Designers around the globe are being affected by S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder). They are cooped up in their drafting rooms and design centers scribbling insane drawings of cartoon faces with even more cartoon sunglasses. Take, for instance, the Prada SPR-27NS sunglasses (image left) as seen on Ashley Olsen. If this isn’t the result of winter insanity we’re not sure what is. This design would be more suited for Cruella Deville than for a pretty girl like Ashley. She looks like a character right out of a Disney cartoon, the wicked, rich step sister in Cinderella or the daughter of the boss in The Devil Wears Prada. Either way, the design isn’t fit for public consumption. Perhaps a lifetime on the silver screen makes it harder for stars to remember which world is reality, and which world it’s okay to dress up like a cartoon in.

But Ashley Olsen isn’t alone. Lady Gaga is going ever more strange with her eyewear. That’s nothing new, of course, but what is unique is that she is able to find crazy designs on the market to suit her insane persona. These sunglasses are for sale to the general public, making me wonder if the designers were mad when the sent these models to the factory for manufacture. Check out these Dejour sunglasses (image right) or the even sillier Sunetttes sunglasses Lady Gaga wore in public recently that made her look like a giant beetle.
We’re not sure what happened to the designers of these otherwise able and popular brands, but we’re hoping that when the snow thaws they regain their senses and return to producing eyewear the mass public can wear without looking too foolish.

One of the most talented achievements in fashion is to find simplicity beautiful, and then to find a way to make your own fashionable look come across as natural and effortless. This is something that can take a lifetime to achieve. Many celebrities have teams of people working to make them look naturally beautiful. Prada or Dior, Versace or Tom Fords, there are whole groups debating what will look best before someone like Angelina Jolie steps out on the red carpet or out for a film debut. Julia Roberts is one of the few celebrities who can pull is off consistently, and always look fresh and unique.

Matching your hair to your sunglasses is extremely important. Yes, your skin color plays a huge part, but basically if you look good in a color normally it will likely look good in sunglasses form. Still, matching the sunglasses to your hair is harder. You don’t want to wear oversized sunglasses with a hairdo that reveals how big the frames are. It will make you look like a kid playing dress up.

The girl in the image here should not have her hair pulled back on one side, it reveals that the frames are too big for her head, giving the appearance of someone who is dressing up. And in fact she doesn’t look natural in the white jacket, either. But, the first shred of doubt emerges when you see the oversized shades. That’s how important it is to get the frames right and to match them to your hair. If she had but left her hair down on both sides she’d look more natural.

As with all things in the fashion world, different looks work for men than for women, and in fact there are very few brands that can carry both genders beautifully. Ray Bans happen to be one of the few brands to bridge the gap nicely. Tom Fords do likewise, but have specific models for men and for women, so it is slightly different. Still, knowing which brands work for your gender is essential to having a complete wardrobe.

For men, Police sunglasses, Serengeti, Carrera and even Tom Fords are great brands for masculine, fun and sporty dudes. For ladies, most of these brands are too bulky and have the result that they make women’s faces look childish, and the glasses too bulky to be sexy. Femininity is about understated beauty to bring out a natural glow. This can’t be achieved when a beautiful woman is wearing men’s sunglasses.

Most men wouldn’t pick up women’s frames anyways, but every once in a while you get someone who looks good in pink who is happy to wear women’s Dior frames to add a bit of color to their tennis getup. This is a great way to get attention, but it has very little to do with fashion.

So, buy glasses for your gender. They will fit better, look better and be proportional to your shape. Women’s frames are also a bit more colorful, fragile and womanly than men’s and thus add a bit of sex appeal. Meanwhile, the designs made for men add masculinity and sex appeal of an entirely different variety. Yes, they protect you from the sun, but making you look cool is the backup job of sunglasses.

It’s hard to imagine a world without red. Red Jimmy Choo, red Prada, a cycling community without red cycling pants and Nike shades. Red is defiantly the color of passion, rage and love … and most importantly, of high fashion.

Colors mean different things to different people. But whenever you think of high fashion you think of red. There is not only a shortage of red in the world aside from fashion and passion, but you’ll find it difficult to dress in higher fashion without the color red. Isn’t that what mot guards wear? Isn’t it what armies wear to signal their excellence? There is no doubt that red is the single most emotional color in the spectrum.

Some of the best brands for red include Prada, Jimmy Choo, Alexander McQueen, Ed Hardy and Dior. Any of these brands will have lush, passionate red designs that will impress your friends, and look snazzy with any wardrobe. For sports wear, Nike does it unparalleled in terms of bright red hues and simple, clean lines. For simple designs that really pop, this is the brand to go for sporty looks. You’ll find nothing compares to a simple pair of Nike shades, and they have eyeglasses, too. You can stay sporty year round.

Wearing red can signal a lot of things, but one thing it means for sure is confidence. Slip into something red and your eyes pop, your confidence boosts and people see a slight tilt in the chin. Perhaps that is why it’s the color of fashion.

Autumn is an awesome fashion season. Let’s look at the hottest fall fashions for 2011. First, expect a lot of color variations in the neutral colors like burnt auburn, reds, greens, browns and tans. Great brands for this are Burberry, Tom Ford, Armani and Serengeti. Don’t fall into the trap of wearing too many items of the same color, an amateur move or one that you can only pull off if with very high-end fashion.

We’re also looking for texture in our fall fashion. Leaves are falling, frost is crunching, and all of these sights and sounds are fresh to our senses again. They inspire diversity in textures, and in fall fashion the crinkle of the leaves is reflected in heavy, wrapped sweaters and layered scarves. The sleek lines of snow capped roofs in the north are reflected in sheer fabrics and form-fitted pants. The colors of fall are brought to the surface in our more natural makeup hues and the inclination to wear our hair down and wilder than summer.

Halloween is around the corner, and aside from this costume party scene, it means that after the 31st the season is officially winter in the UK. No more sunshine after 7pm, no more picnics without serious frostbite. But on the upside, it’s time for winter clothing, and fall segways into that beautifully with layering and accessories that aren’t hidden by coats and frocks, like beautiful sunglasses that highlight the color palate and your sense of style. This fall, don’t spend more on clunky jewelry (so last year) but instead splurge on eyewear, which will get you more positive feedback anyway.

Spring and fall are hell for people affected by allergies. You’ll find itchy eyes, a higher probability of contracting an illness, and of course moods change with the seasons so you’ll find some grouchy grumps on the subways and buses around town. Still, you’ll see more people leaving their Tom Fords at home, which is a dangerous thing to neglect even in fall. You’ll find people over hydrating with eye drops, and you’ll see people cleaning their lenses on rough, fall fabrics. All of these negative practices affect your eye health all autumn long.

First, autumn is one of the worst seasons for going without sunglasses. The tree are losing their leaves and that means the sun is more blinding and flashing than ever. You’ll be more affected by the sun in fall than in summer, when you are wary of sun and when it’s high in the sky and thus less likely to flash or reflect of metals directly into your eyes. Prolonged exposure to flashing lights can lead to headaches, but more importantly if you keep it up you’ll find lasting eye damage a result of ingoing your shades.

Second, hydrating your eyes is important when the weather shifts to dry and to some degree eye drops are one way to mitigate the discomfort. At the same time, your body will naturally adapt if you allow it to. So, over hydrating signals your body not to adapt and your dry eye will get worse as fall turns to winter if you over use the eye drops now.

Being sexy and being romantic are different things. To attract a certain kind of man sex appeal is all you need, but to keep a man you have to have real allure. Real romance. That is much more difficult to achieve. Romance means being conservative enough to look like a keeper and yet wild and sexy enough to be approachable. Miniskirts and belly shirts are out of the question, but you can still play around with leather and lace. Prada is a sexy look that says “I’m single” while Tom Fords are a look that suggest elegance and charm without being too sexy or too bland. That’s why so many celebrity big-wigs wear them.

Romance is thin, it’s slices of gold and silver temple bars, or thin strands of metal to simulate lace. Romance is feminine and yet unapologetic. It’s everything between sex and conservative that men need to feel comfortable and yet not too comfortable that they take your look for granted.

Some of the most fashionable and feminine eyewear on the market are made by Dior, who excel at lacy metal and sexy color schemes. Be careful of the designs that are too pink or too colorful. You want to have a look that is still natural enough to be the every woman and yet unique. All of these contradictions are hard to pull off, so keep practicing and you’ll eventually land on the look that works for you.

Remember, sex may sell, but you are not here to be bought. You’re here to be found and adored. Sex appeal is important in some situations but in most situations it’s romance and passion that make the balance for a perfect, feminine look.

Your glasses are going to get smudged, chipped and god forbid broke. But in the short-term there are easy ways to care for your glasses, even your designer glasses like your Hugo Boss or Ralph Lauren models. You’ll find that with these easy tips your glasses will last longer and look better and most importantly, help you to see clearly.

Step 1: don’t rub your glasses, instead soak them in water over night so all of the particle float off on their own. This will keep you from accidently scraping the lenses and permanently damaging them.

Step 2: If you have a lot of dirty or smudges on your glasses you can soak them in soap and water, otherwise water is best.

Step 3: In the morning, pull out your glasses, blow off any stuck on particles and then rub them with a microfiber cloth designed for cleaning glasses.

Step 4: Always carry your microfiber towel and a small bottle of cleaning solution so you can clean your glasses throughout the day. Don’t use the edge of your shirt or paper towels or toilet paper. Just use the micro fiber towel and your glasses will last much, much longer.

In terms of longevity, there are different types of lenses you can get. Glass lenses are heavier, and get damaged easily. Plastic scratches and can look thicker, but it’s lightweight. Polycarbonate lenses are the preferred lens type as they are durable, long-lasting and scratch resistant. You can care for all lens types the same way.

Autumn is upon us, so toss out your bright summer shades and slip into the more reasonable fall colors and styles, like the ever-popular fall Tom Ford shades for women in burnt auburn and brown hues. Your entire wardrobe needs to change for fall and while it can be a depressing time for many people, it’s also one of the better color combination seasons. You get to wear colors that bring out your natural hues and highlight natural tones. It’s the most clear and natural of seasons.

But autumn colors are not to be abused. Don’t wear all brown or all dark reds or greens. This is extremely tacky and every fall we see dozens of people clad in all one color. This is disgusting and should always be avoided unless you plan on wearing beautiful, bright jewelry and scarves. An all brown outfit with turquoise jewels and a bright scarf runs the risk of actually working, but it’s still going to look like a librarian on holiday. Keep that in mind if you are under 50 and not trying to join a new country club.

Comfort is also important in fall, the seasons are changing and sickness are on the rise. It’s a dangerous time to have your immunities low. You’ll need to keep wind and dryness out of your eyes with sunglasses that wrap around and block wind and even rain from getting in your eyes and cooling your body. Comfort is key, and in all cases you’ll want to keep yourself from getting frustrated, downtrodden or stressed, even with little things like overly snug or crappy sunglasses. Avoid this by buying high-end equipment and not skimping on your health.

It’s a sad fact that glasses make you look older. It’s a rare shape and face structure that can handle glasses without looking more dignified and aged. But why is that? Why do men look slightly older when the slip into Serengeti shades, or women when they put on Prada sunglasses or Ralph Lauren glasses? Let’s explore.

Glasses make you look smarter. That’s why Hollywood directors are constantly putting their intelligent characters in glasses to signal to the audience to keep an eye out for a witty statement or a smart thought. Hollywood takes our perceptions of the world and plays them back to us.

Why does Hollywood put all of their bad guys in new, innovative or single-edition sunglasses? Perhaps because we think that the villains around us are strange, inhuman or outside the mainstream. We don’t want to think that people like us, who live in our circle of “regular” thought would be capable of evil. This is a subtle signal but shows that when we wear crazy glasses in public people may be slightly distrustful of us. Hollywood is good at conditioning people to think in a certain way.

Back to the question of age. Looking older is achieved through glasses because we have the perception that older people lose their sight. This is true, more old people need prescription glasses than youths. But still, it has the effect of adding dignity and charm as well as age. For job interviews and other important meetings glasses are a good way to get a touch of respect.