Eyewear Talk

Ray Ban is one of the best-selling sunglasses brands in the world. Originally it was manufactured by Bausch & Lomb. B&L used to offer authentic Ray Ban prescription program. Luxottica Group bought Ray Ban brand about 10 years ago and stopped offering authentic prescription lenses for Ray Ban sunglasses. But you can still get your favorite Ray Ban frames fitted with prescription sunglasses lenses. A lot of stores offer Ray Ban prescription sunglasses and make the Rx lenses in their own labs. The difference is that the Rx lenses are not marked with Ray-Ban logos. Most of the stores, like OpticsPlanet, can match Ray-Ban famous tints. You can even get your Ray Ban prescription glasses with classic glass G-15 and B-15 lenses.

Wow! Today is the first warm day here in Chicago. It was snowing just a few days ago and today is 60 degrees and the sun is shinning. Open Season, ladies and gentlemen. New trends, styles, collections, color patterns in fashion clothing and accessories. Sunglasses could be proudly named one of the key fashion accessories. New D&G sunglasses, Vogue sunglasses, DKNY sunglasses, Serengeti and Ray Ban sunglasses are already in the stores. A lot of frames this season are available with prescription lenses, so getting a new pair of prescription sunglasses shouldn’t be a problem.

Some people find prescription eyeglasses with transitional lenses very convenient. Transitional lenses adjust to the light conditions (that’s why they are also called lighted adjusting lenses). In other words, these prescription lenses darken under direct sunlight. LA lenses are available in all lens materials and different blank sizes, so your prescription should not be a problem.

If you would like to wear your frames as eyeglasses / sunglasses, you will have a choice of “clear to gray” or “clear to brown” transitional lenses. They will go completely clear inside and turn to gray of brown outside. Some sunglasses manufacturers also make tinted lenses that become darker when exposed to UV rays. Serengeti and Ray-Ban are two most popular photochromic sunglasses designers. Serengeti even offers their light adjusting lenses as a part of their prescription sunglasses program – Serengeti prescription sunglasses.

I also know some people who got sunglasses frames with the light adjusting lenses that go from clear to gray/brown. They liked the sunglass frames a lot and did not want to switch to an eyeglass frame. With the current wide choice of eyewear designers you can always find something that will work just right for you!

I will blog more about rx sunglasses with transitional lenses later!

I decided to blog more about sunglasses and prescription sunglasses. Here are some frequently asked questions & answers to them.

How do you protect your eyes in the sun? – Sun can be damaged to our eyes as well as it can be damaged to our skin tissue. If you use different cosmetic products with SPF to protect your skin, why don’t you use a protection for your eyes? Sunglasses are not just a fashion accessory or an eyegear that protects your eyes while playing sports or motorcycling, they also protect our eyes from harmful UV light. You can always choose a frame from the vast variety of sunglasses currently offered on the market that will be both fashionable and functional and suit your lifestyle.

What if you need vision correction? – If you wear contact lenses, you can just get a pair of regular sunglasses. If contact lenses is not your first choice, I recommend getting a pair of quality prescription sunglasses in addition to your eyeglasses. Rx sunglasses will protect your eyes from harmful UV rays as well as regular non-Rx sunglasses. Some eyewear brands offer their prescription authentic programs. For example you can get a pair of Serengeti prescription sunglasses or Bolle prescription sunglasses that will be fitted with authentic Serengeti and Bolle prescription lenses. The Rx lenses will feature the same optics as your favorite non-Rx Bolle or Serengeti. Other brands, like Ray Ban, do not offer their authentic Rx program. Nevertheless, OpticsPlanet and EyewearPlanet can fit Ray Ban prescription sunglasses with high quality prescription lenses matching non-Rx Ray-Ban lenses and customizing them to customer’s prescription.

Sometimes it is not that easy to find the same pair of sunglasses or eyeglasses, especially if you purchased them long time ago and they are already discontinued by the manufacturer. Working for many years in the eyewear industry, I came up with a few useful tips.

Problem: I forgot where I purchased them! – Solution: As long as you know the brand and the style or the manufacturer’s SKU, finding an identical pair of sunwear or eyeglasses is not a problem. If you still have the broken glasses, take a look at the temples. Brand name and model number are usually printed on the backside of either right or left temple. If you are looking at eyeglasses frames, you might also find the lens size printed there. Knowing the brand you can easily google it and find the closest optical store that sells this brand or even better – an on-line store and have a new pair of new sunglasses / eyeglasses delivered to your porch. And we all know that on-line stores usually offer better deals.

Problem: Can not find the same specs. It looks like they are discontinued! – Solution: That’s not a rear case. Especially if you are looking for some designer sunglasses or prescription eyeglasses. Such manufacturers of designer eyewear as Ray Ban, Serengeti, D&G sunglasses and many others add new styles and discontinue old ones every few months. One of the reasons is that very often their optical collections reflect the same trends as their designer clothing lines. As the clothes fashion changes, so does the eyewear fashion. Some styles go away, some styles stay, some new models are introduced. The good news is that old styles come back in fashion. So if you can not find the eyewear looking by the same model number that was printed on your old frames, check out current eyewear collection from the same brand. Sometimes old styles are back to the collection as “re-innovated” models under a different part number. You might be lucky and your frame will be one of those!

I hope some of you will find my suggestions helpful!

Ski season is here. Ready? Don’t forget to grab your snow gear and let’s rock it!

Ski Goggles – Ski Goggles will protect your eyes from wind and debris. In addition, the lenses will cut glare and haze coming from the shiny snow surface, and block harmful UV rays. I would recommend double lenses as they provide a thermal barrier that prevents the lenses from fogging.

Top three best-selling ski goggles:

Bolle Ski Goggles

Spy Ski Goggles

Julbo Ski Goggles

Ski Sunglasses – For those who do not like mask-type-of-eyewear, eyewear manufactures introduced ski sunglasses. Some models come in a package with an elastic strap that can be attached to the sunglass temples. Wearing the sunglasses with a strap, you can be sure that the sunglasses will stay on your face and do not fall off while you enjoy skiing. I would also recommend you to get sunglasses with a foam seal or a gasket. It will provide you with comfort and an additional protection from the wind.

Top three best-selling ski sunglasses:

Bolle Traverse Ski Sunglasses

Bolle Winshear Ski Sunglasses

Julbo Explorer Ski Sunglasses

Ski Prescription Goggles – Prescription wearers can customize their goggles with prescription Rx adapters that fit inside the goggles behind the lenses. I personally own Bolle Prescription Goggles with their featured Rx adapter. It is very easy to snap in. I also did not have to order the expensive Rx lenses for the adapter. Cheapest CR-39 worked perfectly because I already had all the important features in the goggle lenses.

Top three best-selling prescription ski goggles:

Bolle Ski Prescription Goggles

Wiley X Prescription Ski Goggles

Bobster Prescription Ski Goggles

Ski Prescription Sunglasses – You can save some money and buy a good pair of sunglasses that you can wear while skiing. When the snow season is over, you can use the same eyewear as a regular pair of prescription sunglasses. Choose plastic frame vs. metal, as plastic is more durable. Also make sure the prescription sunglasses feature polycarbonate lenses and a foam gasket (if it is removable – even better).

Top three best-selling prescription ski goggles:

Bolle Traverse Prescription Ski Goggles

Spy Curtis Prescription Ski Sunglasses

Body Specs BSG Prescription Ski Sunglasses

Most flexible spending accounts cover either eyeglasses frames, or prescription lenses, or prescription sunglasses. Some of them cover both frames and Rx lenses. If you have any flex money left on your account, make sure to spend them by December 31st. Usually excess flex money do not roll over to the next calendar year. Use the remaining money in your flex account today to buy a new pair of eyeglasses or prescription sunglasses. And than simply submit the invoice for your purchase to your FSA for reimbursement.

OpticsPlanet offers an exclusive collection of rx sunglasses and prescription eyeglasses by top eyewear brands. You can easily place an order on-line for single vision and multifocal prescription eyewear. We will be happy to provide you with a detailed invoice that you can submit with your plan administrator later on.

Aviator style is one of the most popular sunglass designs. Only Wayfarers might compete with aviator sunglasses. Ray Ban introduced aviator style sunglasses in 1937 for the first time. Originally aviator sunglasses were made for US Air Force pilots. Classic aviator sun glasses are known for the frame and teardrop shaped oversized lenses. An example of classic aviator sunglasses can be Serengeti Aviator 5222 or Ray-Ban RB 3025.

Nowadays aviator sunglasses are in highly demand with everybody regardless of age, gender, race or occupation. Aviators are no longer just an eye gear for the pilots. They become a fashion accessory. All eyewear manufacturers carry at least one pair of aviator style sunglasses in their collections. A bunch of different designs of aviator glasses with smoother contours, numerous lens colors, frame materials and sizes have been created for the past 60 years. Now everyone can choose aviator shades that will fit his or her lifestyle. Most of the models are available with Rx prescription lenses. The frames are big enough to be fitted with not only single vision but multifocal lenses as well. Check out Ray-Ban Aviator prescription sunglasses and Serengeti Aviator prescription sunglasses.

There is an aviator sunglass model to satisfy every taste. Are you ready to pick the one that fits you?

Bolle presented a new Snakes sunglasses collection back in 2006. For the past two years these sunglases have been heading all the records in Bolle sales. Every model features a name after a snake species or anything related to these reptiles. You can find Bolle Anaconda, Bolle Spiral, Bolle Boa, Bolle Recoil, Bolle Rattler, Bolle Venom, Bolle Serpent among Bolle Snakes sunglasses.

Why were these sun shades called Snakes? It’s easy! The reason is that the frames are highly wrapped around (most of them come in 8 base curve) and are designed to hold tight and fit closely around a face. Bolle frames are completed with high-performance lightweight polycarbonate lenses. The lenses are available in different tints with and without a polarization filter.

Most of the frames are available with Rx lenses. You can get your favorite Bolle sunglasses frame with perfectly matched authentic Bolle prescription lenses customized to your Rx. Check out the latest on-line catalog of Bolle prescription sunglasses.

I would like to blog about tennis sunglasses. Tennis is one of the sports that requires a good pair of eyewear to protect your eyes from the harmful UV light and annoying glare. On a sunny day sunglasses is a must when playing tennis outside. There are lenses that are made specifically for tennis players. One of them is Bolle Competivision Tennis lens. This is a high contrast teal tinted lens that mutes all colors except for yellow. It makes a tennis ball stand out. One of the best Bolle frames that feature Competivision lens is Bolle Parole model. Bolle 0754201500 model comes with two sets of lenses: Tennis Competivision and TNS Gun lenses. TNS Gun lens is a grey tinted lens with a flash mirror coating. That’s a good all-purpose lens for every day use. If you need corrective lenses, Bolle offers Parole adapter that can be fitted with Rx lenses customized to your prescription.

You can buy just one pair of sunglasses – Parole 0754201500, and wear it all day long whether you are driving a car or playing tennis.