This is kind of a silly question, but I am curious. In my preparations for uni I have been chatting with a couple of people from England on a student board. Recently a conversation turned to glasses styles, I forget how. Anyway, the person I was talking to said she had always thought tinted glasses to be a bit weird, almost like there was a medical reason. I know they seem pretty common around here, and many of the stores offer lenses that will tint slightly in UV rays, not completely dark, but just a bit as added protection. I glanced into Lenscrafters the other day and they offer UV-activated tints of pink, purple, and blue/teal.
So my question to Americans and Brits (and of course, other cultures welcome) - what are your views on those not-quite-sunglass lenses, the ones that gradually darken a bit in sunlight, and change to a colour other than the standard sunglass brown or grey?
Yeah, I wear untinted, having reservations like the person you mention, though I would have no reservations about full-fledged prescription sunglasses.
I don’t wear tinted lenses myself, but that’s just because I don’t like anything that colors or shades my world. They’re pretty common hereabouts, though.
I had a pair of those light changing/tinting glasses back in the 80s, but I personally think they’re too dated looking these days (very retro 70sish).
Plus, I personally found it annoying not to have any choice whatsoever about whether or not I wanted the world shaded. RX sunglasses work, some nicer glasses have attachments that look add on sunglasses and look like normal sunglasses (not those old wrap around plastic things from the 70s/80s).
I normally wear untinted glasses. However, they do have an anti-UV coating on them that stops UVA and UVB rays. They function like sunglasses without the tint.
I also have a pair of clip-on sunglasses for them… just in case I need to hide my eyes. glances furtively around
In a University environment I doubt whether anybody would care and a lot wouldn’t even notice. And if they do care, so what? I don’t have glasses like that but have toyed with the idea since it saves having to buy prescription sunglasses or wear clip ons.
Even though my graduate student experience which included nearly 7 years in England is receding into the past, I doubt if the fundamentals have changed and my students report that they haven’t. If you got teased about it it would just be part of being teased for being American. Australians get teased for being Australian. There is rarely if ever any real malice in it. Just brace yourself for a little good natured ribbing which will focus on misconceptions as often as real differences. If you just approach the experience as something new and exciting, the experience will embrace you in the same spirit.
We often don’t expect cultural difference because we speak the same language. First time around (England) it led to a bit of culture shock for me, but subsequestly it has just led to my expecting subtle differences and I am then not thrown when I find them.
I knew a great many American students when I was in England and I can only remember one who never really fitted in. He was a New Yorker who never quite grasped that people from elsewhere do not regard New York as the centre of the universe. Now I would have thought that attitude would have got hm into trouble in other parts of America; you wouldn’t have to go to all the way to England to find people who regard that as objectionable. Anyone who’s worth knowing well will see past the superficial differences.
I wear contacts, and have done so except for a couple of 2-3 year periods. The only thing that i miss from my glass-wearing times is having those lenses that darken in the sun. My eyes are sensitive to light, and those things were great. Useless inside the car, though, since the car’s glasses block the UV rays that trigger the color change. So i carried clip-on shades in the car.
I’ve had brown and grey versions. The grey ones are much better.
My own personal opinion is, to hell with what they think! But i’m neither Brit nor American.
I think the actual color is irrelevant as long as they darken adequately to protect the eyes and block UV. I have some in the traditional grey that get just as dark as full time sunglasses. As long as they protect, I think the color is just a fashion statement, like shirt or shoe color.
I just ordered new prescription sunglasses the other day, Glaub, and the lady there said brown was actually better than grey…my last pair were (was?) grey but I went with brown this time, as it looked better with the frames and I didn’t much care one way or the other.
The lenses had to be special ordered because I have a really weird prescription, though, so I haven’t got them yet. Should be Monday. I always have to get two pairs of glasses, one normal and one prescription sunglasses, because my eyes are very sensitive to light. That’s why I am wondering if the gradual darkening on the normal pair would be useful - but having them darken to grey or brown seems kind of dull and somewhat redundant
Oddly, I’ve found that my photogrey prescription lenses don’t darken as much when I’m driving as when I’m just outside. So i still use clip-ons for driving. I much prefer brown, myself. It does change color values some, but the tradeoff is that I think it sharpens the view especially at highway speeds. A side benefit in the Spring is that it filters out the brown vegetation and lets you see the burgeoning green plants a few days sooner.
I didn’t get any flak about my auto sunglasses but I did discover some other customs. I discovered that you don’t start drinking your pint until everyone has theirs and says “Cheers”. Then you can down it. I discovered there’s a little thing called “manners” (if I said that correctly) that are more formal (formaler) then here in Hicksburg.
Auto sunglasses, that get themselves out of the case and jump on your face when it’s sunny? Cool!
Also, when you fart loudly* you should always look at person across from you and say “Grouse are in season again, I hear”, to which s/he replies “Yes, but I couldn’t eat a whole one.”
(silent farts are best ignored, as they are more deadly)
Sometimes I use puns, but worry I might make a spectacle of myself.
