A pair of shades can be purchased for just a few bucks or for as much as hundreds of dollars. That said, you should be able to get a really good pair of sunglasses for under a hundred dollars.

Shades are especially popular for sports where there is protracted exposure to the sun’s rays, such as wind-surfing, jogging, or snowboarding. Before investing, you should make sure that the sunglasses shield you from ultra-violet (UV) rays, which can cause a number of eye problems such as snow blindness, cataracts or eye cancer.

For people who use standard glasses to aid their vision, it is not uncommon to use prescription shades that provide all the advantages of a standard pair of glasses and also help guard from the sun. Another popular solution to this problem is to use shaded lenses that flip down over the prescription lenses when needed.

Like most fashion items, sunglasses can be bought in all shapes and sizes. Here are examples of the most sought-after sunglass designs available today:

Aviators – These have been much sought-after since initially introduced by Ray-Ban in 1936 for military personnel. They consist of two teardrop lenses mounted in a thin metal frame.

Wrap-arounds – Wrap-around sunglasses consist of a single lens that covers both eyes and wraps around the side of the head. They provide very good protection from the sun and are especially popular among extreme sports enthusiasts.

Mirrorshades – This refers to the reflective coating on the lenses of some pairs of shades. It can be used on any kind of sunglasses, but is particularly popular on aviator and wrap-around styles.

Teashades – Think John Lennon or Mick Jagger. Perhaps not so fashionable today, these sunglasses, with two circular lenses in a narrow wire frame, were all the rage in the 1960s and seventies.

Wayfarers – Also a classic style. Wayfarers were first introduced by Ray-Ban in the ’50s. The lenses are slightly wider at the top than at the bottom and they have thick black plastic frames. Wayfarers were famously worn by Hollywood star James Dean.

In addition to protecting the eyes from the sun and being popular as a fashion accessory, sunglasses can also have other practical uses. They are often used to hide the eyes to mask the signs of mourning, crying or to make eye contact difficult. Also, it is also common to see people wearing sunglasses inside or at nighttime for that extra ‘cool factor’.