Both women's and men's sunglasses have evolved considerably in recent years and many of the current manufacturers are using the latest technology to produce designer sunglasses that are lightweight and flexible. One of the latest trends is sunglasses that can be folded flat to fit into a pocket, a small handbag or the glove box. How convenient is that?
Although it would be fair to say we've moved beyond the designer-fuelled consumerism of the late 1980s and 90s, in the 21st century our desire for designer labels appears to have only been slightly abated.
"I can see the cards were right as usual," Ravena says, plopping down in an overstuffed chair, while Savannah deposits the basket on the coffee table and extracts the kitten from beneath the sofa."Anyway, I'm glad you're here, since I can't possibly keep this kitten," Savannah says, setting him next to the basket, which he plunges into, wrestling with a catnip mouse. "I was hoping you could find a home for him."Ravena ignores Savannah's comment and lifts the kitten, laying him in her lap, where he begins to purr loudly. "What do Thoth and Horus think of this little fellow?"Savannah shrugs and stretches out on the sofa. "You know cats. They're never happy about a newcomer."
Or do you?
What's more, it's now possible to buy a beautiful pair of cutting-edge designer sunglasses without the huge price tag from a wide variety of outlets.
Maybe this favourable shift in thinking comes as a result of a vastly overcrowded marketplace that prompts the question: Am I paying for the label or the design? Further, a $500 pair of Chanel designer sunglasses can be lost or broken just as easily as a $5 pair from the local supermarket.
But before she can cast a sacred circle for a reading the doorbell rings. Ravena stands on the front porch, the warming breeze fanning her long blonde hair into a flaxen cloak, three tiny braids threaded throughout, each laced with ribbons and rune charms, a basket of cat toys looped over her arm."The weather station predicts a high today in the eighties." Ravena shakes her head. "Must be South Carolina!" She steps through the door, handing the basket to Savannah. "These are for your new kitten," she says, winking.Savannah gasps. "How did you know?""I'm a Witch, remember?" Ravena replies, and then laughs. "Seriously, I saw it in the tarot cards this morning."At that moment the kitten wheels out of Savannah's office, dancing like a Samhain cat, and darts under the sofa.
Every kind of retailer from the local craft store owner to chic boutiques now stock a ############## of amazing designer sunglasses that look great and come at a fraction of the price of the better known "logo designers".
One of the most successful designer merchandising exercises has been in the field of sunglasses, with every major European designer (as well as those lesser known mortals) producing a seasonal range of THE sunglasses you just have to have.
From baby's bibs to luxury handbags
Christian Audigier, it seems that everything these days has to have a designer logo attached to be socially acceptable. But have we taken the whole designer thing a little too far?
Better yet, these new-age designer sunglasses cost a great deal less than their European counterparts and are often superior or at the very least equivalent quality.
So, without pushing the point to the extreme, the traditional term designer sunglasses, which was long associated with aging, slightly camp, European designers with tricky names, has evolved into a new and refreshing variation on the theme; designer sunglasses now refers to funky, cutting-edge shapes that are made to suit individual faces
Ed Hardy Belts, in the latest lightweight materials and a kaleidoscope of colours.
So it makes good sense to look beyond the designer sunglasses we have traditionally believed represented the pinnacle in creativity and flair towards the up and coming 21st century designers who have integrated style, substance, design excellence and technologically advanced materials to create designer sunglasses your face and your wallet will love.
After all
Air Jordan XIX, you only have to step inside the doors of one of the major retailers to see designer products from floor to ceiling with designer logos clamouring for your attention (and your dollars!)
Sure, in the past cutting-edge European designers set the trends for each season, which we consumers slavishly followed, but it would be pleasing to think that in the 21st century our desire for bigger, better and more outrageous has been tempered by a cultural and economic shift in attitude.
In an age where flaunting one's wealth is now viewed as slightly gauche, we should be asking ourselves "Does this design suit my face?" rather than "Does this logo suit my wallet?"