The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

The Great Eyewear Debate: Cheap vs. Designer Shades?


When it comes to finding fashionable sunglasses, I don't think price matters. You can buy shades from H&M, Forever 21 or Target for under $10 that look great, won't break, and if you lose them while leaning over the edge of some national monument during your summer roadtrip, no one's crying.

But when it comes to your health - that is, protecting your precious eyes from the sun's harmful rays - which is the best route to take? Budget brands or the pricier, designer brands?

To find the answer to this question, I decided to consult the Beauty Brains. So I emailed them my question and a few days later, they actually posted the answer on their blog! They misspelled my name but I was still stoked.

In a nutshell, the Beauty Brain crew said budget sunglasses are just as good as designer shades when it comes to protecting your eyes from UV light so long as they are clearly labeled with the type of protection they offer.

While this news should have been music to my ears, I soon realized there is more to this debate than meets the eye: The catch is that the government doesn't regulate sunglasses (nor should they), so you can't necessarily trust the labels. The only real way to be sure would be to take your shades to your local optometrist and have them run some tests. Yeah, that's probably not going to happen.

Upon further research, I discovered still other factors to take into consideration: The UV coating on cheap sunglasses may wear off over time. Certain color lenses or cheap plastic may also distort your view causing eye strain. Still other types of lenses may cause your pupils to dilate, without blocking the harmful rays, thereby causing even more damage than if you weren't wearing shades at all. Yikes!

So now I'm beginning to rethink the whole cheap sunglasses thing. Maybe I should invest in one great pair of mid-priced shades and just be more careful with them. You could always find designer shades for less at Overstock.com or Bluefly.com, too. Cool shades that fit your face can really up your style quotient, too, so if you find an amazing pair, by all means. You'll wear them for years.

But getting back to the UV protection: My advice is that if you're doing sports, especially water sports or skiing, invest in some high-quality reputable shades just to be safe. And if you're going to be spending a lot of time in the sun and out on the beach, again, you may want to pony up a couple extra bucks for shades you can have more confidence in. But if it's purely a fashion statement you're after, stick to the cheap & chic.

Which do you think is better? Cheap shades or designer sunglasses?

Comments
It all depends, if the cheap eyewear can have the 100% uv ray protection then why the hell not get it.. but if someone wants to dish out 350 bucks for glasses then thats all on them. The way I got all the sunglasses I own now is through thrift shopping in europe.. theyre cheap and havent broke but I dont know if they have the protection. I got white Chanel sunglasses as a gift recently and I know for a fact they have the protection.. so I guess maybe more money the better.
unless you have some random guy on the street corner of Italy telling you the 10 dollar sunglasses hes making you buy has the protection =)
#1 Neira on 2008-07-22 05:10 (Reply)
I read somewhere online written by opthalmologists that cheap sunglasses don't mean they cannot protect eyes. Most of the cheap sunglasses available for sale today are good for sun protection around the eyes. So no need to buy or invest designer sunglasses. But if you really want to just because you want a "designer label", you can buy it but not for the protection but the "designer name" itself. Or if you hang around with people who can be shallow to point out and judge your personality based on your "duds" and "the stuff that you are able to buy".
#2 bingkee on 2008-07-22 08:19 (Reply)
Dang, I hadn't realized that cheap shades might not be protecting my peepers. I do own one pair of pricey sunglasses, and they've become my primary pair, but I rely on my cheapies for biking. I'll have to do some research. I always assumed that a darker lens would help in the UV department, but perhaps that's not true.
#3 Sal (Homepage) on 2008-07-22 10:40 (Reply)
Why shouldn't the government regulate the labels companies put on their shades? I think if you advertise that it has UV protection and it doesn't you should be held accountable. I'm sick of big companies using us the consumers as their guinea pigs so they can make a bigger profit.
#4 Peaches on 2008-07-22 12:37 (Reply)
I do support truth in labeling, what I don't want to see is the government setting requirements and dictating standards for sunglasses because then, well, we probably wouldn't have the choice of buying our cheap-o shades from Target. Give me information, and I'll make my own decisions, that's my philosophy. Consumers don't have to buy something they don't want. And when we rely on the government to protect us from every little thing, complacency sets in and that's not good.
#4.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-07-22 13:46 (Reply)
Budgetbabe, these articles might interest your concerns. Click on the links. Hope that helps.

http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=150406
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=1c867c77-9612-42af-80ad-a700865bef2f
http://thebeautybrains.com/2008/06/12/do-designer-sunglasses-give-better-uv-protection-than-cheap-ones/
#5 bingkee on 2008-07-22 14:33 (Reply)
Thanks bingkee!
#5.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-07-22 22:46 (Reply)
I don't think there's any reason to think that an expensive designer pair of sunglasses will protect your eyes better than a cheap pair-- whatever the price, you should look for an indication of UV protection.
#6 kate on 2008-07-22 17:43 (Reply)
Maybe I shouldn't have used the word "designer" throughout my post - I was trying to get at the fact that brands like Oakley, Ray Ban, Maui Jim and others claim to have superior technology and have patents on their products. Since I'm a camera buff, and I wear contacts, I know for a fact that there's a HUGE difference in lens quality that begins with the manufacturing process and quality of materials. There is some science behind this, people! So I think some pricier shades will definitely give you better UV protection and a better view of the world. But if we're talking strictly "fashion" brands like Gucci, Prada, D&G - I'm not sure, I'd have to do some more research :-)
#6.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-07-22 22:45 (Reply)
granted, the cheapos you buy from the refugee on a street corner just may not have uv protection even if they have the little tag (all the chinese LV bags also have the LV tag, right?) but the name brands at target, et al are ok. my eye doctor said the same thing - the label doesn't make a difference. an easy way to check for distortion though (saving you a visit to the eye doctor bcuz you can check it yourself) is to look thru the lens and move the glasses up and down. if the view gets wavy, don't get them. my eye doctor taught me that trick. worked for me every time. i've gotten some very good deals over the years at tar-zhay for $10 - one pair i bought in flagstaff in 1999 - i still wear them.
:-)
#7 maggie z on 2008-07-22 18:14 (Reply)
Good tip, Maggie! I tried this on my cheap $10 Aldo pair, which I love, and they passed *phew*. Designer glasses are definitely appealing, but then again I have heard horror stories of people losing them while swimming! The problem with wearing designer bags or glasses is that then you are hyper conscious of their value and freak out whenever any wear or tear happens. Is it worth it? Prob not for the beach, but if you're just walking around the city, then designers can work.
#8 MizzJ (Homepage) on 2008-07-23 01:21 (Reply)
This discussion is so black and white! Either you're spending $500 or $5?! I own a pair of Juicy Couture sunglasses, that are fantastically made, look fabulous and I've worn almost every day for 2 years and have never had a problem with. I didn't buy my shades for the $300 pricetag on them at Nordstrom, but instead bought them on sale at Nordstrom rack for $30- You can buy designer, well made shades for less if you know how to shop savvy, and I'm confident in both their construction AND my eyes being protected. I have several friends who are constantly buying new shades for $10, $15 a pop and having to replace them because they break, they bend, they're cheaply made. Instead of buying 6 $15 pairs over two years I just bought one $30 pair. And its not just about wearing designer shades, the quality IS better, not everything with a higher pricetag is just there to sucker the wealthy into handing over more dough...
#9 Peaches on 2008-07-23 10:04 (Reply)
Oh, and not to be obnoxious, but shouldn't you value all your possessions regardless of how much you paid for them? Alot of people here said "they're cheap so who cares what happens to them" - I think thats the wrong attitude to have, and probably why everyone has that "if it breaks it can be replaced" attitude. I don't care if I pay $2 or $200, if its something i love I value it enough to make sure it stays safe.

I think you should choose shades that offer your the right protection, fit your face, and that you LOVE enough to actually keep them around and actually care if you sit on them or destroy them.

I'm trying to move away from an attitude where everything is always replaceable, and if that means I spend an extra $20 to know I'll care, I"ll do it.
#10 Peaches on 2008-07-23 10:10 (Reply)
i agree with you. lately, rather than giving away old stuff that i like but haven't worn for a while (like this year), i put it away in a garment bag. frees up my closet for more trendy things, and next year it may make a comeback. recycling clothing doesn't always mean buying at 2nd hand shops. you can be your own 2nd hand shop if you keep a variety of good clothes and accessories and switch them around over the years.
there's no reason that $10 pair of sunglasses you like can't last a long time if you take care of them properly.
:-)
#11 maggie z on 2008-07-24 11:41 (Reply)
Great entry!! I agree with everything you wrote. I think that its probably better to invest in one pair of nice more expensive sunglasses for the protection you need. They def. need to have UV protection! But I know with all these trendy styles out there, sure why not get a cheap pair for the style since probably the next summer you will get a new pair so if the coating comes off, its not that big of a deal.
#12 Julie (Homepage) on 2008-07-25 15:23 (Reply)
Leave a comment
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed.
Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
Standard emoticons like :-) and ;-) are converted to images.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.