Glasses vs. Contacts

[Threak]

Are there situations when you prefer/recommend wearing glasses instead of contact lenses? Perhaps when dressed a certain way, or in certain situations? For example, would you choose to wear glasses to a job interview when you don't wear them daily?

 

[WRAdvisor]

When I'm at home, weekends, or working from my home office for the day, I almost always wear contacts. If I'm going to meetings and going to be interacting with investors, I wear my glasses. There is no question that they offer a certain look...and that's half the battle when dealing with people.

 

[Cary Grant]

There's an old "rule" for performers (musicians, singers, orators etc) that you should never put glasses between you and the audience.

As a former musician I took that to heart and even now, when speaking to groups (formally) etc I tend to take my glasses off- and I also generally do for portraits.

Unfortunately my eyesight has degraded to the point that no glasses can be problematic and I cannot wear contacts.

I do change frames depending on mood, wardrobe etc.

 

[theyare]

Interesting, but highly overrated...

 

[zizou]

i wear contacts almost everytime i go to work, out, church, etc.

if i'm staying home and working, watching tv, playing ps3, etc, i'll wear glasses most of the time.

 

[Master-Classter]

I do wear my glasses to situations I want to appear more intelligent to, like interviews or meeting new clients, shopping for something expensive, etc, whereas I wear contacts when with friends, dates, or being more casual in general.

I also have a few different pairs of glasses that I use as accessories to compliment an outfit. Rimless for professional, thick black frame for creative, etc

 

[Threak]

Thanks for the interesting responses.

I started wearing glasses when I was 15. Unlike many people, I never minded wearing them (except when at the beach, walking through the rain, or drinking a hot beverage

), so I never considered contacts until about 6 months ago.

I'm in my mid-20's, and had decided to leave my job and return to school full-time in a new city, so I decided to give contacts a try thinking they'd help me blend in with the college crowd. I only expected to wear them about half of the time, but now I only wear glasses on lazy days.

I only have one set of frames, though, and they are more suited for use with casual dress. I got to thinking that it might be worthwhile to get a second pair that would work better with business or business casual clothing, though.

As to other peoples' perception of you being influenced by whether or not you wear glasses, I definitely think it has made a difference in my experience, especially when I was younger. I started working my first "office job" shortly after high school. I was working as a tax preparer part time, and though in truth the job itself didn't wasn't that difficult, I had just turned 18 and was billing my customers up to $300 for no more than two hours of my time. Sometimes they did question my age and experience, but since I wore eyeglasses and a tie they always assumed that I must be smart

.

Now that I'm a little older, though, I wonder if they would still generate the same effect.

 

[jagmqt]

My decision between the two has nothing to do with style, and entirely based on comfort and function.

I wear contacts almost exclusively...I get a wider range of vision, I can wear sunglasses, they don't get fogged/frozen/wet/smudged, they don't slide off my nose, they don't change position when I'm running...I could run this list for days...

My first pair of glasses was in the third grade. I tried contacts when I was 19 and never thought twice about glasses. Now, I'm waiting for "permanent" contact lenses to become more common in the US, and I'll have those in and not worry about either anymore...

jag

 

[dunkin]

permanent contacts? not a candidate for laser vision?

 

[oldog/oldtrix]

If I didn't wear glasses, I couldn't do things like this:

 

[jagmqt]

Originally Posted by dunkin

permanent contacts? not a candidate for laser vision?

I am, but it'd be a one time deal for me...and it's turning out that those that have had the laser surgery end up needing glasses again when they're older.

They install permanent lenses now after cataract surgery to strenghten the cornea...they've begun (in other countries) to use the same technology to install a perscription lense under the cornea. It can be swapped out as vision changes with age.

There may have been advances I don't know about, I only check on the technology with my doctor when I get my annual checks...it's getting cheaper and becoming more available.

jag

 

[phxlawstudent]

I like the fashion statement my glasses make. But like the freedom that no glasses provides.

The UV protection all the time is great too. It basically comes down to what do I feel like that day. Always wear contacts to the gym though.

 

[krawlxx]

I only wear contacts when I work out. I far prefer glasses, and even if I get Lasik I will get my prescription lenses removed and replaced with clear glass. I tend to get dark circles under my eyes, no matter how much sleep I've had (perhaps a result of rubbing my eyes too much when I was younger) and I feel that the thick frame glasses I wear somewhat helps to hide them. Also, I get a lot of compliments on most of my frames, and feel good in them.