Shades Of Meaning

There's More to sunglasses than meets the eyes. Lenses come in an array of colors--gray, green and tan, plus a spectrum of the cosmetic tints. (Neutral gray gives the greatest natural color fidelity.) Polarized lenses feature an optical barrier that eliminates the reflected glare from horizontal surfaces such as water, shiny roads, snow and sand. Gradient lenses have slightly varied shading; usually, it's darkest at the top and gradually lighter toward the bottom. And then there are photochromics--those magical lenses that react to light by automatically darkening and vice versa. Our favorite, however, are the mirrored sunglasses; shiny, one-way windows that come on ultracool both in appearance and because they reflect the heat from the sun. (They're ideal for skiing.) Pick the right sunglasses and you've got it made in shades.