Santa better know what he's doing when loading up his sleigh with sunglasses, because if he picks style over function, he could make some shady mistakes! Be sure to avoid the following blunders if you want your new sunglasses to look good on you. Sunglasses are amazing confidence boosters, and for many are the ultimate accessory to upgrading any outfit. With a wide selection of styles
available to match your effortless swagger, you will never run out of options. However, when you prefer style over function, mistakes are often made along the way. Avoid these blunders at all costs.
1. Ignoring Actual Sun Protection
As with most things, not all specs are created equal. It may be ironic, but there are sunglasses that do nothing to block the harmful rays of the sun. Certain chemicals are added to the lenses during their manufacturing process to provide a protective feature. The American Academy of Ophthalmology suggests looking for at least 99% sun coverage.
You can also consider sunnies with a UV 400 rating. This means it can block wavelengths at a maximum of 400 nanometers and is capable of almost 100% UV proofing. If you don't know if your specs have any UV protection, you can go to your optician to have them tested, which is often a free service. My company ENEMY focuses on premium quality, using the world renowned Zeiss Optics to produce our lenses and offering options ranging from Gradient lenses to Polarized
lenses. Protection is guaranteed, every lens comes with 100% UVA and UVB protection.
2. Limiting Your Options According To Facial Shape
If I could only chose one pair of sunglasses to wear for the rest of my life, what pair would I pick? Of course, I have to consider face shape and what I will be wearing them with (casual cool all the way to dressed up & dapper). Considering all of my favorites, the single most perfect set of shades is Wayfarer style in matte black. This style is timeless and fits practically every face shape. They have been stylish for decades and will be stylish far into the
future. They also look great with all clothes. Further, they are universal, working with every face shape across the board.
Use face shape advice as a guide to choose the right frames for your face shape as certain styles are more suitable for any face shape. Alpha M. Pro Tip: the ENEMY 01 Matte Black look fantastic on any man, regardless of the shape of his face, which is perhaps why they have never been out of fashion in the first place.
3. Buying Designer Brands
Stripped of their flashy logos, branded sunglasses may probably look generic. Aesthetics aside, it's also likely with designer sunglasses that a higher price doesn't always translate to higher quality. In fact, some of them don't even have default UV protection.
Not many people know this, but one organization owns the vast majority of sunglasses brands that we all know and wear. This ownership allows them to pretty much control the market, controlling the price we pay for sunglasses and eradicating competition. Simply put, the mark up they have on each pair of sunglasses might surprise you. But ENEMY is different; we sell direct to you (the consumer) allowing us to push down the price of our sunglasses, yet we'll rival any
designer brand on the market for quality.
4. They Are Either Too Small or Too Big
I think your face shape should guide your purchase of sunglasses, and going a step further, buying them in the right size is another consideration. Imagine, wearing small lenses on wide set eyes, and vice-versa, you get the picture. You have to make sure that your lens can sufficiently cover your eye area.
So, what frame size should you get? The dimensions are presented in three numbers, i.e. 56-18-130. These figures are measurements in millimeters of lens width, bridge width, and single temple length. They are usually laser-etched on the inner temple of your sunglasses. In any case, you can simply take a measuring tape to get your size and find a pair that matches closely, if not exactly. Alpha M. Pro Tip: Another way to get the right lens size for
you is to ensure that the top of your frame sits slightly below your eyebrows and ends down to the two-thirds of your nose. This will be most flattering to your face. Check out this video that I put together to help.
5. Skipping The Cleaning
Wearing dirty shades is similar to wearing dirty clothes and shoes. An optometrist named Dr Jonathan Wolfe stresses that cleaning your eye-wear should be part of everyone's eye care routine. Aside from blurring your lenses, sitting dirt can breed bacteria that causes staph infection, based on a study on cleaning methods of spectacles, which is why eye-wear usually comes with a piece of cloth.
Use the cloth specifically because it is designed to protect your lenses which would otherwise get scratches if an ordinary wipe is used. Alpha M. Pro Tip: You can use a lens cleaner to really improve the cleanliness of your lenses. The ENEMY Care Kit is also the perfect companion, composed of a travel case + cleaner + cloth!
6. Wearing Sunglasses Indoors or at Night
Guys, this is common sense. Wearing them in an enclosed space let alone at night screams d-bag. Unless you have a medical condition, that's just plain silly and rude. Alpha M. Pro Tip: Just don't do it. Please.
Back in August, I hosted a virtual VIP session where several ENEMY customers got to hang out and ask me any questions they had. If there's one thing I love, it's connecting with you guys, so on December 18th
I'm doing it again! Anyone who enters this giveaway will be in with a chance of winning 1 of 10 places and will receive a personal invitation to an online "Christmas Hangout" where you can ask me your questions, meet other participants, and join the conversation.
It’s happening 1pm ET {virtually online}, and I can’t wait to meet some of you!
Do you have any input,
suggestions, or ideas for this newsletter? Is there anything else you'd like to see? We'd love to hear. Send an email to info@iamalpham.com
