Sunglasses

Men's sunglasses are as much about safety as they are about style. You can look great, but if the sunglasses aren't blocking the sun, they're not doing their job, no matter how much they make you look like a movie star or how much you paid for them. Remember that along with fashion, the purpose of sunglasses is to protect your eyes from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.

Ultraviolet radiation is one of the contributing factors in eye disease. It is recommended that you look for a pair that will block one hundred percent of the UV. These should be clearly marked "100% UV protection or UV400. Don't worry; there are lots of brand names and styles that have this level of protection. Sunglass lenses are typically made from polycarbonate, which is a lightweight plastic that is unusually durable, or a plastic called CR-39 that is commonly used for prescription lenses. And then there is the old standby, glass.

The tint in the lens has an impact on safety as well. Gray is the most common tint for high-end fashion lenses. They do not distort colour, only reduce brightness. (Unlike, say, blue blockers, which eliminate all the blue from everything you look at. A walk in the garden wearing blue blockers is always interesting.) True blue blockers are either brown or amber, and are the common colour for driving glasses. The next best choice for sunglasses to be used when driving is yellow.

Green or rose coloured glasses are best used for sports participation. If you are into such sports as snow boarding or racing, you'll need polarised lenses; they reduce glare from water, snow, and roadways. Scratch resistant sunglasses usually cost a little more, but it can mean the difference between being able to see what's coming and thinking that there are two cars coming at you instead of one.

© UK Fashion.com 2006