Tom Ford Nikita Cat Eye Sunnies

You’ll definitely turn heads sporting these sleek shades about town, but at $360, these 1950s-style sunnies are a definite splurge.  Last summer, the Nikita was sold out everywhere, but they’re back and in stock at Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue in Light Havana (Tortoise) and Shiny Black.  These vintage-style sunglasses not only channel style icon Grace Kelly driving in a convertible through the South of France in a head scarf and her Cat Eyes, but they add a unique flair to any modern outfit, whether it be a summer dress, a pair of jeans and sandals, a tank top and shorts or your bikini by the pool.

Grace Kelly in vintage Cat Eyes

Selena Gomez in Ivory

Kourtney Kardashian in Shiny Black

If the $360 price tag is too much to swallow, and you don’t mind making expensive purchases from an independent online retailer, The Sunglass House has the hard-to-find Ivory color in stock, in addition to the brown and black at $220 a pair – a savings of $140 over department stores.  However, if you decide to purchase, make sure to call or email the company with any questions you have about the product, and especially why they are selling the sunglasses at $140 under MSRP.  Are they authentic?  Do they come with a warranty?  Do they come in the original box?  Can you return them if they are not as described or if you simply do not like them?

Fortunately, you can also find them on reputable websites such as Amazon.com and eBay in the $200 – $220 range.  What’s helpful about purchasing on eBay is that if you purchase from a top-rated seller, you can read through hundreds of reviews and feedback from buyers regarding every aspect of their sales experience with the seller, so you have some level of comfort when making top-dollar purchases through this mainstay website.  Furthermore, eBay rates sellers by percentage based on positive feedback vs. negative feedback, so a seller that’s rated at 99.5% positive feedback over a few years time can be be trusted to give you a satisfying shopping experience.

Check out The Sunglass House Nikita’s here: http://www.thesunglasshouse.com/tomfordsun-173.html

Scarlett Johansson in Light Havana

If you want to this retro look, but not the hefty designer price tag, SunglassWarehouse.com and Urban Outfitters have a few Cat-Eye styles that are similar enough to the Nikita to get the same elegant look for much, much less.

http://www.sunglasswarehouse.com/extreme-cat-eye-plastic-style-1274.html

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=23940471