I've worn black polarized Oakley A-wires for years and love the optics, but have always felt they lacked style. I'm looking for something a bit more stylish but with the same durability and quality of a polarized lens. Any suggestions?
Unless you are an professional baseball player or just that out of touch you have no business in Oakleys. Try Costa Del Mar www.costadelmar.com. They have the strongest and lightest glass lenses out there and if you like the sporty-ness of Oakleys, you will love these.
9 Answers
Oliver Peoples Airman frames with VFX polarized lenses.
I would buy the Bolle Venom sunglasses. I've had the dark tortoise frame with the Polarized Axis lens for 6 months now, and I love them. I got mine from Sunglasses Giant for a really good deal. Great quality, warranty, and durability.
Definitely Oakley. I don't know if you want pure style or function or both, but for sick style sunglasses, get Oakley Frogskins. For function, get Razor Blades, but you can definitely find just about any Oakley sunglasses that are polarized. Oakley makes the best lenses and frames, no competition. Just check out a video of The Rolling O Lab to see how much they dominate.
I've been a lifeguard for four years, and let me tell you, nothing beats the quality or durability of Oakley lenses. Right now, I'm a huge fan of their Whisker frame. If you have a bit of cash to burn, get the Titanium ones - you won't even feel them on your face!
I am guessing that I am a bit biased in some of these answers, but Oakley sunglasses are top notch and their quality, and customer service speaks for itself. Oakley has quite a few higher end sunglasses now. I worked in the Irvine, CA store, and a good number of our shoppers were looking for the same thing. I would recommend going into a store and trying on the Nanowires. They are polarized, come in a few different shapes, and are exquisitely stylish. They all run about $300, but you will pay more than that for a pair of D&G's that will fall to pieces the first time you go to the beach in them.
I wear Kaenon glasses. They have a number of great types which are different and offer that flair of "style" that you are looking for.
When it comes to sunglasses glass lenses are almost always going to be the better choice when it comes to optic quality. However their trade off is they have a much higher weight, and are normally tagged with a higher price. I have bought most of my sunglasses from Sunglass Hut, and the brands they stock are some of the best brands in the business (Maui Jims, Revo, Arnettes, etc) all of which are polarized. I recently purchase a pair of Revo's from SGH for $150 and have been very happy. A friend of mine is an optics expert and commented on how good the optics were for a plastic lens. He only buys glass, and lives by the Maui Jim lenses. Good luck in your search!