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Hot shades for hot days
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Sunglasses can make you look natty while protecting your eyes. Indulge this season
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That classy touch Shades are an important accessory for the hip and fashionable photo: Rajiv Bhatt
"The moment I wear my sunglasses when out in the sun, the irritability and hurry dissipates. The effect is almost magical," says Payal Chauhan a visiting student from Delhi. Sunglasses provide a welcome respite from the heat, add the natty touch to complete one's seasonal ensemble, protect eyes colour dull and drab reality and uplift one's spirits. "Sunglasses are an important part of one's ensemble today," says Preetika, a fashion designer. "There are glasses that go with suits, saris and western outfits and casual everyday wear," she says.
It's not surprising that shops or malls selling clothes also have an eye-popping collection of sunshades. Even brand names that are apparel labels have started their own line of sunglasses. Brands such as Benetton, Wills Lifestyle and Polo have their own unique designs and colours of sunglasses.
"That's because sunglasses are a rage nowadays," beams the manager of one of the popular brand outlets in the city. "Many of our customers who are loyal to the label want sunglasses in that particular brand as well. The majority of good quality sunglasses available in the market are Italian brands." These include Safilo, Carrera, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Oxydo. Other international brands to look out for are Oakley, Pierre Cardin, Ralph Lauren and Christian Dior. These branded products offer UV rays protection, use superior material in manufacturing the sunshades and get you in sync with international trends.
Clarity and durability
"These brands use high purity materials like polycarbonate and plutonite that give clarity and durability to the product," says an expert in the business. Where domestic brands such as Fast-track cost anywhere between Rs. 600 to Rs. 1,300, the international brands are priced much higher, with the cheapest priced at Rs. 2,000. "But that doesn't stop even the students from picking up a Gucci as style statement is fast becoming a part of everyday life," says Anand, another retailer of sunglasses.
Sunglasses are important accessories when it comes to the fashion scene. "Just pick up any label catalogue or tune in to the seasonal fashion shows and you will find a ubiquitous presence of sunshades," says Preetika, who's very much clued into the scene. Reds, oranges, bright yellows, purples to gentler icy blues, greens, mauves and whites dapple the showcases of the outlets in the city. "Youngsters and sportspersons pick up bright colours with large, thick, shell frames being the taste of the season," says a retailer. "The regular metal and plastic frames have loyalists coming in and asking for their `regular' brand and type." Recent entrants, namely rimless and semi-rim glasses, are holding their popularity with girls.
For those with numbered glasses aspiring to wear a Gucci or Polo Sport, there is a trendy progressive solution called `transition lenses' which are fitted in the brand frame chosen by you. These glasses adjust to the light conditions by turning crystal clear indoors and dark in the bright sun. Renuka, a self-proclaimed computer freak, loves the idea of Crizal coating on these transition lenses being offered in the market today. "Crizal coating helps to ward off unwanted reflection and glare that computer screens emit," she says.
Sunglasses protect the eyes from harmful UV radiation. "You could ask for sunglasses that provide UV (A, B, C) protection," says an expert.
Sumeeta Rao, an eye specialist, says: "As one grows old, prolonged exposure of eyes and the eyelids to the sun could be harmful."
The appeal of sunglasses cuts across ages. There is in fact a new range for kids now. A plethora of models in a mind-boggling range is available on the Internet.
DEEPSHIKHA MEHTA
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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