Several years ago, a women’s professional organization asked me to talk about fashion eyewear at their luncheon. I put on a mini-fashion show, with the help of a local women’s wear boutique. After the last very well-dressed model left the room, I asked “So, how many of you noticed that the last model was wearing tennis shoes?” Only about three out of 30 women noticed!
OK, I’m in the business of helping patients select fashionable eyewear, but I still find that people paying more attention shoes than glasses is very … interesting. And yet – I own four pair of dress shoes, four pair of “casual” shoes; eight (or more?) pair of sport and recreational footwear and four pair of sandals. Why do I own so many pair of shoes? Because each one serves a specific purpose – wearing my hiking boots to work just won’t cut it. In fact, wearing my brown dress shoes with black slacks borders on unthinkable. And yet – in the rush of the moment, my wife accidently wore different shoes on her right and left feet to work the other day, and again, no one noticed.
Two main points I’d like to make here. The first is that “eyes are the window to the soul” – when we interact with people, we make eye contact. Consciously or not, we all make decisions about someone based on that initial eye contact – decisions that can impact whether you get that job, get that date, close the sale – and your glasses play a huge role in the story we tell ourselves about the other person when we look them in the eye.
Knowing that, doesn’t it make a certain amount of sense to invest in glasses like you do in your wardrobe? Glasses can communicate many things; for example black plastic frames evoke knowledge and power, while rimless frames invite openness and trust. I could keep going, but you get the point.
Functionality is the second point I’d like to bring up. You wouldn’t try to hike in stiletto heels; you wouldn’t pull a trailer or take a load of garbage to the dump with your sports car. So why would someone expect one pair of glasses to do everything well? Progressive lenses are great for general-purpose use, but they don’t work especially well if you are on the computer for 2 – 8 hours a day. The clear or Transitions lenses that work great indoors or when you are in and out of sunlight fail miserably at eliminating hazardous blinding glare when you are driving. Dress glasses provide some protection against impact, but sports and the use of tools require sport/industrial rated glasses to prevent injury or blindness.
Take a quick, honest look in the mirror – what are your glasses saying about you? Think about their functionality – are there gaps in performance that need to be addressed? In the end, glasses are a tool which can be very effective when used as designed. Expert Licensed Dispensing Opticians will be happy to help you evaluate your vision needs, and suggest how eyewear can help you look and perform at your peak.
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