Sunglasses: Bet you didn't know this!
Are Designer Sunglasses Worth the Price?
Excerpts:
Before you spend big money on your next pair of designer shades, here are six things you should know:
- Most sunglasses are made by the same company: Do you prefer the "quality" of Ray-Ban to Oakley? Do you think Bulgari is better than Dolce & Gabbana, or Salvatore Ferragamo is better than Prada? Wake up. They're all made by one company, Italian manufacturer Luxottica–one of the biggest consumer companies that consumers have never heard of. Luxottica also makes sunglasses branded Burberry, Chanel, Polo Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith, Stella McCartney, Tiffany, Versace, Vogue, Persol, Miu Miu, Tory Burch and Donna Karan.
"We manufacture about 70% of those brands in our factories in Italy, and the balance in America and China," says Luxottica spokesman Luca Biondolillo. "We do the design, the manufacturing, and the marketing," he adds. The company makes most of those brands under license, working closely with designers at the relevant fashion houses. But it owns several brands itself, including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oliver Peoples and REVO- In many cases, the same company is also selling you the glasses. Luxottica also owns LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sunglass Hut.
- The markups are as big as they seem
- Those expensive sunglasses may not be any better for your eyes, either
- An inexpensive pair of sunglasses from the pharmacy isn't the worst thing in the world
- Those fancy glasses are really costing you a lot more than you realize
Comment - could be a good investment: Luxottica Group SpA (LUX). Kathee (my uber-financially conservative wife) has a cheap gas station variety pair of sunglasses that are probably 5 years old. I have an old pair of prescription sunglasses. Image: Tom Cruise in Ray Bans
I have a pair of Polo sunglasses. I spent quite a long time searching for a pair that 1) Jennifer liked 2) were good for my eyes.
ReplyDeletePoint 4 talks about my second reason. You need to make sure your sunglasses say they are 100% UV protection. The reason for this is sunglasses are actually regulated by the FDA. So, if it says 100%, it has to be 100%. On the other hand, a lot of glasses say things like 400 UV protection, which really means nothing. (that could simply mean it blocks 4% UV)
On top of that, if you don't get 100%, your pupil will dilate, letting in more UV rays which causes more damage than if you didn't wear glasses.
My sunglasses are "Oakleys" that I paid $.50 for on a beach in Bali. I wonder if they're made the same place. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the 1950 style sunglasses .Retro style is my favorite
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