Good Question! When choosing the colour of your prescription (or non-prescription) sunglasses, there are a few functional considerations, and there are matters of fashion and style.
- Grey-coloured lenses affect the brightness of all colours equally, so they are the most “neutral”. This means that they affect your perception of the colours of things you see the same, no matter what the colour of the things you are looking at. If colour perception is important to you (photographers for instance) while you are wearing your sunglasses, choose a grey colour.
- Yellow-coloured lenses enhance contrast. Contrast means bright is bright, and dark is dark. Since blue light bends and scatters the most in our atmosphere (that’s why the sky looks blue), it also has the worst contrast and contributes the most to the experience of glare. Yellow-coloured lenses absorb and block the scattered blue light so the rest of the (less scattered) light reaches your eyes. This will give you a sense that things “look brighter”. Remember, yellow lenses also shift your perception of colour, giving you a sense that things also have a tint of yellow hue. Some sunglass wearers don’t like the yellow hue they see in the world or the look of the yellow lenses on their skin or their face.
- Brown-coloured lenses are on the “warmer” yellow side of the colour spectrum; they offer some of the contrast-enhancing benefits of yellow lenses without the distracting look. Brown lenses are very fashionable, especially in a brown frame, and because they enhance contrast and reduce glare, they are popular for driving.
- Green-coloured lenses, or grey lenses with a hint of green, have been popular with pilots since Bausch & Lomb developed the G-15 sunglass lens in the 1930s. This tint is now common in Ray-Ban brand sunglasses.
- Red-coloured lenses used to treat light sensitivity in one rare kind of blindness called Achromatopsia have been popularized by Hollywood actors. This colour is generally chosen for its fashion, as there is no scientific evidence that these lenses reduce light sensitivity over other colours in patients with normal vision.
- Blue-coloured lenses occasionally become fashionable but suffer from increased issues with glare. Again, this colour is generally chosen for its fashion, look, and style.
Mirror Tints Provide Fashion Without Disrupting Function
If you would like the fashion of a silvered lens, or the look of a red lens, or a blue-styled pair of sunglasses, but you prefer the functionality of a grey, brown, or any other colour of lens, you can combine the function of your preferred lens, with the fashion of your preferred colour by putting a fashion mirror tint on the surface of your choice of lens colour.
For example:
- You can have a grey lens with a silver mirror on the front surface to create an “Alabama Sheriff” look.
- You can have a brown-coloured lens with a red mirror tint on the front surface for a fiery red look.
- You can have any coloured lens you like with a blue mirror tint on the front for a sporty blue sunglass
By choosing your preferred style of frames for your sunglasses, you can create an endless selection of fashions to suit your style and make you Look Sharp!
Experience the Difference of Prescription Sunglasses from Doig Optometry in Calgary
Don’t let the sun compromise your vision or style! Visit Doig Optometry to browse our extensive collection of prescription sunglasses and find your perfect pair. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff will guide you through the entire process, from selecting the frames to fitting your lenses, ensuring you leave with the ideal pair of sunglasses for your needs.