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Why do sunglasses make you look cool? Allen Bollands, by email
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Readers reply
Simply because of the universally acknowledged fact that it’s always cooler in the shades. ThereisnoOwl
Eyes are windows to the soul. Sunglasses make you appear soulless. Like a vampire. Vampires are cool. Leoned
Any covering of an expressive body part that can easily be taken off creates an interest in what is being hidden. As eyes are so significant in our interactions, when it comes to glasses, the part to a degree stands for the whole. Erbium
Because cool is the art of not sweating – visibly or emotionally – and sunglasses are a sleek little lie that tells the world: you can’t see me blink. They cloak your eyes, the ultimate betrayers, turning your face into a mask of mystery. As Roland Barthes might say, they transform the human into the icon, the expressive into the impenetrable. Behind dark lenses, you’re not a person – you’re a myth. Alex Hoban
They make you look Italian, which is, by definition, cool. jingjangle
In my case, it’s because the future’s so bright, I’ve got to wear them. PeteTheBeat
Cool, in this sense, means “not showing emotion; calm and in control of oneself”. Sunglasses hide the eyes, through which most emotions are consciously or unconsciously expressed. Ergo, sunglasses make you look cool (as, I hope, does using a word such as “ergo”). Tangokitty
They lend an air of anonymity, insouciance; a dash of glamour, a hint of mystery …provided they’re not worn at night. mlhouston
Do they? When I broke my normal glasses, I had to wear my prescription shades indoors and at night. I was under the impression they made me look like an utter berk … captainslouch
You can see out, but they can’t see in. Like a limousine. bodfishbiker/VegansRuleThePlanet
Coolness is a social construct and also highly subjective. Wearing sunglasses with a leather coat was cool in 1999; less so now. Yellow polarised golf sunglasses will never be cool. That said, I think sunglasses can make people look more attractive by creating an exaggerated pastiche of large, dark eyes. We tend to associate attractiveness with coolness. Also, they invariably remind us of being outdoors in summertime, perhaps around a swimming pool or while driving; all markers of desirable social status. FesLerdinand
“It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of Gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.” (The Blues Brothers.) You can’t get much cooler than that. Fallowfield
My main theory is that what makes people look cool while wearing sunglasses is the emotionally unavailable feature, the distance, the detachment. Not necessarily in a romantic manner, but also in terms of friendship and community. Therefore, when we cannot distinguish the pupil growing or reducing, we cannot distinguish emotions, reactions, attitudes. Humans, when vulnerable themselves, are not hard to read, to understand, to connect with. This aloofness is fascinating, intriguing, mysterious – somehow sensual and appealing. However, let’s be honest, no one can beat the feeling we get when the pupils of someone we are attracted to dilate; as magnetic love or sexual tensions grow; as we let go of our defenses and let ourselves transition into comfort. All that in the presence of someone so dear to us. Clara
Sunglasses bring symmetry to your face. They even out all the quirks of symmetry of uneven eyebrows, eyes and nose. Symmetrical people are beautiful and sunglasses trick the viewer into seeing a symmetrical person. On top of that, for the older generation, laughter lines, eye bags and tired eyes are hidden. (I design and make bespoke sunglasses in Britain.) Tom Davies
Why is it considered acceptable to keep sunglasses on when talking to someone, it seems very rude to me? PhillR
