Hey ho,

So I'm looking for some opinions on a thing I have been thinking about.

I'm long sighted (For those who get the two mixed up, I need glasses to see things up close clearly), but due to my job, I pretty much wear my glasses 24/7.

The frames I have at the moment are somewhat masculine, but I am due to get my prescription changed and I have come to a quandary...what type of glasses do I get? Or do I get contacts/laser to give me super vision?

What are your opinions on glasses? I have heard some people say that even the cutest pair of hipster glasses add masculinity the face, something I clearly want to avoid, but then because of my short sightedness, I like how my glasses make my eyes look a good bit larger...which is feminizing...

The other issue I have...I'm not full time yet, so how do I go into an opticians and say..."Yeah...thanks...I know this is the male glasses section...I'm just going to sliiiiiide over here now...no no, I don't need a hand...yes these are female frames...please don't judge me..."

Anybody here got experience with glasses and transitioning?

Quote from: Danniella on January 28, 2014, 06:02:15 AM
I'm long sighted (For those who get the two mixed up, I need glasses to see things up close clearly), but due to my job, I pretty much wear my glasses 24/7.

The frames I have at the moment are somewhat masculine, but I am due to get my prescription changed and I have come to a quandary...what type of glasses do I get? Or do I get contacts/laser to give me super vision?

I'll trade you. I'm massively nearsighted. For folks with Hyperopia you can go to a drug store, and they should have over the counter reading glasses that are essentially close to your prescription. For whatever reason OTC glasses in positive diopters is fine, negative the government says no. Anyway, try a bunch of those on until you find a frame style and diopter number that works for you. That's the route I went to find out if "sexy librarian frames" work for me. And they kinda do, although I can't see out of the one's I bought. So now I know when I get my Rx I know what kind of frames to get.

Quote from: Danniella on January 28, 2014, 06:02:15 AM
What are your opinions on glasses? I have heard some people say that even the cutest pair of hipster glasses add masculinity the face, something I clearly want to avoid, but then because of my short sightedness, I like how my glasses make my eyes look a good bit larger...which is feminizing...

The other issue I have...I'm not full time yet, so how do I go into an opticians and say..."Yeah...thanks...I know this is the male glasses section...I'm just going to sliiiiiide over here now...no no, I don't need a hand...yes these are female frames...please don't judge me..."

Anybody here got experience with glasses and transitioning?

I can't speak to contacts. I've always wanted them. Always. But, every optometrist I've asked said my astigmatism is too severe for them.

But, regarding choosing frames, I think you'll find no one will care what "gender" frames you're looking at. I've always had a preference for small frame sizes, and in the 90's that meant mostly womens frames since the small mens frames in style at the time looked stupid on me. No one ever cared about it. I think it may have been mentioned to me once that I was looking at womens frames, and all I had to say was "I don't care what gender they are, I just want frames I like" and I was left alone to make my choices. Then in the last decade both the mens and womens frames at the optometrist office looked stupid so I switched to online. http://www.eyeglasses.com/ sadly depending on your frame and lenses it can be really expensive (the pair of glasses I have now was roughly $495 including lenses), but their customer service is awesome. There are cheaper places as well. I'm about to try http://www.39dollarglasses.com/ to get me my pair of "sexy librarian glasses" that I can actually see out of.

Quote from: NoReflection on January 28, 2014, 06:51:55 AM
I've always worn glasses, and feel naked without them.  My vision is really bad so they have always made my already-small eyes look super tiny.  That's no fun, especially when you're trying to do makeup and can't manipulate your tools inside the space between your face and the mirror.

YES! I can relate! It took me a while, but I found an 8x magnifying mirror with suction cups on the back so I can stick it to my regular mirror. It makes eye makeup possible for me. I believe it was $6 at Walmart. It had enabled me to NOT stab myself repeatedly in the eye with a mascara brush, and thusly has been the most useful purchase I've made in a while.

My opinion on what to get glasses or contacts would depend on what type of work you do. If you have to look at a monitor all day definitely get glasses. If it is just paper then contacts should be fine. BEst would to get both a pair of glasses that you like (remember you are the customer, they are there to get you what you want) and contacts.

Well, I only wear my glasses when I drive, but the fashionista in me says get both glasses and contacts. That way you can use glasses when you want the look of glasses, and can still see when you don't want that look. Disposable contacts aren't so bad pricewise, and I really like certain frames with certain outfits.

That being said, if you have the money for lasik, and don't mind the downtime it needs, you can always use glasses without a prescription if you just want the look.

Quote from: NoReflection on January 28, 2014, 06:51:55 AM
I've always worn glasses, and feel naked without them.  My vision is really bad so they have always made my already-small eyes look super tiny.  That's no fun, especially when you're trying to do makeup and can't manipulate your tools inside the space between your face and the mirror.

Best thing I did was force myself into contacts, got a magnifying mirror for makeup, then went to Claire's to find some cute vanity frames that work for my face.  You know, the kind that are studded with rhinestones or whatever.  Helps me not to feel naked.

Never thought about a magnifying makeup mirror...I must investigate this purchase soooooooooon.

Quote from: missadventure on January 28, 2014, 10:22:58 AM
I'll trade you. I'm massively nearsighted. For folks with Hyperopia you can go to a drug store, and they should have over the counter reading glasses that are essentially close to your prescription. For whatever reason OTC glasses in positive diopters is fine, negative the government says no. Anyway, try a bunch of those on until you find a frame style and diopter number that works for you. That's the route I went to find out if "sexy librarian frames" work for me. And they kinda do, although I can't see out of the one's I bought. So now I know when I get my Rx I know what kind of frames to get.

...

But, regarding choosing frames, I think you'll find no one will care what "gender" frames you're looking at. I've always had a preference for small frame sizes, and in the 90's that meant mostly womens frames since the small mens frames in style at the time looked stupid on me. No one ever cared about it. I think it may have been mentioned to me once that I was looking at womens frames, and all I had to say was "I don't care what gender they are, I just want frames I like" and I was left alone to make my choices. Then in the last decade both the mens and womens frames at the optometrist office looked stupid so I switched to online. http://www.eyeglasses.com/ sadly depending on your frame and lenses it can be really expensive (the pair of glasses I have now was roughly $495 including lenses), but their customer service is awesome. There are cheaper places as well. I'm about to try http://www.39dollarglasses.com/ to get me my pair of "sexy librarian glasses" that I can actually see out of.

Sexy nerd is my target appearance ^^; I shall check out these sites, i'm in Scotland though, so might not work out so well, but there may be similar substitutes over here...maybe.

Quote from: Marcia on January 28, 2014, 12:04:50 PM
My opinion on what to get glasses or contacts would depend on what type of work you do. If you have to look at a monitor all day definitely get glasses. If it is just paper then contacts should be fine. BEst would to get both a pair of glasses that you like (remember you are the customer, they are there to get you what you want) and contacts.

Quote from: Hikari on January 28, 2014, 12:08:05 PM
Well, I only wear my glasses when I drive, but the fashionista in me says get both glasses and contacts. That way you can use glasses when you want the look of glasses, and can still see when you don't want that look. Disposable contacts aren't so bad pricewise, and I really like certain frames with certain outfits.

That being said, if you have the money for lasik, and don't mind the downtime it needs, you can always use glasses without a prescription if you just want the look.

I'm a digital artist, so I sit in front of monitors for 8 hours a day peering at tiny details on intricate 3D models...not best for the eyes to be honest, but meh. I have considered getting both, not really an option at the moment...finances and all that, but definitely something to look into in the future...never even been to see about contacts though, they could turn round and say I can't even get them for one reason or another -shrug-

Thanks for the advice so far...think I will try and psych myself up to go the the opticians and try on some female frames, as I guess I don't even really know what will suit my face for girl mode :S

When doing laser and being fulltime. I would do more exotic eye make up and where my glasses to divert the attention from my chin to my eyes. It worked for me I think.