by Alana Joy

It’s easy to justify spending an arm and a leg on sunglasses. Designer sunglasses dress up any inexpensive outfit. When you spend more on them, they are made out of quality materials that are supposed to last. The sad truth is that I don’t think there’s a material known to man that can stand the test of time. There was a pair of Tom Ford sunglasses I got a few years ago, just gorgeous. $400. I wore them twice, and then sat on them at my friends house. An arm (and my heart) broke, and I have yet to find a place that can repair them. Either of them… ha.

I’ve tried going the route of not splurging on sunglasses at all: only allowing myself to get them on the cheap from places like Urban Outfitters or Target… or the vendors on Venice Beach. $25 or less. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to find ones that don’t look like they’re cheap, and they break, chip, and generally lose their luster after a month or two of use.

The happy medium I’ve come to now is getting cheap shades if it’s a super trendy style that I’ll grow tired of when the season changes or spend $1-200 on a pair that I think I’ll get some real everyday use out of and take extra care not to break them. Tip: Get some really cute cases in a variety of sizes (some of the larger frames don’t fit into the average cases) so you have something fun to store them in, and you’ll be more likely to get them in good shape. Don’t just throw them in your bag or around the car! (I’m saying that to myself really…)

Another great way to save some money on great sunglasses is to try them on in the department stores, write the model number down or remember the style name, and then find them online! There are legitimate sites out there that are able to provide authentic brands at a better price than you can get in the stores, mostly because they aren’t paying sales associates and overhead costs like rent. Sometimes when we shop online we go to the “bigger” sites because we trust them. We know they can be held accountable if we don’t receive our shipment or the item comes in damaged. How can we tell if these “discount” sites are legitimate? I too struggle with that. When it doubt, I’m out. It’s just not worth it.

This is why I was super excited when ShadesDaddy.com asked me to review a pair of their sunglasses. I’ve been wanting a pair of RayBan’s for a while now. Specifically, the WayfarerII: in black and clear. They’ve been kind of hard to track down, and I was able to find them online but they were a bit much. I checked their site and THEY HAD THEM!!! Not only did they have them, but they had them on sale for $105 (only made better by their free shipping on any orders over $99)! Getting a free pair from them to review is definitely lucky for me, but getting these hard to find shades on sale is definitely lucky for you!

They arrived really quickly, and they came with a nice RayBan case and a scratch free polishing cloth for the lenses. Totally authentic and flawless. I’m considering getting another pair and having rx lenses put in so I can have them as a regular pair of glasses too! I love this style: they’re hip but different. The black and clear means I can wear them with anything. And the case means I (hopefully) won’t mess them up.

So far, so good!