British Designer Sunglasses at Wimbledon 2011
Wimbledon is upon us once again and as always the nation has it’s hopes pinned on Murray to lift the cup. The championships kick off on Monday 20th June and Andy Murray is entering the tournament as one of the favourites having beaten the No 19 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win Queens a few weeks ago. As a lawn tennis tournament, Queens is often thought to be a good barometer of who’s fit and able to reach the final rounds of Wimbledon, so we Brits have a lot to be hopeful about this year!
The end of last week saw the official draw and Murray has been placed in the same half as Rafael Nadel and starts his assault on the Championship against Seed no 56, Daniel Gimeno-Traver. The big news however is the random selection of John Isner against Nicolas Mahut in the first round again. Tennis fans will recall the duo playing in 2010’s record-breaking first round match, lasting 11 hours and 5 minutes!
The weather forecast is looking rather drab for the first week, however reports are for fine weather over the first weekend and into the second week. Hopefully the sun will linger for the tournament, for this is when Wimbledon really comes into it’s own. Nothing sums up true Britishness quite like a spot of lawn tennis, a jug of Pimms and a punnet of strawberries and cream. This is what Wimbledon is really about – being British.
In the celebration of all things British it seems fitting that this should extend to sunglasses too. Sunglasses are a must at the Championship, whether it’s for sun protection, to conceal a hangover or to avoid being caught staring at celebrities, every Wimbledon-goer must be armed with sunnies. And why not a British designer? Shade Station have wonderful sunglasses from some of the British greats, including the late Alexander McQueen and Burberry. Both Alexander McQueen sunglasses and Burberry sunglasses are fashionably oversized and perfect for surreptitious celeb gazing. The lenses are also fitted with the best in UV protection and offer brilliant clarity so you can avoid squinting whilst watching the tennis unfold. Fingers crossed for sunshine everyone!
Hopefully in a fortnight we’ll be celebrating Andy Murray winning the championship, which will be the icing on the cake of our great British celebration!
Oakley Sunglasses built for Sport
With all eyes on the tennis at Wimbledon this week we wanted to highlight the importance of wearing the correct sunglasses to play sport in. Although many tennis players like the Venus and Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are seen without eye protection and often opt for visors and caps instead, they could be doing irreversible damage to their eyes whilst playing. Simply wearing sunglasses designed for sport would act as a preventative measure towards cataracts and muscular degeneration and could also improve their game!
Sports sunglasses differ from regular shades because they are designed with the active sportsman in mind;
Sports sunglasses are ergonomically designed to ensure a closer fit, so no flapping up and down whilst you’re running to the net and they are also comfortable enough to to wear whilst exerting yourself!
On-court glare is reduced by polarised lenses which reduce light and reflection from the surface of the court (and protect from UVA, UVB and UVC light) enabling you to read the game better and prevent squinting.
Most sports sunglasses are equipped with high impact lenses, meaning you won’t be caught between the eyes with a tennis ball flying at 100mph!
Although there are a handful of good brands that specialise in sunglasses for Tennis, Shade Station recommends Oakley sunglasses for all round protection and the all important ‘cool factor’. With a rich heritage of specialist sports technology and innovation, Oakley is the eyewear brand of choice worn by the majority of serious sportsmen and women.
Various tennis players on the tour circuit are aware of the significance of wearing sunglasses, including Aussie Samantha Stosur, ranked World No 18 who wears Oakley’s ‘Enduring’ style to reduce the sun’s glare. She says of the sunglasses ” I notice after matches, my eyes aren’t tired at the end of the day, unlike a lot of people who don’t wear them.”
Take it from a pro, your vision is precious so do all you can to protect it!
Check out next week’s blog where we’ll be bringing you all the celebrity sunglasses action at Wimbledon 2009!
Click here to visit our Oakley Sunglasses section