What a pair under $100 should give you
Full protection. This is the one thing price should never touch. Every MUJOSH sunglass lens is UV400, whatever the pair costs, and a pair that cannot say the same is not a sunglass. The UV400 sunglasses guide explains what the label means and why a dark lens without it is worse than no lens.
A lens that does a job. At this price you should expect a lens with an even tint, no distortion when you look through the edges, and, on most of the pairs below, polarization, the filter that cuts glare off water, roads and glass. The what are polarized sunglasses guide covers what it does, and the how to tell if sunglasses are polarized guide shows the phone screen test that catches a false claim.
A fit that stays on. The thing most cheap pairs fail. A frame that slides down the nose, pinches behind the ears or lifts off the cheeks is not affordable at any price, because you stop wearing it. People with a lower nose bridge know this best, since most frames perch on them rather than rest; many of our frames are cut for a lower nose bridge or fitted with adjustable nose pads, and the low bridge fit sunglasses collection gathers them. The how should sunglasses fit guide gives the four checks.
A frame that lasts a season or three. Acetate that is cut and polished rather than moulded, metal with a real hinge and a screw you can tighten, and a return window if the pair is wrong: MUJOSH ships every pair with 30 day returns and a one year warranty. The acetate sunglasses guide and the metal frame sunglasses guide cover what to look for in each material.
What an affordable pair is allowed to skip
Three things add cost and nothing you need. A name on the temple. Most of what a $300 pair charges for is the name, and the lens inside is often the same grade. Glass lenses. Heavier, scratch resistant, and more expensive to replace; a good polycarbonate or nylon lens does the job for most people at a fraction of the weight. A case you would not use. A hard case matters; a leather one does not. If your health account covers sunglasses, the sunglasses FSA and HSA guide covers what qualifies, which moves the line further.
Cheap or affordable: the three tells
The hinge. Open and close the temple. A cheap pair has a hinge that wobbles or a pin you can see; an affordable one has a screw or a spring, and the temple stops where it should.
The bridge. Put the pair on and look down. A cheap pair slides, because it was cut for one average face; an affordable one has a bridge shaped for a face, or nose pads that can be set.
The lens edge. Look at a straight line through the outer third of the lens. A cheap lens bends it; a good one does not. That is the whole difference between a lens that tires your eyes by lunch and one you forget you are wearing.
Fourteen MUJOSH pairs from $69 to $99
Every pair is UV400 and ships from US stock with the 30 day return window; polarization is stated only where the product page states it, and prices are from the product pages on 27 October.
$69
Cinnamon. An oversized flush-mount square in acetate with polarized lenses, cut for a lower nose bridge, in HTGB dark tortoise and BGG black. The lowest priced pair in the range and the one most people should start with. Cinnamon
$79
Talk Nice. A soft cat eye with a gentle upswept corner, low bridge fit, non-polarized, in five colourways from black to pink and green; the colour pair of the range. Talk Nice
Jasmin. An oversized cat eye in Italian acetate with polarized lenses and a low bridge fit, in OBPG black and LRPG red. The most pair for the money in the range. Jasmin
Ban Habit. A cat eye with a defined brow line, polarized on both colourways, low bridge fit; BAB is an amber brown. Ban Habit
Maga KC. A flat top square in metal with flat flush-mount polarized lenses, nose pads and a low bridge fit; BBB carries a blue gradient mirror. The metal pair under $80. Maga KC
Flashback. A square with an acetate front and slim metal temples, polarized, low bridge fit; SSR is a clear frame with an orange gradient lens. Flashback
Vintage Cat-Eye. A classic cat eye in acetate with metal rivets and slim temples; BBB is black. The retro pair. Vintage Cat-Eye
$89
Trendy. An oversized square in thin metal with slim temples; YYG gold with a pale yellow lens, PPS silver with a pink gradient, WGB gold with a dark lens. Non-polarized, the fashion pair. Trendy
Techon. A compact cat eye in lightweight TR90, polarized on every colourway except BG; the pair that takes a drop. Techon
Vintage Narrow. A narrow cat eye in a vintage silhouette, low bridge fit, polarized on every colourway except TP; BB black. Vintage Narrow
Jasmin Straight. The Jasmin with a straight top line, polarized, low bridge fit, in red and black. Jasmin Straight
$99
Lix. An oversized acetate square with polarized lenses and a low bridge fit, in three colourways including two translucent greys; the coverage pair. Lix
Dixrea. A polished acetate square with polarized grey lenses, small gold tone rivets and a low bridge fit, in black, burgundy and grey crystal; the dressed pair. Dixrea
Aviator Total. A metal aviator with adjustable nose pads, cut for a lower nose bridge, in four colourways including a silver mirror. Aviator Total Its sibling Retro Trendy, a classic metal aviator with the same pads and cut, is the fourteenth pair at the same price. Retro Trendy The aviator sunglasses collection has both.
The cat eye sunglasses collection and the polarized lenses collection sort these by shape and lens, the polarized sunglasses under $100 guide ranks the polarized ones on their own, and the whole range is in the sunglasses collection.
Choosing between them
Pick by what you will do in them. For a bright day on water or a long drive, a polarized pair: Cinnamon, Jasmin, Maga KC, Dixrea or Lix. For colour and the evening, Talk Nice or Trendy. For a pair that will be dropped and sat on, Techon in TR90 or Lix in thick acetate; the festival sunglasses guide is the long weekend version of this piece. For a classic, an aviator or the Vintage Cat-Eye. The best sunglasses for women guide and best sunglasses for men guide go pair by pair, and if a frame slides, the sunglasses for a low nose bridge guide is the fix before you spend again.
Making a $79 pair last like a $300 one
Three habits. Rinse before you wipe, because dry grit is how a lens scratches; the how to clean sunglasses guide covers the rest. Take the pair off with both hands, so one temple is not pulled wide every time. And keep it in a hard case, not on your head, where most pairs are lost; the glasses keep sliding down nose guide covers the frame that has already stretched.
The bottom line
An affordable pair of sunglasses gives you full protection, a lens that works, a frame that stays on and a return window, and skips the name, the glass and the leather case. Check the hinge, the bridge and the lens edge, and under $100 is plenty. In the MUJOSH range that is fourteen pairs from Cinnamon at $69 through Jasmin, Talk Nice, Maga KC, Flashback, Ban Habit and Vintage Cat-Eye at $79, Trendy, Techon, Vintage Narrow and Jasmin Straight at $89, to Lix, Dixrea and the two aviators at $99, most of them polarized and most cut for a lower nose bridge.
The other side of price is build; the high quality sunglasses guide gives the six checks that tell a good pair from a cheap one at any price.
Frequently asked questions
What makes sunglasses affordable rather than cheap?
Full UV400 protection, a lens with no distortion at the edges, a hinge with a screw or spring, a bridge cut for a real face and a return window. A cheap pair skips at least one of those; an affordable one skips only the name on the temple.
Are polarized sunglasses available under $100?
Yes. In the MUJOSH range Cinnamon ($69), Jasmin, Ban Habit, Maga KC and Flashback ($79), Techon, Vintage Narrow and Jasmin Straight ($89) and Lix and Dixrea ($99) are polarized per their product pages.
Do affordable sunglasses protect your eyes as well as expensive ones?
Protection depends on the lens coating, not the price, and every MUJOSH lens is UV400 at every price. What a higher price buys is usually the name, glass lenses or a leather case, none of which changes the protection.
Which affordable MUJOSH sunglasses should I start with?
Cinnamon at $69 if you want a polarized square that stays on, Jasmin at $79 for a polarized oversized cat eye, Maga KC at $79 for metal, and Talk Nice at $79 for colour. All four are cut for a lower nose bridge.
