Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A sort of sister trope to [[Goggles Do Nothing]].

{{examples}}

* A [[McDonald's]] commercial shows two men, wearing glasses and sitting at an intellectual coffee shop, somehow found out that [[McDonald's]] also serves coffee. They immediately rebel against the pseudo-intellectual front they had been putting up to get their coffee, and yes, one of them was pulling this trope. The other one [[Blind Without'Em|was not]].

 

* ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'': Yuki Nagato's glasses seem to be simply an aesthetic feature, and she stops wearing them after Kyon tells her she's cuter without them.

** She uses them for "magical" purposes in some novels (such as The Disappearance) but they don't correct her vision. Except in the spinoff, where she's [[Blind Without'Em]].

* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', both Ami (Sailor Mercury) and Mamoru (Tuxedo Mask) have been shown wearing "reading glasses" on occasion. Neither of them actually ''need'' them.

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Nami wears a pair of glasses while lecturing the rest of the crew on what they'd learned at Sky Island since arriving. These glasses had never appeared before and only once since.

** Though people read into it for different reasons, [[Love Freak|America]] doesn't need his glasses. They represent Texas (rather, he puts them on after annexing Texas) but really seems to exist soley for looking [[Moe Moe|cuter]].

** Something similar happens with [[Team Dad]] Austria, who's said via [[Word of God]] to be more or less [[Generic Cuteness|plain, looks-wise]].

* It's implied in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' that neither [[Evil Genius|Aion]] or [[Mad Scientist|Shader]] need their glasses. In Shader's case she's probably wearing them because it makes her look brainy, in Aion's case it might be that, or it might be to make him look [[Scary Shiny Glasses|more intimidating]]. In Aion's case, they're probably also there to hide from the audience that {{spoiler|Chrono and Aion are identical twins}}.

* In ''[[D.N.Angel]]'', Satoshi doesn't actually need his glasses, and admits it to people when they ask. However, it's implied they might function as a way to {{spoiler|hold back his alter-ego, Krad.}}

* In ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', Gokudera Hayato aquires a pair of glasses half way through the series for no apparent reason, aside from the fact that they make him [[Estrogen Brigade Bait|look even cuter]]. Well, he does seem to use them whenever he reads things. When studying Sistema CAI, when teaching Tsuna to swim, when trying to learn how to properly cook... Looks like it can be deduced that Gokudera has a little vision problem when it comes to reading things up close. He seems to have no problem in school without his glasses, however. He doesn't care about school, though.

* Jin from ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' wears designer glasses which are completely pointless, expressly for the purpose of looking sophisticated.

* Azuma from ''[[Bamboo Blade]]'' got herself (fake) glasses in the hopes that they would help improve her marks.

* Dentaku, of ''[[Litchi Hikari Club]]''. Suitably, his epithet is "Science Boy".

* When the master assassin ''[[Golgo 13]]'' needs to infiltrate a chemical warfare lab by posing as a skilled chemist, his disguise consists of... a pair of glasses. It's arguable whether they make him look smarter, but they actually DO make him look less intimidating somehow, which is an accomplishment in itself, considering his [[Perpetual Frowner|face]].

* Ninamori wore lensless glasses over contacts during the school play in ''[[FLCL]]'', instead of just wearing normal glasses, because she doesn't want the other students to know she has imperfect vision.

* ''[[Detective Conan]]'''s Conan Edogawa has big round glasses for the aesthetic affect of ''looking less like himself''; he's been [[Fountain of Youth|de-aged]] into a child and is living day-to-day with a [[Childhood Friend]] whom he does not want to recognize him, and Shinichi never wore glasses. He's [[Clark Kenting]], but he doesn't have the luxury of changing back and forth at will. They also make him look cuter, which he exploits. That said, he does get some cool features built into them as time passes, chiefly that they contain the monitor system for his little electronic trackers. And yeah, I don't know how he gets his eyes to focus that close-up either.

* An unanimated chapter of ''[[Daily Lives of High School Boys]]'' revealed that {{spoiler|Hidenori has 40/20 vision ''without'' his [[Stoic Spectacles]].}}

 

* In the [[Marvel Universe]], Jeanne-Marie Beaubier a.k.a. Aurora of the Canadian team [[Alpha Flight]] wore fake glasses when assuming the [[Split Personality|persona]] of a straight-laced schoolteacher.

* In the same universe, some versions of [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]] claim that Peter Parker never needed glasses at all, but his Aunt May feared he would strain his eyes by reading without them. They were broken in an early strip, and after that he has never worn them again. The gag shows up again every couple of years, where after seeing something supernatural/incredible, Peter will muse that maybe he needs to go back to wearing glasses.

* ''[[The Phantom (comic strip)|The Phantom]]'' almost always wear glasses or shades whenever he's not wearing his regular mask and costume. The same goes for all predecessors down the line (as a [[Legacy Character]], The Phantom has a 400 year long history) and as none have had particularly bad vision, they've just used fake glasses.

 

* In [[Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness|DAYDverse]], Terry Boot had these when he was younger, to appear intelligent so the Sorting Hat would put him in Ravenclaw.

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* Played straight in ''[[High School Musical]]'' with Kelsi, completely averted with every other character in the movie.

* ''[[Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy]]'': Tricia "Trillian" MacMillan, in her first scene has a pair of glasses to flag her character as clued-in.

* In ''(Untitled)'' (yes, that's its name, parentheses and all), gallery owner Madeleine Gray has a whole collection of fake glasses she wears to look more sophisticated and hip, and she tries her hardest to prevent anyone from discovering that they're just for show.

* Joe wears glasses as part of the wealthy bachelor disguise he puts on to seduce Sugar in ''[[Some Like It Hot]]''.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Harriet the Spy]]'' wears a pair of lens-less frames as part of her spy gear and sometimes to school because she thinks they make her look smarter.

* In one essay in [[Dilbert|Scott Adams']] book ''Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!'', he writes about how to appear smart. The first and most important tip he gives is to wear glasses, even if you don't need them.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* In the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode "Adam," when the title character has altered the Torchwood team's memories and personalities, Owen gets a fetching pair of specs with his nerdier, more awkward persona. As well as a cardigan and a slicked-back hairdo. Geek chic indeed.

* ''[[Scrubs]]'': In an early episode, Elliot is seen with a pair of glasses that disappears without explanation and never comes back. In the commentary, the writers noted that Sarah Chalke wore them because she thought it would make the character seem smarter.

* ''[[NCIS]]'': This trope is Michael Weatherly's personal [[Hand Wave]] for his glasses showing up a few times in the first season. Tony, his character, is supposed to have 20/10 vision.

* Inverted on ''[[Criminal Minds]]'', when [[Meganekko]] Penelope briefly wears contacts in an attempt to look more serious.

'''Spike:''' Because I have perfect eyesight, Doctor. }}

* In ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', Illya does seem to legitimately need reading glasses, but he's also been seen putting them on in order to pose as a doctor or scientist on short notice.

* Ami in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]''. She claims she feels awkward without them.

* Hugh Laurie, when hosting ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', was supposed to put on glasses at one point during a sketch, to make his character look smarter. Since he fumbled the [[Glasses Pull]] and couldn't get them on quickly, he just [[Throw It In|ad-libbed]], [[Lampshade Hanging|"Never mind, they're just an affectation."]]

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Worn by a character who was cut from ''[[GURPS]] [[Discworld]]''. Wilma is a hamster who was turned into a human, and now travels with [http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2167 a strange group of adventurers]. Because she's so much smarter than she was as a hamster, she's convinced she's a genius. And because she's a genius, she should wear thick glasses. The fact said glasses ''impair'' her vision doesn't matter to her in the slightest.

 

== Video Games ==

* Scholars in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' have two specially designed pieces of headgear that are mortarboards with built-in glasses. The lower-leveled one has Intelligence and augments their ability to regain MP. The higher leveled on has Mind (generally associated with wisdom in the game), elemental magic skill, and improves their spell-casting time. [[Fantastic Racism|But the amazing thing is that the mortarboards can even make Elvaans look smart!]]

* In ''[[Fallout 3]]'' and ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' most glasses do nothing (the lucky shades increase your luck), unless (in New Vegas only) you take the "Four Eyes" trait, which raise your perception with glasses and lower it without. Non-unique glasses are weightless, so if you think your character would look better with them, you can wear them without needlessly weighting yourself down.

 

== Web Comics ==

* Sarin the Wizard of ''[[The Dragon Doctors]]'' wore a monocle in the first chapter (and ditches it right around the same time he gets permanently turned into a woman). It's later revealed in a flashback this was entirely an affectation; a kid said Sarin (a young, green-haired man wearing a grey hoodie) didn't look anything like a wizard. Sarin's response was to magically grow a (green) mustache, throw on a robe, and pop in a monocle, with the words, "Impaired vision equals smart!"

* Jyrras Gianna of ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' doesn't need glasses, and originally started wearing them on the suggestion of Dan, who told him that smart people usually wore glasses. They still serve a purpose, however, in somehow decreasing his cuteness, thus preventing people from slipping into [[Tastes Like Diabetes|diabetic shock]] whenever he makes [[Puppy Dog Eyes]]...

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'': In Linkara's ''[[The Dark Knight Strikes Again]]'' review, he wears one over his regular glasses, since nothing says {{smallcaps|I am a real reviewer}} like wearing two pairs of glasses in your face.

* In [[The Nostalgia Critic]]'s ''[[Alone in the Dark (2005 film)|Alone in The Dark]]'' review guest starring [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara]] and [[The Spoony Experiment|Spoony]], the latter mocks Tara Reid's infamous archeologist role thusly:

'''Spoony:''' ''(sheepishly)'' ... I need glasses. }}

** The other take of this was Spoony trying to cover his ass and eventually telling Critic that he'd do him. [[Black Comedy Rape|...he got his wish]].

** In the main cast commentary for ''[[Suburban Knights]]'', Lindsay discusses her usage of glasses. She explains that she stopped wearing them because the camera would be reflect in the lens, leading to several other commentators bringing up their own issues of wearing glasses while filming.

* [[James Rolfe]] doesn't need to wear glasses, as can be seen in some of his videos, but wears them in his persona as [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]] to add to the image of a stereotypical geek.

 

== Western Animation ==

* On ''[[Daria]]'', noted [[The Ditz|ditzes]] Kevin and Brittany are convinced for one episode that glasses might make them smart. Brittany ''does'' say something intelligent and then declares, "Wow, these things really do work!" but Kevin gets a pair without lenses because he doesn't want to get ''too'' smart.

* In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Homer finds glasses and immediately starts acting smart, by quoting the scarecrow in ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' after he got his diploma (and making the same mistake of referencing the wrong type of triangle). He does the same thing in one of the comics, when he buys Artie Ziff's glasses.

* It's been debated in ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' fandom whether or not Charles Foster Ofdensen's glasses are functional or just there to both accentuate his cleverness and make him seem more harmless than he really is (which isn't at all. He's the [[Badass Normal]]).

* On ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', during a [[Screw Learning, I Have Phlebotinum]] plot, Beezy dons a pair of glasses even though he has perfect eyesight. Heloise apparently needs hers to read, but in one episode she puts them on before giving advice, probably to appear smarter.

* On ''[[Family Guy]]'' Brian tries to show [[The Hills|Lauren Conrad]] how smart he is by taking out glasses to read. When she asks when he got reading glasses, he says he always wore them. She points out she knows they aren't real as she can see the ''[[Austin Powers]]'' logo.

 

== Real Life ==

** Reading in candlelight doesn't really damage your eyes. Growing old does, however, and if your job is to read and write, rather than farm, then you really need the glasses, hence the connection.

* Sadly believed to be played straight in real life by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which executed any "intellectuals" in their attempt to bring Cambodia back to a self-sufficient agricultural community, including [[Insane Troll Logic|anyone who wore glasses]].

* Even people who don't need a vision correction (or only need a very minor correction, possibly unknown to themselves) are often advised to buy proper lenses anyway that correctly match the human eye and are of the same optical quality as lenses in prescription glasses. Because of the cost of those lenses some refuse and wear glasses with the demo lenses from the store still in the frame. Those lenses are often stamped with the name of the frame manufacturer on them, so as a result you can occasionally see people wearing aesthetic glasses whose lenses are half covered with a brand tag like [http://x35.xanga.com/b59e1714c7332278995702/w222246306.jpg Prada], [http://x65.xanga.com/456e1b1304135278995703/w222246307.png Vogue], etc.

* Anytime an actor who doesn't need glasses plays a character who does. For example, [[Daniel Radcliffe]], who has normal vision in real life, wears lensless glasses throughout the ''[[Harry Potter (film)|Harry Potter]]'' movies. Lenses, after all, create reflections and, if you're a cinematographer, reflections are the enemy. It's much easier to put your actor in lensless glasses and not constantly worry about whether the camera, studio lights, or crew members are being reflected.

* Zachary Quinto has taken to wearing thick-rimmed glasses when he's in the midst of filming the Star Trek films because they help him hide his shaved eyebrows.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Glasses Tropes]]

[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]