I am a sunglasses snob. Dior. Chanel. Versace. Fendi. Gucci. You name the brand, and chances are I’ve got two pairs of each. Really, I just like the way they look. Most designer sunglasses tend to be a little over-the-top. They’re generally adorned with extra bling, interesting design elements or exotic materials. Sometimes they even have unique shapes and rare colors. And did I mention the bling? You can throw on a pair of designer shades with the most boring t-shirt in your wardrobe and still manage to look like a movie star. They’re a style statement.

I’ve always taken a lot of slack for my love of designer shades. I’ve got friends that call a particular pair of Dior’s my “welding glasses.” And when others see the rhinestone designs on the side of my Versace shades they chuckle and say, “you would.” And I’ve even encountered people who laugh that I would “pay so much money for a piece of plastic.”

Adelle, who wrote a guest post for me this week (see it below) is probably rolling her eyes and thinking the same thing as my friends. After all, sunglasses are small. Why would anyone splurge for those? I must admit, even I thought there was some merit in Adelle's point. But alas, a personal experience has made me stick true to my designer roots.

So recently, in a desperate attempt to be more normal and more frugal, I ventured to the sunglasses department of Target, where I tried on shade after shade to no avail. Everything was so plain. And boring. Then, one day at the mall as I was breezing through a chain retailer, I saw a pair of black, oversized sunglasses that were actually pretty cute. And they were only five dollars. Nothing special. But they could give me a different look for the nearly laughable price of five bucks. So I bought them, and put them into my normal sunglasses rotation.

And now, nearly three weeks later, those five-dollar sunglasses have broken. But when I reached into my purse to find them missing a vital piece, my Fendi glasses were sitting right next to them, ready to be worn. The cheap sunglasses had mysteriously broken, while the expensive ones were sitting pretty in the pocket of my purse. Coincidence? I think not.

This just proves that it’s okay to buy expensive designer shades. And if you don’t believe me, let’s consult the good ole’ PPW for this situation.

Cheap Sunglasses
$5.00
Worn approximately 12 times
PPW: $.42

Fendi Sunglasses
$90.00 on sale at Bloomingdales
Worn 190 times over a 3-year period
PPW: $.47

And just for kicks, we’ll PPW my Chanel glasses, too. I had these glasses forever and wore them almost every day in college.

Chanel Sunglasses
$350.00 at Neiman Marcus
Worn 500 times over a 5-year period
PPW: $.70
*Approximately 20 cents more per wear, but it’s Chanel. So duh.

In my eyes, the PPW difference is too small to matter. And, the designer sunglasses bring years of amusement (and they're still kicking), whereas the cheap sunglasses only brought a few weeks of sun protection (and definitely NOT as many compliments). While the price tags may be very different, the PPW is nearly the same. So bring on the Gucci, Prada and Oliver Peoples! Because that, my friends, is a win for label whores everywhere.