Have you ever picked a pair of uncomfortable yet fashionable pair of polarized sunglasses over a pair of comfortable yet generic sunglasses? Don’t worry we all have.

The problem with sunglasses is sometimes style has a tendency to win over comfort and practibility. For example, have you ever had the choice between a really comfortable pair of polarized sunglasses and a pair that are a bit more stylish yet much more uncomfortable? Have you ever decided to choose the more stylish pair over the more comfortable ones because they were a bit more fashionable? Yeah, thought so. And don’t think I’m here to judge because I’ve done the exact same thing before. After about a week of these large awkward things on your face you realize that picking style over comfort was a really, really terrible idea.

In a way companies have always been slow to blend comfort and practicality. I’m not just talking about sunglass companies; I’m talking about most companies. For women, we have had a history of fashion looking really good but being some of the least practical and comfortable things you could ever put on. Why is it still taboo for women’s jean companies to put pockets on their jeans? Women need pockets just as much as guys but unless you want the industrial jeans most women’s jean companies have refused to add this much needed feature to their garments.

Another industry where comfort and practicality has just recently begun to meld is the car industry. For years American drivers had to pick between a car that looked good and was comfortable and a car that gets great gas mileage. Do you remember the old fuel efficient cars that were on the market before the whole “green” movement started? They were uncomfortable, boxy, and had the look of something that the car companies just threw together. It wasn’t until recent years that they realized that people weren’t going to buy luxury cars unless they got more than ten miles per gallon. Now you have a car like the Mini which gets 30 miles a gallon and looks like something that you would want to drive (and they are surprisingly quite roomy).

While a lot of today’s fashion is beginning to find a way to meld comfort and style, we still have a long way to go to match what guys have on the market. It’s becoming acceptable for girls to wear t-shirts (thank god), though it would be nice not to have to pick between loose and billowy and tight and constrictive. Isn’t there a mid-ground where we can feel fashionable and comfortable? Hopefully NASA has a room full of scientists working on that (heck, after the shuttle is scrapped what else do they have to do?).

Author Kimberly Green picked up a pair of women’s sunglasses from Kaenon.com and absolutely LOVES them – Kaenon is highly recommended for purchasing polarized sunglasses

Why do we like certain types of sunglasses? Is it because of the look? The feel? The way it protects our eyes? Or how about what we see celebrities wear? You would be surprised how much celebrities influence what we buy and how cool we think we look. Just look at Jay-Z and Bono.

What do you look for when you’re in the market for new sunglasses? Do you look for new technology like polarized sunglasses? Do you look for something that makes the world look darker? Or maybe you’re looking for something that will protect your eyes from future cataracts? Or, maybe, you’re just looking for something that makes you look cool. All your favorite celebrities are doing it, so why wouldn’t you?

This is the second golden age of sunglasses. The first was in the 70’s when the TV show “Chips” made shiny sunglasses look cool and every female celebrity was wearing almost comically sized glasses. Now-a-days, celebrities make sunglasses part of their everyday ensemble- may they be indoors or out, in rainy or sunny weather. That’s right, sunglasses aren’t just for, umm, sunlight anymore.

There is a reason why people pay celebrities to wear their gear: people will track down and purchase these products. There are websites which are dedicated solely to who is wearing what and where you can buy it. Sunglasses are no different: if you want to know what glasses Paris Hilton wore last Thursday at Kai, you can find your answer online (as well as a link to buy them). And yes, Paris Hilton makes a lot of money wearing certain products because do care.

If you pay attention to the music scene at all you’ll know that there are two individuals who have made sunglasses so much of a part of their ensemble that it would be hard to imagine them with them: rapper Jay-Z and U2 lead singer Bono. Arguably, Jay-Z could be the most fashionable rapper of all time. One of the rare rappers to be able to keep his street cred while becoming a multi-million dollar entrepreneur, Jay-Z has been wearing dark shaded, black sunglasses for years. Whether it be on stage, in the crowd at awards shows or at a product launch, Jay-Z has been able to look cool and classy for years when wearing his black glasses.

It can be safe to say that many U2 fans have never seen frontman Bono without sunglasses. I can nary think of a picture where Bono was sun-glassesless. The reason for this, he says, is because his eyes are terribly sensitive to light. Whatever the reason, Bono has had individual websites dedicated to finding his (pricey) sunglasses.

Thankfully for those of us who don’t survive on a multi-million dollar budget, really cool polarized sunglasses come in a variety of prices. For those of us who want to spend $200 on sunglasses there are boutiques which will be happy to take your money. But for those of us who only want to spend $10 there are plenty of options both on the web and in stores. The main thing to remember is that no matter how good they look if they aren’t comfortable then there really isn’t a reason to get them. You have to wear them not just pose in them.

Author Kimberly Green gets her polarized sunglasses from Kaenon.com

There are a million and five ways to think you look cool but there are only a few ways to actually be cool. It’s an attitude not a persona. It’s in the eyes, not in a pair of skin tight acid wash jeans. It’s in those killer polarized sunglasses, not a slicked back hair style. Get ready to be stylized in the fashion of “cool.”

There was a reason why Arthur Fonzarelli was the coolest man in the world for over ten years. It wasn’t a flashy over dramatic bravado, it was low key swagger. The first part of being cool is to know that you are cool. If it’s a goal you are trying to achieve then you’ll never be cool. It’s not a learned behavior; it’s something you just know you are. It’s a change in mind set. Once you worry about other people thinking you are cool you’re no longer cool. This can literally be the most confusing concept of being cool but it’s absolutely the key to achieving this legendary status. Once you have that Fonzy swagger the rest of the pieces will fall into place.

If you look throughout history the coolest people have always been the people who could walk away from any situation and command respect. That’s a true sign of a person who is genuinely cool. Those people tend to be helpful, considerate and intelligent people. If you lack in any of these fundamental qualities you’ll find it hard to be truly cool outside of your social circle. True coolness transcends all social groups. In order to do so a cool person will possess a natural skill to communicate and work with every other social group.

Once you’ve achieved all of the above requirements you can accessorize your coolness with items like a throwback leather jacket (if you are going for that Fonzy look.) a stylish car (nothing to radical or high priced) and even a sweet pair of polarized sunglasses. Just about any accessorizing that you do will undoubtedly be cool, not trendy. There is a difference. You do something cool became it’s simply cool, not because it’s trendy to do so. Someone who is truly a cool person doesn’t concern themselves with current trends. It’s that slight outlawness that makes them cool in the first place. Most people who run screaming to the next big trend will always be the same people who envy the cool people.

So if you’ve been wondering if you’re actually as cool as you think you are then most likely you’re not and you need to work on your approach to being cool. If you’ve always wanted to be cool then stop being envious of those who are cool and just be cool. Once you stop worrying about being cool, you’ll be cool! Get it? It’s the attitude. You can wear a pocket protector have high pants and know more then the average college student and still be cool. If you’re still reading this and still wondering if you are ever going to be cool, stop reading and go buy the new Britney Spears album because you are never going to be cool. If you are amused at the fact that people worry about being cool, well, my friend, you are one cool person!

Author Kim Green is always cool wearing polarized sunglasses from Kaenon!

If you’ve been outdoors recently you’ve noticed that big orange thing up in the sky, the sun I believe they call it, has emerged from behind those pesky clouds and is shining brightly once again against the clear blue sky. Time to find the right sports sunglasses!

This means two things for you: 1) it’s time do go outdoors again and 2) it’s time to get out your sport sunglasses. Chances are you’ve either lost last year’s pair or they have become horribly out of style, so with that in mind it’s time to once again think about getting a new pair.

Sure, you want something that looks good and yeah, you don’t want them to break the first time they hit the ground, but there are so many other factors to look into when picking your next pair of sport sunglasses. Gone are the days of basic dark lenses in a black frame, now there is a wide variety of technology to consider before your next purchase.

There has been a major shift towards the use of the new technology of Polarized lenses in the sunglass community. Southern California based Kaenon claims that their patented “SR-91” technology is the “most advanced polarized lenses on the planet”. Using the “SR-91” technology, polarized lenses help deflect glare allowing only essential light through the lenses to produce clearer vision, more accurate depth perception and truer color representation. This helps the sunglass wearer have better vision when doing everything from cycling to skiing. Kaenon claims that their glasses reduce up to 99.9% percent of the glare that can inhibit your sight, which is good for summer sporting activities whether at the beach or in the park. There is nothing worse than glare when you’re being active, so to clearly see the ball (or the mountain) “SR-91” technology might be your best friend.

While black lenses have been a traditional option in the past, many sunglass companies, such as the Southern California based Arnette, have begun to feature a variety of colored lenses options. The cool things about these different lenses are that each color represents a different option for your own “viewing” needs. The brown lenses, for example claim to filter out a large proportion of blue light while providing excellent contrast and well defined images. Green, on the other hand, reduces visible light while maintaining clear vision. They suggest these lenses for extreme conditions such as snow while their grey lenses claim to protect your eyes from ultraviolet radiation. These lenses are in addition to the standard polarized lenses which help limit reflective glare from water, snow, sand or the road.

There are other new technologies to also keep your eyes out for this summer such as Oakley’s “High Definition Optics” which claim to give 100% UV filtering and a “non-shifted” view, or Ray-Ban’s “Carbon Fibre Line” which promises lighter, stronger and more flexible lenses and frames.

Like any investment, researching each product is a good bet before making your purchase. Chances are you will be willing to spend a little extra on a brand of sunglasses or a new technology that will fit your individual needs. Just try not to lose them again this winter.

Kimberly Green loves sports and being outdoors and has tried many different brands of sport sunglasses before finally settling on Kaenon as the brad to have.