Are Transitions Lenses still a fashion faux pas?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I've never heard of this stigma. I've been wearing transition lenses ever since high school (after some major eye surgery.)

I forget that they transition until I briefly take them off and see that the outside world is a pretty bright place. I'm pretty much reliant on them for comfort.

They're way less annoying than carrying around a second pair of glasses...
 
I have perfect vision but my parents don't and they both wear transitions. I have never heard of people thinking they are dorky. My dad's frames are better than most frames anyone else has on and look better than most sunglasses. If I needed to wear glasses I would get them in a heart beat. Save money and save time. I fucking love sunglasses but I fucking hate taking them off as I always don't know where to put them and have to worry about them constantly thinking they are going to break.
 
First I'm hearing of transition lenses being considered dorky. I think I look kind of cool when it's fully sunny outside. But like several people have said and I learned on my own, they don't always work exactly the way I need them too. Not enough in the car, and far too much on cloudy days. Really makes going to the beach a hassle when I want to see everything with clarity, but my view is constantly dimmed for most of the day. I honestly prefer using the contacts I have with a pair of sunglasses when I go places, but I ran out of contacts recently and the ocean stole my sweet sunglasses months ago (can't find another pair like them, I loved those babies).

If I had to do it over, I'd probably stick with normal lenses and invest more in sunglasses with my contacts.

Here's what they looked like last week at the beach.
sCys23i.png
Click to expand...
 
GraveHorizon said:
First I'm hearing of transition lenses being considered dorky. I think I look kind of cool when it's fully sunny outside. But like several people have said and I learned on my own, they don't always work exactly the way I need them too. Not enough in the car, and far too much on cloudy days. Really makes going to the beach a hassle when I want to see everything with clarity, but my view is constantly dimmed for most of the day. I honestly prefer using the contacts I have with a pair of sunglasses when I go places, but I ran out of contacts recently and the ocean stole my sweet sunglasses months ago (can't find another pair like them, I loved those babies).

If I had to do it over, I'd probably stick with normal lenses and invest more in sunglasses with my contacts.

Here's what they looked like last week at the beach.
Click to expand...
Ok, i see what people are talking about now.
 
Exr said:
I remember getting them in grade 9 thinking Id look badass. Walked in and was greeted with "Nice shades dicklock".
Click to expand...

I'm sorry about this happening in your past, but this is the first time I've heard dicklock and I am using this at work tomorrow.

From my core group of friends, one got transitions and we rode his ass about them throughout college. Especially when we'd be outside, come back inside, and he would talk about how he couldn't see shit for 15 minutes or whatever because they were still tinted dark. There is a distinct correlation between the time he met his very serious girlfriend (now wife) and the time he got rid of those fucking things.

Looking forward to texting him about them tomorrow. I forgot all about it.

For what it's worth, I doubt I would have noticed anyone that had these if I wasn't hanging out with them and going indoors and outdoors with them on a consistent basis.
 
I have a super dorky friend with no fashion sense who has transition lenses. It freaked me out the first time I saw him wearing them because it took them a while to transition once he got inside and it just looked weird.

With the right glasses, they'd be fine. On him they just look terrible. And very dorky.
 
I have never heard about this dork stigma stuff, but the last time I owned a pair was 6+ years ago. Sounds like bull.

They were fine, but eventually I got tired of everything being tinted a slight brown color, and poor coverage was a bother. Jack of all trades, master of none. You're better off going 2SeekU's route and putting prescription lenses in everything. I do the same thing and would never go back.
 
Transitions seem slow and just-passable as sunglasses. Mix in that they usually don't go well with eyeglasses frame and they just feel tacky. Get a good pair of glasses and a good pair of shades instead of cheaping out on having an inferior version of both.

And I had pretty good results with Warby Parker a few months ago. Pretty cheap, even with the thick lens fee, and they look good.
 
My mom used to have transition lenses, but she was never happy with the result. They would become dark in bright stores and stuff like that. And sunglasses have better frames anyway.
 
I hated them because you couldn't control when they turned to shades. Sometimes in shopping malls with the glass ceilings that lit the room with natural light your glasses would turn into sunglasses and make you look like a douchebag
 
The awful thing about transitions that I see is that they never seem to be fully clear indoors, especially in a place with large windows. So you'll be walking around casually inside but then have sort of half-tinted sunglasses on and sunglasses indoors just doesn't look right. I used to work at a grocery store with the creepiest dude ever and all day he'd walk around with those half-tinted lenses and everyone joked about it.

Personally, I would carry two pairs of glasses, one kept on my face, and one kept in a case. This puts you about even with people that just carry sunglasses around and don't need normal glasses. If that's not too much of a hassle for people that don't wear glasses then we can do it. You can also keep the sunglasses in the car for driving for the most part.

I guess there's probably a lot of people with them that I just don't notice going by this thread though. If you don't call attention to them or they don't standout then I think you're in the clear. I'm sure if a friend thought they were dorky or creepy they would say something so don't worry.
 
I can confirm that transition lenses are indeed dorky as fuck. I had some when I was a teen. Never again, they're hideous.
 
They've been a dorky faux pas this whole time? It's been 3 years since I lost mine, and this is the first time I've ever felt good about it. Thanks GAF!
 
Never ever even wear glasses, just get contacts. God I hate glasses.

My SO has transition lenses and they're fine calm down people. Though she's thinking about getting contacts... this is always the best solution.
 
catmincer said:
Transitions make you look like you are hiding something. Don't wear them.
Click to expand...

I'm hiding my damn eyes from UV Rays, so yes.

BPoole said:
They're terrible. I had a pair and ended up returning them within a month. The sunglasses don't even work that well and they don't transition enough when you go inside a building.

Just get contacts and buy normal sunglasses
Click to expand...

They tend to transition more slowly in warmer weather but these aren't the Transitions from 20 years ago. They go completely clear indoors for a while now. They used to have a slight tint to them, even indoors. Now that it's winter out, my Transitions turn brown fast as hell.

Also, contacts fucking suck. I can constantly feel them behind my eyelids, they don't correct my astigmatism, and they dry out my eyes so I always have to have some eye drops with me. I only wear them when I'm at concerts or doing something athletic where I can't go without glasses.
 
I don't use them, but I don't have a problem with them. Funny enough, my prescription sunglasses are actually Oakley prescription eyeglass frames with tinted lenses.
 
marrec said:
Never ever even wear glasses, just get contacts. God I hate glasses.

My SO has transition lenses and they're fine calm down people. Though she's thinking about getting contacts... this is always the best solution.
Click to expand...

I like your glasses tho if those are them in your avatar.
 
they're dweeby as all hell. my dad wears them and ive been trying to convince him to just get regular lenses. nothing dorkier than walking around in a semi-open area while your glasses get tinted like some bad early 90s r&b singer.
 
A Fish Aficionado said:
Never bothered me. Carry re-wetting drops.
Click to expand...

Depends on the level of astigmatism the person has. At a certain point you either pay over $100 per eye for a 3-month prescription, deal with being blind and having irritated eyes over half the time, or just getting glasses.

I eventually went back to normal frames because the lenses were just too expensive without enough benefit for me. Next step is getting laser eye surgery as an alternative.
 
Transitions make people look like creeps for some reason. Or is it that creepy people buy transitions? Then why do I own a pair of them? Shit...

I actually never wear them because they take so damn long to transition.
 
Malvolio said:
"Fashion" says it's OK to wear frames with no lenses, of course "fashion" is going to hate on something as utilitarian as transition lenses.
Click to expand...

Lol good point. But I got two frames for my sunglasses and regular ones. Preferred having the change of styles.
 
They seem to make people look older, specially when they are in that half state.

I don't know. I'm not a fan, to be honest.
 
I know someone who has them, but I never had the heart to tell him how they make him look. He's been complaining that he gets hit on by much older women, like way too old for him, so maybe I should let him know.

140228_2751010_SNL_Digital_Short__Motherlover_anvver_5.jpg
 
I had no idea that there was a stigma about them. Having glasses darken when outside so there's no need to carry a separate pair of sunglasses is a bad thing? What? I must be old.
 
Obviously the solution here is to be fashionable with one lense (non-transition lense of course, or no lense if that's your fashion statement) and utilitarian with the other (with a transition lense).

Everyone wins! You look like a nerdy pirate!
 
mauvais said:
I had no idea that there was a stigma about them. Having glasses darken when outside so there's no need to carry a separate pair of sunglasses is a bad thing? What? I must be old.
Click to expand...

It's more about having lenses that darken even partially inside that's the problem. And the reputation has been this way forever; I even remember it being in sitcoms in the 90s.
 
Why in God's good name is this considered dewbby or a fashion faux pas? This is like God-send for people like me that have to wear their prescription glasses underneath their Sunshades when driving on sunny days.

OP, there's nothing wrong with these, even if they're some how considered a faux pas, wear them if you want.
 
I never knew there was a stigma to them. Maybe I hang around the wrong people. And strangers have been judging me for years! Thanks gaf, haha.
 
Wait. Can someone explain how they're different than regular glasses fashion/looks wise. I must know less about these than I thought.
 
Yes.

But if you're more comfortable with them, then by all means.

One of my roommates from college wore transitions lenses then and he still does now. He also buttons his shirts up to the top button without a tie (did then, does now), buttons his polo shirts up to the top button, and has generally been at the opposite end of any sort of fashion sense for 15 years, despite actually caring about his appearance. Sadly, this guy wouldn't take the advice very well.. He'd argue you on it and think it's ridiculous. But, also, in like 2005 he was in a music class and you were supposed to bring in some piece of music and explain it to the class, and he asked me if Journey would be okay... Completely serious, unironic. He didn't really get that when most people were singing journey songs at the bar, it was like an ironic joke... not that anybody really liked journey. And so when I told him he shouldn't do that, he was sort of offended that Journey wasn't cool.

munchie64 said:
Wait. Can someone explain how they're different than regular glasses fashion/looks wise. I must know less about these than I thought.
Click to expand...

Transitions lenses transition from dark to light depending on the circumstances. In sunlight, they're not quite sun glasses, in a dark room, they're not quite clear. Many people end up looking like ...

VMyFKGw.jpg
 
munchie64 said:
Wait. Can someone explain how they're different than regular glasses fashion/looks wise. I must know less about these than I thought.
Click to expand...

Fashionable Sunglasses and Fashionable Glasses tend to have two entirely different shapes. Combining the two is tricky.
 
The Albatross said:
Transitions lenses transition from dark to light depending on the circumstances. In sunlight, they're not quite sun glasses, in a dark room, they're not quite clear. Many people end up looking like ...
Click to expand...
Ah yeah, I didn't know about the colour problems.
marrec said:
Fashionable Sunglasses and Fashionable Glasses tend to have two entirely different shapes. Combining the two is tricky.
Click to expand...
This is also interesting. Never really worn sunglasses, so I never thought about it, but it's true.
 
I'm not sure if you guys had lenses from the 80s or something, but my dad has transitions in his current frame and they're completely clear indoors, at least from me looking at him.
 
I got transition lenses a month ago and they're completely clear indoors and great outside when it's bright, but otherwise they're normal outside. I haven't had any issues at all.

They've gained a bad reputation for being terrible in the past, but these days they're pretty great.

The Albatross said:
didn't really get that when most people were singing journey songs at the bar, it was like an ironic joke... not that anybody really liked journey. And so when I told him he shouldn't do that, he was sort
Click to expand...

I like Journey, they're a great band with an underrated discography that I wouldn't exactly say that people listen to ironically lol.
 
This thread is fucking hilarious.

People's lives are changing!

What a revelation! Transition lenses are ugly! Who knew!

Cast away those cargos! Those fedoras! Get rid of your dad clothes!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Isn't it amazing everything is still a WWW.
29
1K
Drew1440 replied
Jaguar (vehicles) has transitioned into a fragrance company
2 3 4 5 6
286
15K
ForAcademicPurposes replied
It's been forty years and I still feel this way.
39
2K
Tomeru replied
  • Poll
Are you a hoarder?
Community Poll  2
56
2K
wondermega replied
So is our resident CEO fella still at it?
37
2K
FeralEcho replied
Top Bottom