I don’t know about you, but when I go out in the sun, I’ll only wear a pair of hugely oversized $500 Dolce & Gabbana shades so that I’m easily recognized by the paparazzi. But apparently, says the Wall Street Journal, I need not have spent my entire month’s paycheck on my designer specs.
Investigating whether or not sunglasses like my D&Gs are really worth the leopard-print plastic they’re made out of, WSJ’s Brett Arends found six things you should keep in mind before shelling out piles of cash for brand name shades.
1. Most sunglasses are made by the same company
Whatever the name on the side of the sunglasses, there’s a good chance they’re made by Italian manufacturer Luxottica. Among the brands they manufacture for are Prada, Burberry, Chanel, Polo Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith, Stella McCartney, Tiffany, Versace, Vogue, Persol, Miu Miu, Tory Burch, Donna Karan and my beloved Dolce & Gabbana.
2. In many cases, the same company is also selling you the glasses
In addition to being the shades-makers for the world, Luxottica also owns LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sunglass Hut. Writes Arends: “Make of it what you will. But if your financial advisor was actually employed by the mutual fund company that he recommended for your portfolio, you’d at least want to know.”
3.The markups are as big as they seem
Luxottica says its gross profit on a pair of sunglasses is $.62 on the dollar. Even after deducting sales and advertising costs, overhead and brand licensing royalties it’s still making 52 cents.
4. Those expensive sunglasses may not be any better for your eyes, either
Arends quotes a the chair of ophthalmology at Tufts University as saying that “For about $40 you can get a pair that offers 100% protection against ultra-violet rays. If you spend maybe $70 you should be able to get a pair with decent quality polarizing lenses that cut out glare. Beyond that, the medical benefits tail off pretty fast.”
5. An inexpensive pair of sunglasses from the pharmacy isn’t the worst thing in the world
According to Dr. Reza Dana, director of the cornea and refractive surgery service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, “The main reason people wear sunglasses is to block out (regular) white light… and from that point of view, cheaper glasses work pretty well.”
6. Those fancy glasses are really costing you a lot more than you realize
Between damage, loss and keeping up-to-date with the latest styles, “these things add up. Indeed they compound. Even at, say, 4% interest, $200 a year over 50 years adds up to $30,000.”
What’s the most that you pay for sunglasses?
FYI, the folks over at Glasseyes are always blogging about ways to save on eyewear.
Are Designer Sunglasses Worth the Price? [WSJ]
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This is weird because tons of other sources say quality sunglasses are worth the investment. Seriously, you get what you pay for and cheap throw away sunglasses break and generally look awful; They feel like crap in every sense.
People spend good money on sun glasses and they last and take more abuse (If you’re stupid enough to put them through such a thing) than the cheaper ones. 3+ years with good expensive or 3 months with cheap pairs? In the long run, you spend more on cheap ones thinking it’s cheaper in said long run.
How’s the saying go? Humans will take $10 today instead of waiting a month to get $100.
Maybe it’s just me but this is kind of a “No Duh” story. A necessity of sorts with options of utilitarian, prestige, or glamor.
I paid $12 at Claire’s for my current pair, and they’ve lasted several years. I paid about $20 for my previous pair, and sat on them within a week. I figured it’s not worth it if my fat ass is going to hit them eventually.
My favorite glasses cost 5.99 at Tuesday Morning. And I am in a panic right now cause I can’t find them…
I hope they’re in my husband’s truck…
So… Dolce & Gabbana, Dooney & Burke, Coach, and the rest of the designer stuff is overpriced. Wow. Stop the presses. This is huge!
The most expensive sunglasses I bought were a pair from Oakley, and the only reason I bought the Oakleys is because I needed a pair with a certain ANSI rating at the job I was working. I got a Fossil gift certificate as a gift and bought a $40 pair from them, and they’ve lasted 6 months so far.
I get them at sporting goods stores or target for $20 or less. I get them scratched, bent, or squashed enough I won’t spend more.
My last pair of Coach sunglasses were about $160. I had them for 4 years because I took care of them, kept them in a case, and used a crappy pair of sunglasses for when I went running. I just recently bought a new pair of Ralph Lauren sunglasses for $130. I intend to have them for a while. I’m always willing to spend a lot of money on something that a) lasts a long time, b) looks really good on me, c) really fits, and d) I will wear every day.
I also bought about a $70 pair of Serengeti’s from Costco, I also managed to break them within a year, the Costco person told me to send them back to Serengeti and they’d fix them for free. I just paid to have them shipped one way, and my glasses came back and they looked like new!
Having been in the business for a while…you could really use this argument to justify about any “designer” item, right?
Increasingly, handbag construction has shifted out of Italy in favor of cheaper labor in Asia, thread count in materials like cashmere and merino wool are absolutely on a percentage decline from what was used at the luxury level just five years ago.
Designer items aren’t put on the market as “qualitatively better” the way toothpaste with “tartar control” has an added benefit making it better than the same toothpaste without it. True was a time when people turned to Louis Vuitton for its expertise in trunkmaking or Dior for the ability of its couture tailors–but that was a good 20 years or so ago. To pretend otherwise is a bit naive.
No, what you’re paying for with a designer item is…wait for it…”design.” Marc Jacobs’ *concept* for Louis Vuitton and Galliano’s *concept* for Dior–the ideas they have for form, shape, color–that’s what commands your premium.
We, as consumers, may think this is silly, or we may think the prestige of it is fantastic, but to presume designer prices aren’t “worth it” suggests too narrow a focus on a single-type of consumer behavior–not the breadth of what all consumers value.
Of course all the above is true, but it’s also worth noting that most of these “Designers” have do virtually no designing. My wife worked for the company that manufactured Roberto Cavalli glasses. The inhouse designers did everything, and Cavalli’s input was little more than him picking out the ones he liked and which ones he didn’t. Other times he would send emails that said that he wanted glasses that looked like the kind that [insert hollywood starlet here] wore [at the emmy's / at the oscar's / while in rehab].
I only wear these:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_95424-98-90525-80025_4294856574_4294937087?productId=3102691&pl=1¤tURL=/pl_Protective%2BEye%2BWear_4294856574_4294937087_?rpp=15$No=30
They make great sunglasses, and they’re safe!
$15 from Walmart for a good driving pair (was hoping to spend less but all looked like crap or applied too much pressure). They look pretty good and are just fine for what I need.
I bought a pair of $6 sunglasses from Meijer almost a year ago. They have served me well; I wear them every day, rain or shine. I could never justify spending more than $10-20 on a pair, even if I wasn’t an extremely broke college student.
I got tired of buying pair after pair after pair of $10-15 sunglasses from various places and having them break every 2-4 weeks. Bought a pair of Tifosi Torrets (used by bicyclists primarily). $65, and came with three sets of lenses (dark, red for cloudy days, and clear), and a case. Got a set of their polarized lenses for $25 and I have been set. I have had them over a year and had zero problems with them. Much better optics then your typical gas station sunglasses.
I find that $40-50 seems to be about the least I can spend on sunglasses and be happy. Cheaper ones have poor optical quality, and always seem to feel like they’re not quite straight. I don’t care much about brand names, but I go care about quality.
Had the same pair of sunglasses for 13 years that I bought from Fashion Bug for like $5. They surely aren’t the best protection but I don’t do a ton of stuff outdoors so they do the job.
re:
3. I really can’t believe that my $500 Chanel sunglasses cost $250 to make. Yes, I bought $500 sunglasses, no I don’t believe the materials and labor were even close to $50; I just wanted them.
6. I haven’t bought a new pair of sunglasses in 5 years. I have 3 pair of fashion sunglasses and 4 pair of Oakleys for work/sport/shooting/sex… About 2 years ago, my limited edition, 6 year old Oakleys broke at the temple. They miraculously had a replacement in a box of spare parts and sent it to me. A year later I had to replace a rubber nose piece. $30 every couple of years for replacement lenses and I’m good. So in 10 years I’ve spent maybe $1000 on sunglasses. I spend more on my prescription glasses then that.
I had a pair of Army issued Oakley half jacket sunglasses that cost $160. (http://www.oakley.com/pd/1146) They became badly scratched. The supply Sgt. would not issue me a new another pair so I shopped around. I found some made by Dewalt and sold at Lowes hardware stores. They look and almost the same. and I can not tell the difference while wearing them. They cost $9.97
(http://www.lowes.com/pd_90381-48394-DPG51-2C_0_?productId=3061993&Ntt=dewalt+safety+glasses&Ntk=i_products&pl=1¤tURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=dewalt%20safety%20glasses$y=0$x=0)
hmph.
my maui jims were $300 13yrs ago. best money ever spent & well worth saving up for. still have’m & they’re still in great shape.
like anything else, do your research & pay your money.
Hum… the most I will spend is around $20. I can get a good pair of polarized glasses for that price and it doesn’t hurt my feelings if I manage to damage them or lose them.
I bought a pair of Oakley sunglasses one time. All I remember is that they had the titanium frames and cost about $120. Next day I had them hanging on my shirt and got into a wrestling match and bent the frames. Never again…
$65 for a pair of bullet-proof shooting glasses with swap-out lenses from Oakley, and they not only look good but do a great job keeping the glare down and any powder or blow-back from a poorly-gauged burn (muskets really throw up the soot). That’s more than can be said for a $300 pair of Chanel glasses.
I’m with you on the $500 dollar pair of Dolce and Gabbana’s…. not sure if there’s much to be said about this, however: last weekend I went to a car race with the boyfriend and he wear perscription sunglasses (and he’s the most frugalest guy I know) – I had my expensive Italian shades on and we were both facing directly at the 5 o’clock sun – for any of you living out west – you know that’s intense… he had his hands over his eyes to watch the race, I didn’t. He asked why and I told him I didnt know – so I handed him my glasses for a hot minute and he immediately goes, “I need to get a pair of these!” Kid tested, mom approved?
I’ve had occasion to handle a good number of different brands of designer eyewear. The quality is better than the cheaper kind [most of the Safilo/Luxottica group provide 100% UV protection and the frames are definitely better], but I don’t think they are really worth the MSRP. You can get authentic designers at a discount on eBay [just make sure the feedback rating of the seller is 100%]. I believe that those sold on eBay are generally overstock items from upscale department stores.