeb of the inexpensive sunglasses vendors she sees on her trips to Florida. “I can leave a pair in every vehicle if I want. You can’t do that with expensive pairs of sunglasses.”
Although Leigeb golfs a couple of times a week no matter her locale, she feels little need for sunglasses when out on the fairway. “I have golfed for 40 years,” Leigeb said, “and I have never worn sunglasses while golfing.” She said that a visor is all of the protection she needs, but she does wear sunglasses while driving.
Rebecca Eimers of Clio was visiting a friend in Midland and enjoying the nice sunny day, and offered her philosophy on sunglasses purchasing. “I buy cheap ones,” the 20-something said with a laugh. “I break them all of the time. But I lose them more than I break them.” Eimers said her spending limit on a pair of sunglasses is “no more than $10.” Besides the replacement value she puts on a pair of sunglasses, Eimers had a valid point on why she limits her spending ceiling on the accessory. “If you buy cheaper sunglasses, you can buy more pairs to go with what you are wearing,” Eimers said.
Friend Haleigh Bentsen of Midland agreed with Eimers’ philosophy. “I buy mostly cheap ones, too,” Bentsen said. “These are more expensive than I would normally buy,” she said, pointing to the mirrored aviator style sunglasses holding back her hair. “I generally lose them,” she said, “so I don’t pay a lot for them.”
Friends Jake Vickery and Kyle Koerner said that they both own a pair of Oakley sunglasses. Vickery recently replaced a broken pair of the same brand, and Koerner said that he would do the same. “I wear them for baseball and I would buy them again,” he said. Oakley eyewear can range from $110 to well over $300 a pair.
Mindy Murphy has an interesting perspective on sunglasses, their cost and the benefits realized from purchasing a more expensive brand. Murphy sells eyeglasses and sunglasses for a living as the store manager at Traverse Vision in the Midland Mall. With over eight years experience helping customers see and look better, Murphy has a definite opinion on how people should look at investments in their eyewear. “In my opinion, you definitely get what you pay for when it comes to sunglasses,” Murphy said. “Nicer sunglasses are serviceable. You can replace parts that break or wear on most brands. The more inexpensive kind are disposable.” Another feature that favors the nicer brands of sunglasses is that they can often be fitted with prescription lenses.
Murphy went on to say that she finally made the leap to a more expensive pair a couple of years ago, in this case, a pair of black Liz Claiborne’s. “I treat them better because I know they cost me more. But if you are a person who loses their expensive smart phone all the time, you probably don’t want to pay a lot for sunglasses,” she said with a laugh. Murphy added that most customers who invest in expensive sunglasses usually treat them with more respect than the those on the lower end of the price spectrum. “I have had customers buy their first pair of really nice sunglasses from us and they tell me they treat them more carefully,” she said.
“You don’t need to spend $300 on a pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes,” said Scott M. Buckingham, OD of Mid-Michigan Eye Care. Buckingham said that although expensive sunglasses are usually nicer than their cheaper alternatives, they offer more than just pride of ownership. “You will get better optical quality from nicer lenses and better frame materials,” Buckingham said.
He went on to say that ultraviolet radiation (UV) protection is offered at some level in most sunglasses sold today. “It used to be that cheap sunglasses would offer little UV protection, but in this country all sunglasses, even the cheap ones, are required to have a certain level of UV protection in them,” he said. “Even the pair that can come in a Happy Meal are required to have that protection.” Buckingham said that long term exposure to UV could cause cataracts, retina damage or other vision-related diseases. Simply put, if you are outside, you should wear sunglasses, Buckingham said.
Choosing a pair of sunglasses can be a difficult operation for some. The sunglasses must afford proper ultraviolet radiation (UV) protection, they may offer some eye protection from foreign debris, they must be comfortable and, above all else, they must look cool. Not surprisingly, this is usually the criteria for the proper selection of perhaps the most vital summer clothing component.
Sunglasses styles follow trends like anything else. One popular trend for eyewear for the ladies is the oversized, dark framed style that covers up much of the wearer’s face. Popularized by the likes of Paris Hilton, Snooky and countless other ladies, this style of sunglasses seems to be a requirement for any diva, whether she be professional or just make-believe.
“It’s weird because sunglasses trends usually last around a year, but this style has been hanging on for a while,” said Mindy Murphy, manager of Traverse Vision, located in the Midland Mall. Murphy has seen many trends in eyewear for both men and women, but she said the larger style for ladies has not outlived its service life just yet. “The styles are going bigger and larger. More bolder styles with big plastic frames and big bows,” Murphy said. She said that manufacturers like Liz Claiborne, Kate Spade, Marc By Marc Jones and Juicy Couture offer that type of style with no shortage of customers.
Murphy said that in her experience, men seem to be a bit more conservative with their sunglasses purchases. “Guys usually stay with the classics, but they are also buying a lot of Maui Jim’s,” she said. The brand offers many classic and contemporary styles, but Murphy said the company offers much more than meets the eye. “These are probably our best buy in the shop,” she said, adding that their combination of lens polarization and wrap around frame styles are popular with outdoor sports people who need the most out of their sunglasses. In the simplest terms, polarization in eye glass lenses is a process that allows the wearer to better see through the glare or sheen of surfaces like snow, water or even glass.
Although styles continue to evolve in to the latest iterations, it is the classic, proven styles that always survives. Whether it can be considered flattery or flat-out imitation, there are styles of sunglasses that endure no matter what the generation or style climate of the time. The Ray-Ban Wayfarer model and its clones is one such example.
Ray-Ban became a company in the late 1920s when the then U.S. Army Air Force, the precursor to the current Air Force, needed a way to increase the vision comfort levels of its pilots on missions. A pair of lightweight sunglasses with green lenses were created by Bausch & Lomb and after some tweaking, the classic Aviator style was born around 1936. Based on the success of its product, Bausch & Lomb created a separate division to make sunglasses, its new product line. Thus, Ray-Ban was born.
Although its Aviator line of sunglasses continues to remain quite popular, another iconic model from the company has been the Wayfarer. Created in the mid 1950s, this model of sunglasses differs significantly from the Aviator with its heavier plastic frame and a footprint that reminds many of they style of eyeglasses worn by the likes of Buddy Holly. The silhouette of the Wayfarers and its legion of copies remain a quickly recognizable artifact of generations gone by, only to be discovered again by the latest group of fashionable eyewear seekers.
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