14 April 2009

Making a Spectacle of Yourself


I don't do enough ranting here nowadays...

All right, so over the weekend I was in Claire's Accessories (what? I like their...hair clips), and I noticed a whole section of eyeglasses, not sunglasses. I thought, well, this is nice, people who need reading glasses don't need to shell out a lot of money. Then I looked closer. They weren't reading glasses. They were Accessories.

I do not appreciate this. Unless you're working for a great metropolitan newspaper and you fly off to save the day regularly, wearing fake glasses is uncalled for. Think about it: why were eyeglasses invented? For vision correction. That's it. They've been perfected over the years, made a bit more attractive, so that those of us who have bad eyesight don't get beat up in gym class as much. I'm grateful for that.

I've been wearing glasses since 1984. I have contact lenses, but I can't wear them every day, and at my prescription they're pricey (on top of paying to have the lenses on my glasses look less Coke bottley). I'd rather not need them, but I know it's better than being actually blind, so I deal with it. And frankly, when I've had a restless night, it does cover up the puffiness a bit, so yes, there's a benefit.

But as an accessory? Wrong! Myopia isn't quite a disability, but it feels like one. Who would roll around in a wheelchair because it's suddenly hip? Who would wear a neck brace or a hearing aid, or a arm cast because it's a trend? No, if someone did that, it would be considered sick and cruel to the real sufferers. What makes vision correction different? Bad form!

That's it, I'm just cranky. I think I'll just retreat to my quiet apartment, and enjoy a nice cup of Theraflu. No, I'm not sick. What?

3 comments:

sandy said...

Cathy you are too funny!!!
You girls look great and looks like you are having a little fun. Hannah just got glasses. Not ones that I would pick out but ones she could afford. She looks like a librarian. Anyway such are the curses of life. If I ever lost my glasses I would be in deep trouble. Miss you all and hope to see you soon.

Bonnie said...

Wow, you've been wearing glasses for 25 years?!

Yeah, I don't know why anyone would wear glasses as an accessory, especially since I went to such lengths (and expense) to NOT have to wear glasses. Lasik is the BEST!!!

Karen said...

Some time after turning 40, I discovered that I need reading glasses. Not always--I'm online now without them--but when I'm reading small print, doing a lot of close reading of words or numbers, or just when my eyes are a bit fatigued. But of course I chose the frames as "accessories" that flatter my face (leastwise I think so) and I admit that sometimes I wear them when I don't absolutely need to because I like the look.

But blank glasses as accessories? Hmmm... and from an inexpensive shop? If someone likes the look, fine--people do stranger (and more permanent) things to their bodies in the form of piercings and tattoos and the like. But I'm concerned that if the quality of the lenses isn't good, the distortion might deteriorate one's eyesight prematurely.