929 Fashion and Glasses

Sunday, October 15, 2006

I currently have two pairs of glasses. I always have two, because I'm so blind I can't chance being without. These two are very similar, same style, just slightly different color.

It's time for new. They're looking a little battered, but I refuse to buy new frames right now. The fashionistas have declared that we must all wear straight-across narrow frames, regardless of our facial shape or visual needs. I HATE the shape! I've visited every shop in the area, and that's ALL they have.

Why do they think we all want the same thing?

That straight narrow shape is not good for my face. They just emphasize the width of my nose. But worse, I like a deep lens because my neck is a bit delicate. With a deep lens (I have bifocals) I can look up (distance) or down (near) without moving my head, just my eyes. With a narrow lens, I am forced to tilt my head to (for example) see the keyboard, or the dinner plate, and that will almost guarantee a krick in my neck.

If you need glasses to see, a narrow lens reduces your visual field. That's never good.

I hate those skinny frames! I think they look stupid. But they've been out long enough now that almost everyone has them, and my deep lenses now look sadly old-fashioned.

On the other hand, they've been out long enough that almost everyone has had to buy them, so we're ripe for the manufacturers to change the style, so all the herd-followers will have to buy new ones. Money, money.

Daughter has new glasses, and she got the "frameless" kind. I hadn't been able to find frameless or half-frame in like 15 years, and I love that style, so maybe (I hope!) that's the direction they're moving. You can have almost any shape lens with frameless. I just hope I can hold out one more year (or however long it takes for a new style to show up in this backward area).

Why do we allow designers to dictate what we wear? Arise! Revolt! Glasses are not a fashion accessory and should not be treated as such. For some of us they are a necessity, and our needs and preferences should be considered.