Glasses are necessary when they are corrective. The lenses are meant to fix a vision issue, be it nearsightedness, farsightedness or whatever else. But because you wear the frames on your face and around your eyes, which are what people are directly focusing on when they speak to or look at you, glasses can be, well, viewed as more of an accessory than an essential. We choose frames that suit our faces, our hair, and our personal style. But there are plenty of things girls who wear glasses and who like to wear stylish glasses are fed up of hearing.
Truth is, when I talk with someone with glasses, I don't think, "Oh, I wonder if she has astigmatism." I think, "Wow, I seriously love the shape of those frames." Most people (I would hope) likely think the same when they look at me and my glasses.
I've worn specs since my late teens, at first only for night driving. Because I liked being 20/20, however, I decided to get contacts -- which I now wear 85 percent of the time. But for all those occasions when my eyes need a rest, the glasses are their waiting for me -- because, you know, I rely on them to see.
When I wear my glasses, my ex-roomie of a decade always says, "You look really good in those, you should wear them more often," and I immediately think, "Oh, so I don't look good without them?," which is totally not what he meant. He was just saying glasses flatter and enhance my style. But I still get sick of hearing those words, despite their complimentary intentions.
Here are eight other things that I, as a woman who wears glasses, am so over hearing.
1. "Is it hard to wear or put on eye makeup?"
It's no different than wearing eye makeup with sunglasses, or with contacts. When you have glasses, you just have to put everything else on first and then put on your glasses. Like, duh! I'll admit that because I am nearsighted, I have to get extra close to the mirror when applying. But I apply my products the same way I do every other day, be it a cat eye or a smoky eye.
2. "Don't they hurt the bridge of your nose or temples?"
If you do anything for an extended period of time, it's going to cause some degree of tenderness or soreness. So yes, sometimes my temples and nose get tender from the pressure of the glasses. But it's nothing that requires, like, an Oxycontin to numb the pain. I just take them off, give my face a breather, and get the frames back on.
3. "Those are the serial killer style."
This is slightly unique to me, but then again, with the popularity of nerdy specs, maybe it isn't. My dad and I used to watch all those forensic shows when I lived at home, and we used to joke that all the serial killers wore thick, nerdy, black specs in their yearbook photos -- which was something Howard Stern once noted in one of his books. That was our inside joke, until someone said it to me about my black frames. I was like, "Um, the nerdy look does not always equal serial killer, people!" I only wear black, and that includes my frames.
4. "Would you ever get Lasik?"
Maybe. I dunno. Perhaps if it was fully covered by my insurance plan. But I would miss wearing cute glasses when I want to change up my look and I won't stoop to wearing placebo pairs with lenses that do nothing corrective whatsoever. That's disrespectful to the girls who have been called "Four Eyes" over the years for their glasses. Yes, that happened to me back in the dizzay. And yes, I'm a little bitter.
5. "How many pairs do you have?"
A few. I keep one in my travel bag since I am always on the go and I can't forget my glasses if I want to be able to see -- so I need backups. I even keep a pair in my handbag for emergencies, like if both my daily or backup contact lenses rips.
6. "Are girls who wear glasses smarter?"
Really? Did I just hear that? That's a whole cultural stereotype and perception thing that says more about you than me and my frames.
7. "Who is your favorite girl-with-glasses?"
Come on! Who else but Tina Fey?
8. "You look good in glasses, you should wear them more often."
That's me, with glasses. And my dog. I was trying to do a cute selfie from a weird and distorted angle. You can decide if I succeeded. But that's me in glasses, getting ready for bed -- which is when I usually wear them. I prefer to switch it up, and not wear them every day for style purposes, but also for a practical reason. When someone calls your name whilst you're wearing glasses, you have to turn your whole head to look at them. With contacts, though, you can just shift your eyes. So there's that.
Images: Fotolia; Giphy (7); Amy Sciarretto/Instagram (1)
