No matter how you grew up, if you wore glasses you’ll always be able to find solace that someone out there has the same struggles. From trying to stay comfortable in bed without sacrificing your vision to figuring out the best configuration for watching 3D movies, here are seven problems bespectacled Singaporeans can relate to when growing up.
P.S. Read to the end to find out how even wearing glasses can be stylish and how to find the right style of frames for your face shape!
Trying to slurp down a bowl of hot soup in your school canteen? Fog. Stepping out of a cold bus into the humid Singaporean air? Fog. Didn’t place your mask properly on your face? Fog. Seriously, wearing glasses can sometimes feel like living in your own version of Silent Hill
Glasses fogging up is undoubtedly the number one inconvenience that all spectacle-wearers face on the daily. After all, the absolute audacity of your specs not doing the one thing they’re supposed to do: help you see.
For the lucky kids with 20/20 vision, PE lessons were some of the most fun and carefree times in school. But for those of us who had a pair of flimsy glasses on our face, it was the period where looking in the wrong direction would mean a ball and a thousand glass shards in your face. If you were not good at captain’s ball, this forced you to become good at the sport.
Even if there were no balls involved, running around and sweating in your Dri-Fit PE attire will inevitably result in your glasses slowly sliding down your nose bridge. This is also when most of us learnt some life hacks like using ear hooks.
Image credit: Brenda Tan
You know how you look back at your old pictures and cringe at the mismatched spectacle frames and awkward sizes? Yeah, we’ve all been there and done that. But hey – that’s how you know you’ve at least levelled up your fashion sense and style when it comes to your facial accessories.
Thankfully, frames these days cater to our myriad face shapes, and some are even statement pieces that will elevate your entire outfit. If you’re clueless about what types of frames fit your face, there are some tools like Lenskart’s 3D Try-On that uses augmented reality to find the most flattering glasses to go on you.
Reading books on your bed has got to be one of the top acts of rebellion as a child. But for those that wear glasses, it’s like the world conspired against you lying on your side or else your frames will either get smushed against or pushed up your face, making it almost impossible to see.
Pro tip: If you insist on watching Netflix before you sleep, remember to still take care of your eyes with all that screen time by either turning off the blue light on your device or investing on a pair of glasses to filter out the blue light.
It’s almost tradition for Singaporean parents to enroll their children in swimming lessons in hopes that they become the next Joseph Schooling. But kids with myopia can’t just plunge into the pool – they either have to put on special goggles with corrective lenses or accept the fact that they’re as nearly as blind as a bat while doing laps.
Thankfully, the lane dividers are visible enough even for those that are near-sighted, so training isn’t always a big issue. Playing Marco Polo by the pool on the other hand, that’s something that we’d be sitting out on.
As much as I love watching IMAX and 3D movies, being shortsighted means that I always have to fumble around before the show starts to make sure my own glasses and the 3D glasses are properly on my face.
I’d be the first to admit that this is one of the most superficial first-world problems, but your comfort when watching a movie is also part and parcel of the experience. And you could always put on contacts but that might not be the most convenient for everyone. At least the theatre is dark enough so nobody can see your dorky, six-eyed self.
The world would be a better place if our spectacles had mini wipers to wick away rain drops, but that’d look ridiculous and a tad over the top. Having to walk outside in the rain is a mildly infuriating experience when all the droplets accumulate and block your vision.
Sure, it’d take less than 20 seconds to wipe off the moisture on the lens, but not everyone has a lint-free cloth handy. And don’t even get us started on using our tops – your cotton shirt or blouse can potentially scratch the lens and spread whatever dirt and oil residue that’s on it even more.
Pro tip: When getting your prescription lenses, opt for those with a hydrophobic coating that can repel water so you can say bye bye to this struggle.
Those of us who have grown up with myopia will know of the struggles and sacrifices bespectacled people make just to be able to see the world. But we would’ve also made peace with wearing glasses for life after having to put them on every morning for years.
Still, it’s important to maintain good eye habits, and sometimes this means having a couple of pairs of glasses. Whether your second pair has blue light lenses for WFH days or they’re just a backup for your absent-minded self, investing in more than one pair of eyewear can help you adapt to work and play better.
To ensure your eyesight doesn’t deteriorate further, it’s important to have the right lenses and frames for your face. But after a long day working from home, the last thing you’d want to do is head to an optician and manually try on multiple frames.
Instead, you can make use of Lenskart’s Virtual 3D Try-On Tool to see if the pair of wayfarers you’ve been eyeing fits your face from the convenience and comfort of your own home. The tool can be used on your laptop or smartphone too, saving you time and stress from heading outside and having to pick and choose from the many different options on display.
Not only can you browse through over 2,000 different pairs of frames, the feature will also recommend suitable frames for your face shape so you don’t have to relive the days when you were a dorky kid and can instead live your wildest dreams as a fashion-forward trendsetter.
Whether you’re after a pair of stylish cat-eye glasses or a durable titanium frame, there are plenty of options to choose from. Lenskart also carries chic and modern frames from John Jacobs and Vincent Chase; we’re particularly loving this rose gold frame with blue highlights from the latter.
What’s more, you can book a free eye checkup at any of their 15 stores islandwide in just a few clicks. If you’re curious to see whether your eyesight has improved or worsened since the pandemic began, the checkup will give you all your prescription details with no strings attached.
If you’ve also made the decision to get kitted up with a new pair of glasses after your checkup, Lenskart’s flagship outlets* can cut and prepare the glasses in-store on the same day. You can jalan jalan and come back in 20 minutes to a new accessory to add to your everyday outfit!
P.S. You can also flash your vaccination status – partial or full – to enjoy Lenskart’s Buy-One-Get-One-Free promotion on all eyeglasses.
*The Lenskart flagship stores are located at Jurong Point, Funan, Waterway Point, IMM, and Century Square.
This post was brought to you by Lenskart.
Cover image adapted from (left): DrUseless
Photography by Kenneth Chan.
Originally published on 23rd July 2021. Last updated by Josiah Neo on 12th August 2021.
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