And if so, where can I get some? The people at the local glasses store (granted, it’s a chain one with minimum wage employees, but the higher end sunglasses store guy looked at me like I was an idiot) claim that they’re not made anymore.
I’m going for the cyberpunk look (although I hate wearing jeans, especially black ones) and can’t for the life of me find anywhere that sells decent mirrorshades. The ones I’m thinking of in particular are the aviator-style ones that old Phillipino men around here seem to have a corner on (I keep meaning to ask them where they got theirs, but I think the answer will be, “1983”). If I could find a pair with the little “skirts” around the sides (think Ted in the Lost Boys), that would be ideal.
Of course, it doesn’t help that they’d need to be prescription and apparently there aren’t any prescription lenses that are also reflective. If I could find a pair of honest-to-God mirrorshades, I might consider getting contacts. Or just not bothering to wear contacts at all since it will most likely be dark out and I’d be wearing sunglasses.
Have you tried someplace like Target or Wal-Mart or a department store? I was looking at sunglasses in Target a few weeks ago, and there were a bunch with mirrored lenses.
Last Yule I bought my guy the most wicked cool blue-mirrored sunglasses from The Sunglass Hut (they have stores at many large malls). I think they were Revo brand.
Misnomer, good idea. The pharmacy on the corner probably has a bunch left over from God knows when. I’ll have to check out the snowboarder shop as well. IIRC, they tend to mostly have goggles. I could also use a pair of goggles.
Hi, I work for LensCrafters (hopefully not too much longer) and I know mirrored lens are still made for both prescription and non-presciption sunglasses. At my company we can make most single vision polarized lenses in gold, silver and blue mirrors in house.
We can also special order multi-focal presciptions in the above mentioned colors as well as red, orange and purple. They can also be special ordered in gradient mirror (fading in density from top to bottom of lens.
If you really like Maui Jim or Revo glasses they too can be special ordered with prescription lenses, they just have a price tag to make most wallets ache.
If we can do all this I’m sure other retail glasses stores can order similar products for you.
Huh. The people at my Lenscrafters told me it couldn’t be done. And they’re in a fairly trendy area, so I figured that they’d be able to do it if it was possible. So, do I just ask for “single vision polarized lenses in silver?”
Anyway, thanks for the information, I’ll give them another call.
Right. One of the many many reasons I’m looking for another job. I’ve often heard perfectly reasonable requests like that turned away for reasons as stupid as the person/people “helping” you don’t agree with your choice.
Whatever, our name for them is FeatherWates® Polarized Mirrors for the in-house, single vision, polarized, polycarbonate mirrored lenses. If you want an option other than those we send the jobs to our SOLA lab in KY (including “wrap” styles for better quality).
By sending the job out you can also have them add a non-reflective surface to the backside of your shades. If you’ve ever seen the reflection of your eyeball while wearing glasses or sunglasses outside then you know why this can be useful.
The thing that really pisses me off is that even after I leave they’re still my best option for eyewear in my area.
Sorry for the legthy post, bad customer service pisses me off.
M.B.
Sidenote for anyone interested: if you want any particular lens, even clear types, for fashion or whatever without a prescription, make sure they are charging you for “plano” lenses. They have a reduced rate for plano v. Rx.
Thanks for the info MB. Here’s another question: How obnoxious are they to keep clean? I remember the crappy ones I’d get for $10 as a kid and if you touched the lenses, you’d forevermore have your fingerprints on them. Are the ones that I’d get at LC (or wherever) prone to the same sort of scratching/tarnishing? Would getting a coating (I generally get the anti-scratch but not…the other one (anti-reflection?)) help out with that or are they fine the way they are.
Also, a slight hijack: In the past a poster postulated that whenever you clean your glasses with an alcohol-based cleaner (IIRC), you’re dissolving the coatings on the lens. Do you know if this is true? I know I was told not to use ammonia-based cleaners for this reason.
Anyway, thanks for fighting my ignorance and helping me look stylish (even if it is stylish for 20 years ago - I gotta start somewhere). Hope you stick around.
HL, those are totally sweet (and nearly exactly what I was looking for!). Too bad I need prescription which makes both the frames and the lenses really expensive. I’ve also got a big noggin and find that the “off the rack” ones don’t fit very well.
First of all I’d like to say that you are entitled to your sense of style whether it moves with the times or against them. Kids in my area are getting into the 80’s styles again anyway, aviators AND wayfarers.
Second, you asked for it, here comes a lot of info…
If you use lens cleaner and cotton or microfiber cloths you shouldn’t have a problem with cleaning off fingerprints or damaging the finish. There is nothing that can be added over the mirror side of the lens, but the anti-reflection on the back of the lens can make it more comfortable to wear for some people.
The misunderstanding that I believe causes a lot of damage is that a lot of customers seem to think poly lenses are scratchproof, however there’s no such thing, they are just more scratchresistant than basic plastic lenses.
[Lecture mode] Paper towels and most tissues are made from wood. Wood fibers, even tiny ones, are bad for glasses. They can make little itty bitty scratches that you may not be able to see with the naked eye at first. Over time, they get bigger and bigger until one day you notice and it looks like someone’s been scrubbing your lenses with steel wool.
I have seen horrible, horrible things happen to all kinds of lenses and the owners never know how it happened.[/Lecture Mode]
As far as alcohol v. ammonia: ammonia can cause lots of damage to some types of lenses, but afaik alcohol is only bad for certain types of frames. We use 99% pure isopropanol in the lab to remove some of the markings used to align lenses during manufacture (ALL lens types) and also to clean the lens prior to applying any coatings. I know that the technology for different coatings has improved greatly in the last few years, so maybe alcohol used to be bad, but I’ve seen it turn one of the matte black RayBan frames into a nasty white/gray slpotchy color. (Apparently no one told the new lab tech about when not to use standard procedure.)
FOR YOUR OWN GOOD: For Og’s sake if your going to spend a lot of money on a good pair of Rx Sunglasses… GET A NECK STRAP before you go boating (I believe there are some that float). And make sure it’s snug on the frame and not set so loose that it could still fly over your head in a strong gust of wind.
BTW: My BF is a long-time lurker and he turned me on to the Dope about two years ago, I just haven’t had the two cents to give before so I just lurked under his account.
