A longstanding style staple of travel, regardless of the climate you’re visiting, is sunglasses. Whether you’re trying to protect your eyes from the brightness of the snow or the sun, see the winding roads better or sharpen your ability to take in the sights, sunglasses are an essential tool even if they aren’t prescription.
We turned to Lindsey Durr, the director of operations at Kennedy Vision Health Center, for what to take into consideration when looking for new sunglasses.
First, Durr notes how important it is to take care of your eyes. Regardless of if you’re wearing sunglasses as a statement piece or to improve vision, you should always have your favorite pair on hand to prevent a litany of eye-related ailments.
Eyes on the Prize
It’s not just style, sunglasses help maintain healthy eyes. Durr lists some of the ill effects skipping sunglasses may lead to.
- Vacuolar Degeneration: An eye disease which blurs your sense of vision.
- Skin Cancer: Eyelids are delicate and not exempt from skin cancer. Durr says 10 percent of skin cancer is on the eyelids.
- Sunburn: Yes, your eyes can become sunburned. Think redness, eye pain and potentially blurry vision.
“It’s really important to note the kind of lifestyle you have before buying a pair of sunglasses,” Durr says. “If you’re driving a lot, we recommend going with a thinner band because thicker bands on glasses can cause a blind spot.” If you live an active lifestyle or are simply prone to sweating, Durr says it’s better to consider an acetate frame than a metal frame, which may irritate the skin.
With your lifestyle taken into account, it’s time to get to the fun part—the style of the glasses. Durr says to look for glasses that are the opposite shape of the face. “If you have a rounder face, you’ll really look good in a cat-eye lens. If you have a square jawline, you should not be getting squared lenses. Instead, you should gravitate towards more round glasses,” she says. This way, the glasses aren’t in competition with your features but instead provide contrast in a way that will add a complimentary balance to your face.
You can also play around with colored lenses. Durr says the most common lens colors are brown and gray. Brown lenses are the best for driving, while gray are the darkest and will give you the most coverage. “Other colors are typically just a tint or fashion statement, but there are some cool additions to the other colors,” Durr says. A blue tint to your glasses can be very calming and is great for migraines; yellow tints are used in a lot of shooting ranges because they create more focus for the eye; pink tints lessen the frequency of light and are ideal for people who experience migraines or muscle spasms.
Durr says the trending sunglasses brands of 2023 are going to be Prada and Tiffany & Co. “Prada and Tiffany actually just dropped their newest collections. These sunglasses will be what every celebrity is wearing and what we see the most. They also have the most fun, and they have pieces for everyone,” Durr says.
She also notes to keep a lookout for smaller, elegant lenses with a futuristic look. The trends are gravitating toward simpler, sleeker pieces, instead of the big, chunky shapes we have grown used to. Above all, the most important look you should go for is the look that will make
you feel most confident for the new year.
Kennedy Vision Health Center
10600 Old County Road 15
Facebook: Kennedy Vision Health Center
Instagram: @kennedyvisionhealthcenter
Twitter: @KennedyVisionMN
