What are customized sunglasses?
Customized sunglasses allow you to fully personalize your frames and lenses to your exact preferences. Depending on the brand, this can include the lens tint, frame colors and materials, personalized engravings, sunglasses accessories and more.
Brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley and Costa all offer custom options, showing how popular personalized sunglasses have become. Beyond style, customization can improve comfort, fit and even how well your sunglasses perform in certain environments. Whether you’re spending time outdoors, driving or playing sports, designing your own pair ensures they match your lifestyle, as well as your look.
What are the benefits of customized sunglasses?
Customized sunglasses offer a unique way to match your eyewear to your style, comfort and vision needs. Personalizing your sunglasses can also enhance how well they work for your daily life or outdoor activities. Some other benefits include:
- Tailored lens features – Choose options like prescription strength, lens tint or polarization filtering based on your needs.
- Style variety – Pick from a wide range of frame colors, finishes and designs to reflect your personal style.
- Special features – Include upgrades like mirror coatings or gradient lenses.
- Personalization – Some brands offer engraved initials or custom accessories to make your sunglasses one of a kind.
Visiting your local eye care professional (ECP) and speaking with a knowledgeable optician can make a significant difference when it comes to frame fit, comfort and choosing the right lenses for your lifestyle and visual needs. Their expertise ensures you don’t just see well but also look and feel your best, too.
Buying advice for customized sunglasses
Keep these points in mind if you hope to build your own custom sunglasses:
- Use and environment – Before buying sunglasses, think about your lifestyle and what activities you will be doing while wearing them. Certain sunglasses with polarization may be better for certain outdoor activities, such as boating, while others may be best for casual, everyday wear. At the same time, look for 100% UV protection.
- Return policies – Make sure you understand the brand’s return policy before you buy. Some policies do not allow returns while others let you return your shades within a specific time frame.
- Fit and sizing – Learn as much as you can about the size and fit of the sunglasses before you buy. If the return policy is limited, be extra careful about sizing. Try on sunglasses in a store if you can.
- Cost – As you add customizations, always check their effect on the listed price to ensure it remains within your budget.
Ultimately, it’s best to know which style, lenses and frame materials you want before going through the customization process. Whether you need polarization or a comfortable fit for three hours on the golf course, you should establish your core requirements first.
Can you customize Costa sunglasses?
Costa offers custom sunglasses that let you choose the look and features that fit your lifestyle. You can personalize your frames and lenses for both style and performance.
When visiting the Costa homepage, hover over “Sunglasses” and select “Personalize Your Frame” for steps on how to start customizing.
Lenses
When customizing Costa sunglasses, you can choose between lightweight polycarbonate or durable glass lenses. Many additional lens options are available, including tints for the bright sun, changing light or low-light conditions. Some styles can also be made with prescription lenses for added clarity and UV protection.
Engraving
Costa lets you personalize select frames with subtle engraving.
Case
All Costa customized sunglasses come with a standard Costa case and cleaning cloth.
Can you customize Ray-Ban sunglasses?
Ray-Ban’s website has one of the most sophisticated sunglass customization systems. Just click or tap “Customize” on the homepage and select “Custom Sunglasses” to begin the process. From there, you will be able to decide on the exact style you would like to personalize.
A number of classic Ray-Ban styles are available for customization, including Aviator, Original Wayfarer, Clubmaster and even some popular kids’ sunglasses styles. After you have decided on the style, you will be able to make your customized selections.
Lenses
Each style has specific choices for lenses, including adding a prescription or making them polarized. For instance, the Wayfarer II has classic dark green and brown colors in either standard or polarized versions. If you’re into gradient lenses, check out the “Evolve” option.
Frames
No matter the style, you will have the ability to pick your customized frame color. Some styles even allow for a color mix that has different patterns on the frame and temples of the sunglasses. Color options range from standard black to various gradients of tortoise.
Size
Ray-Ban’s Aviator comes in three lens sizes while the Original Wayfarer comes in two. Some styles come in only one size, so make sure you check all size options for the best fit.
Engraving
Standard engraving allows you to add personalized text to the inner or outer portion of the right or left temple tips. You can choose from five fonts.
With premium engraving options, you can also choose from seven different font colors.
Protective case
A standard case is included with your customized sunglasses. There are three colors available with free engraving options.
Premium case options are also available for a higher price tag.
Can you customize Oakley sunglasses?
Oakley, which tends to attract a sports-minded buyer, also has an array of customization options. Click or tap the “Custom” tab on the homepage. You’ll see four categories to choose from: Sport, Lifestyle, Youth and Goggles.
Lenses
Oakley specializes in lenses for sports as varied as motocross racing, downhill skiing and trail running. With customized options, you can choose between standard, polarized, gaming, Prizm and Prizm polarized. Oakley’s Prizm lenses use special dyes to filter light in certain ways to clarify the view for specific conditions.
Both Prizm and polarization add to the cost, so make sure you know what’s best for your needs.
Frames
Oakley has one of the widest ranges of color options for their frames. You can also choose the color/design of the Oakley logo and accent colors for frame parts.
Size
Some Oakley shades have subtle size adjustments in frames and lenses. The Custom Radar EV, for instance, has two lens shapes:
- Path – Designed to fit small- to medium-sized faces
- Pitch – Designed to fit medium-sized faces
Custom Frogskins, meanwhile, have a low-bridge fit frame option.
Engraving
Oakley lets you etch up to 15 characters into the bottom of one lens. You can also choose from popular NFL team logos or represent Team USA.
Case
Every Oakley style comes with a case and a cloth bag that has a wide range of customization options, including some national flags.
Can you return customized sunglasses?
If you’re thinking about personalizing your sunglasses, it’s a good idea to check the return policy first. Many brands limit returns on customized items, especially when engraving or special features are added:
- Ray-Ban – Customized products cannot be returned. If your item arrives faulty or with a defect, you should contact customer service.
- Oakley – Custom sunglasses are considered final sale and cannot be returned.
- Costa – Products with engraving cannot be returned.
While custom sunglasses are a fun way to express your style, be sure to review all your choices carefully. Since most custom orders can’t be returned, it’s important to get everything right the first time.
