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By Rome Jorge, Lifestyle Editor
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Celebrity Anne Curtis
sporting Fly shades
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If you think shades are only a vanity sparked by celebrities, think
again.
For more than a thousand years, Eskimos have
used goggles carved from red cedar with thin eye slits to protect
them from the blinding glare of snow and ice as they hunted in the
arctic. Well before he fiddled whilst all else burned, 1st century
AD Roman emperor Nero watched bloody gladiatorial fights and perhaps
even the slaughter of early Christians through a prism of emeralds.
Halfway round the world, court judges during 12th century Jin
Dynasty in China would wear spectacles of smoked lenses to hide
their emotions as they interviewed witnesses and suspects. A century
later, corrective versions of these Chinese lenses were first
introduced to Western Europe through Italy.
In the 19th century, one could easily spot those
afflicted with syphilis; they wore amber tinted spectacles to
protect eyes rendered overly sensitive to the bright light by the
sexually transmitted disease. Today, sharp shooters, racers and
other sportsmen operating in harsh sunlight use those same amber
tints to block glare and allow them to focus on targets.
In raging warzones of Iraq and Afghanistan, many
soldiers engaged in battle sport wrap around sport lenses to protect
them not only form dust of dessert conditions but also from the
deadly shrapnel. Properly rated polycarbonate lenses have been
proven to stop a 12-gauge shotgun.
You don’t even have to be a warrior to need
eye protection. With our depleted ozone layer and intense tropical
sunlight, ultraviolet (UV) rays are becoming a serious concern.
Constant and excessive exposure can result in the formation of
debilitating cataracts or trigger life-threatening cancer.
To afford eye protection, you don’t need the
Pentagon’s billion-dollar budget or a superstar’s credit card.
In 1995, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
underwent a study that found no correlation between the level of eye
protection and the cost of sunglasses. Don’t look for a designer
label. Instead, demand a seal of quality.
Ideally sunglasses should pass: the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z87.1 benchmark for impact
protection, durability, comfort and unobstructed vision; and the
ANSI Z80.3-2001 standard for UV protection (1 percent or less UV
transmittance). Other nations have their own standards such as the
European Union’s Conformité Européenne (CE) mark. High-energy
visible light (HEV, intense light in the violet/blue band) can also
lead to age-related macular degeneration (blurring in the center of
one’s vision). Newer sunglass designs have begun to proclaim HEV
protection as well.
More than meets the eye
As history has shown, sunglasses are more than
just protection. Celebrities use them to avoid being seen as well as
to distinguish themselves. Both boys and girls know all too well
that shades allow them to ogle without anyone divining their
intentions. And of course, there’s fashion and style. Sunglasses
have defined some of the most iconic persons in contemporary
history. Many of these designs have their roots in eye protection.
General Douglas McArthur, Field Marshal of the
Philippine Army who fled the country at the onset of Second World
War, sparked a trend for aviator shades. after being photographed
for propaganda. Originally commissioned by the US air force, the
aviator sunglasses featured large tear dropped shape of the lenses
followed the maximum field of vision of each eye and flexible wire
temples that hooked behind the ears prevented them from coming off
during aerial maneuvers. Many versions also featured Ironically,
later sunglasses commissioned by the US air force featured rounded
off trapezoidal lenses so that the pair could easily be pocketed and
straight earpieces that allowed the glasses to easily fly off the
face in case of impact and thus prevent the lenses from shattering
near the eye.
Audrey Hepburn, the epitome of 1960s understated
style, popularized the wayfarer shades—a design with thick plastic
rims originally intended for men and flaring temples inspired by the
garish tailfins of Cadillac cars. Other celebrities associated with
the design are James Dean, Kim Novak and Bob Dylan.
John Lennon popularized teashades—wireframe
designs with round lenses. Though hardly ergonomic, its simple and
inexpensive design made a perfect counterculture symbol.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis made famous the large
bulbous sunglasses that are all the rage among women today.
Especially popular among celebrities, they prevent even a glint of
the eye to show no matter what angle.
Regardless of design, consumers should look for
eye protection and comfort when buying sunglasses.
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