Polarized sunglasses increase clarity and reduce eye strain – and they are available on some of the world’s finest eyewear. Here are five top brands for polarized sunglasses.
Persol Men’s PO3328S Polarized Aviator Sunglasses (Photo: Amazon.com)
There are sunglasses and there are polarized sunglasses. Polarized lenses are a revelation, giving better visual clarity, blocking more UV rays, cutting down glare, enhancing contrast and reading eye strain – once you tried them it’s hard to imagine going back to standard lenses. Imagine the world in high definition and you get the point. Polarised sunglasses feature a polarizing film on their lenses which works like a shutter to block out light reflected from horizontal surfaces. You don’t have to get special frames either – there are plenty of tried and tested, leading eyewear companies who offer polzarized lenses as an option in their best-selling styles – here are our top five brands for polarized sunglasses.
Persol
Persol is one of the oldest sunglasses brands on the planet so it is clear the company knows what it is doing. Born in 1917 in Turin, Italy, Persol is a favourite with A-list celebs and fashionistas who appreciate the confident blend of character and style, without being too showy. The range is vast, with many classics, but there are also quite a few options with polarized lenses, including the company’s most popular styles to fresh frame shapes. Thankfully the company’s most famous pair of sunglasses, the Steve McQueen signature pair the American actor wore in The Thomas Crown Affair, is also available with high quality polarization, meaning you will be able to see as good as you look.
Oakley
Oakley Badman Polarized Sunglasses (Photo: Amazon.com)
Think sunglasses and, especially if you are sports-minded, you may well think of Oakley. The California company made its name in the Eighties and Nineties for high-tech glasses that were filled with features, making them perfect for action sports. Often the eyewear was extremely eye-catching too, coming in bright neon colours. While branching out into other areas such as clothing, Oakley has also stayed true to its eyewear roots, still creating technically advanced and good-looking sunglasses. Many of Oakley’s best-loved styles, including the Half Jacket and Fuel Cell, are also available with polarized lenses, making them perfect for sports from cycling to golfing to fishing.
Ray-Ban
Ray-Ban is to sunglasses what Levi’s is to jeans – they are timeless, attainable, classic and synonymous with easy-going Americana style. Thankfully all of the go-to Ray-Ban styles are also available with a polzairzed lenses to increase clarity and enhance contrast. When shopping for a pair of Ray-Bans it’s incredibly tempting to go straight for a pair of Wayfarers – particularly in tortoiseshell – so popular over the ages is Ray-Ban’s most enduring style that it is impossible to pass a petrol station without seeing a knock-off pair. But delve deeper into the polarized offerings and you’ll find treasures such as the Top Gun-spec Aviators, the statement Corrigan, or, for maximum effect, a pair of Jackie Ohhs.
Smith
Smith Ember ChromaPop Sunglasses (Photo: Amazon.com)
Smith tends to do a really good job of finding the middle ground between the classic style of Ray-Ban and the tech-led aesthetic of Oakley. The result is a number of styles that have the perfect blend of the old and the new. Take the Lowndown 2, one of Smith’s popular styles. It uses a frame silhouette that is pure Fifties, coupled to Smith’s clever ChromaPop technology lenses that enhance contrast and natural color to make the details pop. Then throw in one of the contemporary blue polarized shades to the glass – black is also an option – and you have the best of both worlds. The Spinner takes it even further, with a Nineties-style wrap around large lens and tortoiseshell frame for something pretty unique.
Carrera
Carrera are admittedly the kind of glasses that look best when you’re leaning out of the scissor door of a Lamborghini, or if your day job happens to be Italian ski instructor around 1983. Even the names are racy, with monikers such as Safari65 and Hot65 – you just have to own it when you are rocking a pair of Carreras. A selection of cool styles come with a polarized lens, giving higher definition and better clarity. Our choice would be to keep it simple with a pair of black 1045/S, with black, polarized lenses – they are a wonderfully subdued statement. The best bit about Carrera is despite the famous name they aren’t as expensive as you might think, with some starting at just over 100 bucks.