It’s that time of year again. Time to buy another pair of sunglasses.
My latest pair of Vera Wang’s from Kohl’s have lost a screw, and left me squinting into the wild blue yonder defenseless against the sun’s blinding light reflecting off of asphalt and silver Toyota Camrys.
Sayonara Vera. My old shades, courtesy of kohls.com
Was it the poor construction that formulated their end? Cheap plastic? The endless tugging of two little sets of chubby hands? I’m not sure. Either way, it is prime sunglass-wearing season and I am left one earpiece shy of a pair of shades.
What’s a busy mom to do? Add buy another pair of cheap sunglasses to my list of things to do?
- Support husband
- Take care of children
- Walk dog
- Manage household
- Fold clothes
- Buy another pair of bogus sunglasses that will, without a doubt, have to be replaced at this very same time next year.
No thanks.
I’ve always been a bargain shopper, and I probably always will be. The thought of spending $69 on a pair of jeans literally makes my stomach hurt. Thus, understandably, paying more than a tank of gas for a pair of sunglasses is unheard of.
So I use my Kohl’s cash to buy a pair of $13 sunglasses for a grand total of $3, thinking “why pay more when I can buy these classy Vera Wang’s from Kohl’s and look just like Katie Holmes?”
Here’s the catch. Katie Holmes doesn’t shop at Kohl’s.
No, here’s the real catch. Because I buy inexpensive sunglasses, I do things like let my kids tug and pull on them, and stuff them willy-nilly into the abyss of my purse. They get tossed, trampled, smudged, chewed, and sometimes worn. Who cares, I mean, they were only three bucks!
And so ladies and gentlemen, year after year I find myself in the same predicament: Sunglassesless in spring and whining about it.
But now it’s worse. Now I have two active little boys and I can’t be scanning the aisles of TJMaxx or Kohl’s for new sunglasses every year.
Maybe it is time for a change. Maybe, just maybe, if I took some time to do a little research and swallow a really big swallow of bargain shopper’s pride (and a little Maalox), I could find a pair of shades that would last me more than 12 months. I’d probably have to spend more than three dollars, but I think I could do it.
At least if I spent a small fortune on them, I would show them a little more love. Because let’s face it, you get what you pay for—and you treat things like what you paid for them.
That my friends, is the truth about cheap sunglasses.
Brooke Frick 
I completely relate! When my daughter was younger, she’d beg to wear my shades and I’d hand them to her…only to watch her take them and twist them into a pretzel within seconds! I have a couple pairs now that are crooked or one side is completely torn off. I gave up long ago and now buy the cheapies at Target!
Hm, yes, I agree. But what to do when you accidentally sit on your $25 pair of glasses and break them? (Yes, I, too, purchase the cheap ones…$25 is expensive for me!) Oh, the dilemma.
I know! It is totally a dilemma. I’ve never wanted to buy expensive sunglasses because of fear of losing, breaking, or you know, sitting on them. But then I wonder, if I spent more on them, and got a nice case for them, would i treat them better? would they last longer? I guess there’s only one way to know…
I just bought a really cute $14 pair of sunglasses at the beach last month to replace the $12 pair I bought at the Loft last summer, to replace the $12 pair I had purchased at the Loft a few months before that. Oy. I have the SAME problem.
Be happy their cheap plastic…my son got a hold of my Ralph Lauren glass lenses and dropped those sucker to the ground…
shattering experience…nothing but cheapo eye wear for me..
Great Post BTW..
oops meant to ad an “s” to suckers….darn those dyslexic fingers of mine.
haha 🙂 Yes, it’s a dilemma. So I am guessing I shouldn’t invest in a nice pair of sunglasses. I’m sure the same would happen to me! Oh well, maybe the trick is to buy like three pairs at a time, then at least I wouldn’t have to go shopping for sunglasses for three years!
You look better than Katie Holmes.
I love Vera Wang’s stuff – I managed to buy a $8.00 dress (90% – sorry, Vera Wang for not being able to pay the full price) – I have no idea when and how I will wear it, but even trying it on made me feel fabulous!
You’re sweet, thanks! Yes, Simply Vera is simply great. It is pretty nice stuff, albeit the cheap sunglasses 😉
There are a few things I never pay more than $5 for – b/c they inevitably break, get lost or stolen – and sunglasses are at the top of the list!
Love your style, temperament and blog!
Thanks so much!! I guess the consensus is to keep buying the cheapies. Maybe I can just have a stock pile of them so when one breaks, out come the new ones! ha. At least it will save me a trip to the store 🙂
VERY wise idea! (esp. given the price of gas!)
I love cheap sunglasses. The first time my 2 year old trashed my 115 dollar designer ones, I started buying the cheap blue blocker ones at the fleamarket. Fashionable? No. But they relax your eyes and are 12 bucks so if the baby breaks them, I dont go into convulsions!!
Well, I wish your logic about cheap glasses worked with buying sun glasses for 2-3 year old boys. I decided to spend a little extra money on some good sunglasses for them. I ordered them on-line and I got charged for one pair that never arrived. The other pair were broken within the first five hours that Luke had it in his possession. And he didn’t even do anything crazy with them. He simply dropped them on the floor and the lens cracked…just like that. Stephen went out and bought a cheap $5 pair and they still look as good as new. Go figure.