Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Glasses are cool. Who knew they would be?

So far, it looks like Big Sister E and Little Sister B have inherited a fair chunk of the "good genes" from my husband and me. Thanks to Dad, right now they are both tall and thin and have beautiful blue eyes. From me, they have my good teeth, good health and love of reading (as well as their flair for dramatics and stubbornness, but who's counting those?).

We're not sure who the fashion sense came from. Neither of us are jumping to claim that one.

However, both my husband and I agree that the girls are going to be hard-pressed in making it far in life without needing eyeglasses. Both he and I are quite nearsighted and the probability of our children following in our footsteps is, unfortunately, pretty likely.

The major upside to my kids and their future with prescription glasses? No longer is it a trait to be embarrassed about or something to try to hide. Gone are the days of me sneaking my glasses on and off in elementary school so that no one would see. Now the number of people wearing glasses has risen and the stigma has been erased and I'm thankful for that.

As styles have changed, what is fashionable in the world of eyeglass frames has adapted as well. My first pair of glasses were large and pink and plastic and stayed in their case as often as I could allow. I remember in sixth grade having to put them on to watch a video in class and, when one of my classmates noticed, he actually asked, "Who's glasses are those?" which told me that I had done a pretty good job of keeping my nearsightedness a secret.

When it came time to select a new pair, I remember gravitating towards the metal frames, which, at the time (middle school), were at least a little more cool. For reasons that I can no longer recall, I ended up selecting a pair of red wire-rimmed glasses and was happy to wear those day in and day out for many years. I'm not sure whether it was the red or the sleeker frames or if I was just tired of squinting, but from then on, I wore my glasses.

Today, it seems as though as long as you love your glasses, they can be as cool as you would like them to be and the sky is the limit. Even though I stick with fairly simple, black frames these days, I love seeing all of the crazy options available online or in stores and the way that everyone from children to seniors wear their glasses with pride.

Do kids even tease other kids about wearing glasses anymore? Does the term "four eyes" still exist? If celebrities like Hilary Duff (at above right), Justin Timberlake, Tom Hanks, Josh Hartnett and Kanye West (at left) can stroll out in public and be photographed in their glasses, then they must be hip! (Right? Is Hilary Duff still "in"? I don't follow the teen girl drama close enough to know if she's still a young girl favorite or not anymore. Thank goodness I have a few more years until I will have to keep up with all that.)

All that really matters is that glasses have evolved from more than just a necessity - they've become an accessory. One that can be plain, simple and casual or one that can be elaborate, colorful and make a statement. Whether my girls grow up and need to wear them or not, I'm glad that society seems to have realized that glasses aren't a bad thing.

You're sure these are going to help me see, Mom?

Now, about some of those hairstyles I had when I was a kid... Not to mention the clothes that I left the house wearing...

(Pictures and celebrity information from www.theinsider.com because apparently celebs wearing glasses is big news. I was compensated for this post by GlassesUSA but in no way did that affect what I had to say about glasses. They simply gave me a topic to write about, which I happened to be familiar with, and I wrote my thoughts about glasses. Pretty cool of them, right?)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

My 3.5yr old son just got glasses. Hubby and I are both badly nearsighted (-5.5 for me) but oddly enough S is extremely farsighted (+5.5 in his left eye +3 in his right). But man is it hard to keep them on a kid this young lol.
I'm also glad that its not horrible to wear glasses anymore. I grew up in the 90's (and early 2000's)and in elementary school I got picked on for wearing glasses, and now it seems everyone wants them.

Janie B said...

I didn't need glasses till I was 40. Now, I REALLY need them! As a teacher, I can tell you that I never see children wearing glasses made fun of. I'm so glad, too. It's just a difference that is perfectly acceptable now. So, don't worry.

Clueless_Mama said...

I used to have 20/20 vision. My parents called me Eagle eyes. That was before I got old. Now I have to wear glasses to drive and see long distances. I think glasses are cool too. Nice job:)

MIG said...

I think many things that were not cool in the past are becoming cool and stylish now. I remember in high school when everyone was getting braces. It was like the in thing to do. Braces became cool to have. At least in my high school anyway. Who knew?