Part 3 of 3

In our last section on high-tech glasses we explore electronic lenses and how glasses can help spot health problems early and improve the lives of blind people.

Helping With Partial Blindness

Oxford University researchers are developing glasses which could lead to blind people having a better quality of life and preventing accidents. The frames have 2 tiny cameras set into them which alert the wearers by flagging up potential obstacles and transmitting them to them lenses. The lenses act as screens, flagging up objects to the user that could get in their way. Although not available yet and costing over $1,000 a pair they are still in the early stages, but the developers are hoping within 2 years they will be widely available.

Electronic Lenses

Regular vari-focals have 2 different powers in the lenses, allowing a wearer to use them for both close items and objects in the distance. But the wearer has to look through either the top or bottom of the lens and adjust their vision. Scientists have now developed electronic lenses which know if you are reading or looking into the distance and automatically adjust the lens power. These state of the art glasses have microchips and a battery, with liquid crystals within the lenses. If a user changes where they are looking a tiny current passes through the lenses which change the shape of the liquid crystals and make them thicker or thinner. They currently retail at about 10 times the price of a regular vari-focal, we can't see them hitting your local optical store anytime soon.

Spotting Autism

Lack of eye contact has been linked with a number of neurological conditions. So researchers in the states have come up with a set of frames that track eye-gaze. The tiny cameras in the glasses track eye movements, researchers believe this will help identify developmental delays sooner. Early detection can lead to earlier treatment which is thought to be more effective.

Part 2/3

In part 2 we explore more tech advancements within the vision industry and how they can help us!

Vampire Specs

They sound like something that belong in a horror movie, but these specs have lenses that enhance the color of the blood vessels under the skin and are quite useful to doctors at least. They come in purple, green or pink lenses, the green ones detect the amount of blood under the skin, whilst the purple ones highlight the purple veins in the skin. The manufacturer claims the version with pink lenses can detect changes in the skin associated with changes in emotion. Not so useful as the purple and green lenses but supposedly they can be used by security in airports to detect if a passenger is acting suspicious.

Hearing Glasses?

Yes we did say it right!, glasses that can help you hear. Each of these frames come with 4 tiny microphones in each arm. They pick up sound from the direction that the wearer is looking in whilst reducing background noise. The sounds are then relayed to each ear through a tiny tube-like earphone on either side. Although hearing aids use the same principles, the frames have a slight advantage as they are pointed in the right direction. Many of the hearing-impaired volunteers that tested the device actually preferred it to their hearing aids. Although currently they cost more then $2,000, we hope to see these come down to something mere mortals can afford in the future.

Glasses That Allow You To Get High

No we are not talking about drugs, these specs are for those of you that suffer from vertigo. If you get dizzy when standing on a ladder, you will love these next frames. Many people experience dizzy spells when looking down from even small heights. This is thought to be caused by balance sensors in the inner-ear or the brain. Researchers have come up with a novel solution to this problem, glasses that have spots on the side of the lenses. It is thought that giving the wearer something to focus on in their peripheral vision will ease their dizziness.

Part 1 of 3

For the last few hundred years glasses have been used as a tool used to help people to see better. They were purely a vision aid and even just a few decades back, those high prescription, jam-jar lenses certainly made you the victim of playground bullies. With the emergence of celebrity glasses wearers the social stigma has faded, with people even wearing them as non vision correction, fashion-frames. It's now 2013 and with technological advancements, researchers have been working with our beloved frames to kick them into the next century. In this feature we look at the tech advancements that are being applied to glasses and how they will make you sleep better, hear better and even feel happier.

Happy Specs

Recent research shows that altering the type of light coming into your eyes can have an effect on other parts of the body. So someone had the bright idea of creating a pair of frames that look like a pair of glasses crossed with a sun visor that contain eight lights inside that bathe your eyes in 'white light'. The white light in turn is meant to reduce seasonal affective disorder also known as SAD, a disorder which causes depression in those that lack sunlight in the winter. Researchers put this down to the white lights increasing the 'feel good' chemicals in the brain. Although you won't be seeing anyone walking around the mall in them anytime soon, luckily they only require a 25 minutes a day to feel their full effect. Finally a pair of glasses that make you happy!

Jet Lag Reduction

Researchers have shown that green light is the most effective at delaying or advancing the body clock. Hence why the researcher involved came up with frames called re-timers. On the expensive side at over $200, these nifty little specs have a green light that shines into the eye. They are supposed to be worn for 50 minutes a day, three days after flying. Apparently they could even be used for night shift workers and lazy teenagers, yeah good luck on that one!

Nightshift Extenders

For those of you lucky enough to have done a nightshift, you will also know the effects it can have on your body. Research has shown that knocking your body clock off sync and working when you should be sleeping can lead to health problems like heart disease, weight gain, depression and even cancer. These health effects are thought to be linked to the levels of melatonin, a key hormone in regulating the body clock. The production of melatonin increases once it's dark, but exposure to bright lights can delay this process. So someone invented lenses that could block specific wave lengths in order to normalize melatonin production. I know what you are thinking, lot's of night workers falling asleep on the shift. But it regulated melatonin levels whilst not effected a workers alertness or performance on the job.

New research suggests that cheap reading glasses might be readily available, but in the long term they can cost you your eyesight.

By the age of 50, most adults have problems reading a book or newspaper without spectacles, so the arrival of the cheap glasses in supermarkets, high street stores and market stalls less than ten years ago has been seen as a saviour for many.

To avoid paying 100's of pounds for a pair of reading glasses from an optician that might easily be lost or broken, many buy several cheap versions to stash around the house so that they can always find a pair.

A researcher at consumer champion 'Which?' checked 14 pairs from seven high street chains and found that those carrying a higher prescription – plus 3.5 to plus 4 – considered to cause the most concern.

"Off-the-peg glasses could cause eye strain, blurred vision, headaches or double vision," The Daily Mail quoted the researcher as saying.

"For people with higher prescriptions, they're not suitable for walking or other mobile activities. They could even 'cause a nasty accident," he added.

The biggest problem is non-alignment, which means that the sight in one eye might be clear while the other is blurred.

"This could cause eye problems or a head tilt," the researcher said.

Opticians say eye examinations are essential before buying glasses. As well as ensuring the correct prescription is used, they can detect serious health issues, such as cataracts and brain tumours.

They’re no longer hip or modern; they no longer match your prescription or your style. Perhaps they just don’t fit or you never use them anymore?

For a person living in a developing country, used eyeglasses can help put the world in focus. For some, maybe even for the very first time.

SeeInStyle.com have teamed up with socially aware lifestyle magazine RECOGNISE www.recognisemagazine.co.uk to help grow awareness of the Clearer Today program, aimed at sending 1,000 pairs of used glasses to the developing world.

A new arrival to the consumer magazine market, RECOGNISE offers a lifestyle publication driven by a desire to be an ambassador for environmental awareness and a promoter of ethical living. Every two months sees an eclectic mix of fashion, travel, gadgets, food and beauty for both men and women. Content is defined by a commitment to pinpointing companies, people and brands that are all dedicated to social awareness and responsibility. Readers will enjoy reading about some of the world’s most exciting developments. Each and every feature found within our magazine has earned its status as it demonstrates and clearly believes in the ethos of giving something back.

The goal of the Clearer Today program is to meet the demand for quality eyeglasses in developing nations, providing otherwise unobtainable prescription eyewear to those who need it most. All types of eyeglasses and sunglasses, prescription and non-prescription are acceptable for recycling.

If you have a pair of unwanted specs or sunglasses – drop us an email at clearertoday@seeinstyle.com and we will arrange collection of your old glasses from you at no cost.

Don’t throw away someone’s chance for a clearer today. Donate your used prescription eyeglasses and someone in the world gets to see again

Readers of RECOGNISE also receive a 15% discount with SeeInStyle.com by quoting the code "recognise" during the check out process.

Choosing eyeglass frames can be a daunting task for many of us. One option to find the perfect set of frames is to try on as many pairs as we can get hold of. The other option is to understand the frame shapes and colours that will suit you best.

The Vision Council has advised people that when choosing a frame to suit their face shape they should consider three things. First of all, your frame should make the most of your best feature. So for instance if you have blue eyes, choosing blue frames will complement your look. Secondly, the shape of the frame should be in contrast to the shape of your face. Finally, the size of the frames should be in line with the size of your face.

Despite face shapes varying from person to person, we can identify seven main shapes. These are round, base-down triangle, diamond, square, base-up triangle, oval and oblong. A good optician will be able to advise you on what shape your face is, however you can also follow these rules.

If you have a round face the length and width will be in proportion with each other, with no angles. Narrow, angular frames will help make the face appear thinner, while rectangular shapes will help to lengthen the face.

Oval faces are in good proportion. Walnut-shaped frames may be a good option to keep the natural balance of the face.

Oblong faces are longer than they are wide. To make the most of your features, choose frames with more depth than width.

Diamond shapes are characterised by being narrower at the eye line and jaw line. Rimless or oval frames may suit this face type best.

People with a strong jaw line, broad forehead and whose faces are the same width as they are long are said to have square faces. The most flattering frames will be narrow as these will help the face appear longer and thinner.

Base-down triangular faces are narrow at the forehead and wider at the cheeks and chin. Try frames that have additional colour or detailing at the top such as cat-eye shapes. These will help accentuate the narrower upper part of the face.

If your face is wider at the top and gets narrower towards the chin then you are described as having a base-up triangular shape. Frames wider at the bottom and rimless frames will be the most flattering styles for this face shape.

A soldier blinded in battle has become the first member of the armed forces to test a special pair of prescription glasses which allow him to 'see' using his tongue.

Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg, who was blinded in a grenade attack in Basra, is testing prototype glasses which turn pictures into electrical impulses that are felt on the tongue. The different sensations mean he can distinguish between light and dark and negotiate his way around objects.

According to Craig, “It’s only a prototype, but the potential to change my life is massive. It has enabled me to pick up objects straight away, I can reach out and pick them up when before I would be fumbling around.”

Wow. When I first spotted this I thought this guy was going to be some kind of loon who really believed he could see with his tongue. Bit of a let down if I'm honest. On the bright side, what does this mean for the future of the sex toy?

Currently most people buy their prescription glasses from their local opticians, but over the next few years more and more people will start buying their glasses online and here are the top 5 reasons shopping for glasses online is better.

1. Convenience - People live much busier lives than at any other time in history, and many of us just don't have the time to go look at glasses during the day when the stores are open. Buying your prescription glasses over the internet allows you to shop 24 hours a day 7 days a week and holidays. Unfortunately most shops are not open at 2am, but websites have the advantage of never closing

2. Cost - let's say I want to open a prescription eyeglasses store; the first thing I am going to need to do is find a location for my store. This store is going to cost me money for rent, then I need to hire staff, this is more expenses, then I have to pay for electricity, water and rubbish removal. So before I even buy my stock I am paying thousands of pounds a month. But I can save myself on rent, rubbish removal, electricity and sales staff. By doing this I can charge you less then my land based competitors and still make the same if not more of a profit, and because the internet is worldwide I am not limited to selling my glasses to people in my immediate area like a local store would be, I can offer my products to people in need of prescription eyeglasses and fashionable frames all over the globe.

3. Service - In a store the staff is considered sales staff. It is their job to make sales, and they may even get a commission on each sale they make. In an online store they have no sales people. The only people would ever need to talk to would be customer service and their job is to help you with any problems of questions, but they are not trying to make a sale or get you to buy expensive additions that you do not need. The information they provide is aimed at helping you and not at getting you to spend more money.

4. Selection - since they do not need to rent a store for their online prescription glasses shop they don't have to worry about not having enough room to display as many different types of glasses as they want. This allows them to offer you more selections and styles, such as aviator frames for example, without having to pay for a bigger showroom. All they need to do is place pictures of the different glasses on their website at no extra cost and this allows them to offer you bigger selections and lower prices.

5. Price - I know I mentioned that online glasses are less expensive, but I want to make it clear that by buying your glasses online you can save up to 70% on your prescription glasses. This is significantly less then what you will pay in any store. As a matter of fact you can get 2 pairs and it will still be cheaper than a regular store.

As I said there are many reasons to switch to buying your glasses online, and once you have shopped online and seen how stress free and convenient it really is you will never want to walk into a regular store again.

It seems that geek has truly become ‘chic’ with a new survey revealing some surprising statistics about New Zealanders attitude to glasses.

The online survey [The OPSM Style Review, Online Survey, February 2010], commissioned by OPSM and conducted by an independent research company, confirms that prescription glasses are sexy and can even help when you’re applying for a job.

Six out of ten of those surveyed believe wearing glasses help improve your chances of getting a new job, and just over half of those surveyed believe colleagues take those who wear glasses more seriously.

Overall, glasses have class according to New Zealanders. Considering the appearance attributes of fashionable glasses, a solid 70 per cent or more of respondents think they make people look knowledgeable, likeable, professional, stylish, successful and trustworthy.

OPSM spokesperson Jason Dhana says the survey results speak for themselves.

“The survey clearly indicates the stigma attached to glasses is well and truly gone. A staggering 74% believe that glasses can make people look sexy – you would never have got a result like that ten years ago.”

On the fashion front, a massive 94 per cent of respondents agreed glasses are now more fashionable than ever.

“New Zealanders love their glasses and believe they can not only enhance their appearance, but job prospects too,” Jason says. “It’s exciting to see that people are now viewing glasses in a really positive light – they’re more stylish and popular than ever before.”

Results

The online survey was conducted by independent research company Stellar Market Research Pty Ltd in February 2010 among 482 respondents in New Zealand aged between 18 and 60+

60.6% believe wearing glasses helps improve employment chances

56.2% believe wearing glasses helps to make a better impression at a job interview

55.8% believe wearing glasses makes a positive first impression in the workplace

53.9% believe colleagues wearing glasses are taken more seriously

74.1% believe that glasses can make people look sexy

92.7% believe glasses are more stylish than they used to be

More than 1 in 4 would consider wearing glasses as a fashion accessory, even if they didn’t need them to see

76.6% have noticed someone wearing glasses and thought how great they looked

Glasses can make people look attractive (75.9%), authoritative (73.2%), confident (74.1%), creative (73.4%), credible (77%), hard-working (71.2), intelligent (78%), knowledgeable (77.2%), professional (78.2%), stylish (77.6%), trustworthy (73%) and successful (76.3%)

I meant to start this post kind of like this: “Of all the idiotic things I’ve seen in my life…” But MatthewG15 has been picked-on enough on his Flickr profile. So while others call him a retard, I just want to point out that he didn’t actually hurt anyone (but himself).

Our boy Matthew probably ran out of spots to tattoo so he decided to cross the line and tattoo his face. Apparently he couldn’t afford a pair of real glasses frames, so he tattooed one instead. Ok, you’re right, that was mean of me, but I’m thinking a real pair would have been cheaper and more practical. Not to mention these will look like crap when he’s a wrinkly old man.

Fortunately for Matty, he chose a timeless frame. Say what you like about him but the guy has taste.

www.doggles.com.au sells fashionable eyewear for dogs; some of it is for fun, some is protective, says owner Jill Doyle. Doyle bought the distribution business three years ago, and while she says consumers are price sensitive, pet owners love the practical benefits.

With goggles, you're stopping dust and dirt getting into the animal's eyes, she explains, as well as getting UV protection.

Farmers with working dogs are interested in doggie eyewear; owners with dogs on utes like them for the dust protection; and owners with breeds, such as German Shepherds, which are vulnerable to eye disease relating to UV light, also find them handy.

If your dog has had eye surgery, then goggles are also helpful. Jill Doyle, who owns a foxy chihuahua cross, says it's a full-time business, but you need a wider range so she has reflective travel vests, eco-friendly bowls made out of recycled plastic bottles, apparel, such as sweatshirts and jumpers ("Elderly people like to put a warm jumper on their dog,"), and monster toys and baby bears all made out of cotton.

Pets are children so they get treated in the same way. I haven't got into pet prams yet, that's a niche market for older women, who may have trouble walking, or for arthritic dogs. Doyle says the downturn hasn't really hit the pet industry hard: I wouldn't say we're recession proof, but it's a bit like your child, you don't deny your pet.

When it came to glasses frames, here at SeeInStyle.com we thought we’d seen it all. That was until we spotted these “Deluxe Prism Glasses” from www.bordersindependentliving.co.uk. Genius.

Apparently these babies are designed to fit over your regular glasses whilst allowing you to “read a book, watch TV”, or our personal favourite, “simply watch the world go by" whilst lying flat on your back. Classic.

We really have no idea what makes this particular model “Deluxe”. Perhaps it’s the adjustable ear piece, which according to the website, “can be adjusted with a heat gun”. That will be the heat gun that everyone keeps under the bed then, right? Or perhaps it’s the “vinyl case?” Presumably when they wrote "vinyl" they actually meant "solid gold" then. I digress.

Besides facilitating the bone idle, apparently these fashionable glasses are quite useful for people who have to endure MRI scans, have limited neck movement or simply “for those people who must wear a halo......” Honestly, you can’t make it up.

A new low for laziness. It's so absurd, I want to buy a pair. At £39.60 there's gotta be a cheaper place to buy them, but I'm simply too lazy to check.

Our advice, don’t get up, just get someone to buy them for you.

On sale from classiceyeglasses (via ebay) we found some eyeglasses for all you mythological Greek one-eyed beasts with vision problems. Bidding starts at $22.95. Hmmm, I see a problem.

So who would possibly want to buy such a thing?? Well, these glasses are for applying makeup. This 60's trend never really caught on so don't hurt yourself too much for forgetting (or not being born yet). The lens is on a hinge, and you can flip it side to side. This way you can apply makeup to one eye more accurately than with no glasses at all.

Haha, classiceyeglasses. Let's be friends.

Oliver Peoples' Emerson eyeglasses are the kind of item you'd likely find in the dressing room on the set of Mad Men. These are the glasses that Patrick Bateman makes reference to in American Psycho. Our favorite part about these retro-inspired glasses is the remarkable attention to detail. They're handmade using lightweight plastic and feature custom filigree core-wire detailing. The logo is far from ostentatious; it's subtly laminated at the end of the temple.

If the sight of these conjures up images of Old Hollywood or a bookworm circa 1960, you’re not too far off. The popularity of all things vintage and retro has made its way across menswear, including optical frames. The Emerson features a rounded eye, pin detailing and a unique vintage keyhole bridge, all of which emphasize its old-fashioned charm.

Though they're a favorite of the hipster crowd, this style can work for different guys. Pairing these with your 9-to-5 suit will look smart, but you can also wear these with slim jeans and a trench coat on weekends for added sophistication. However, because of their distinct shape, make sure they flatter your face, personality and style before committing to them.

Let’s break down the trend factor: If you’re looking for a fun alternative that makes more of a fashion statement, then luxury eyewear (with its luxury price tag) is not necessary. You can find something retro at a lower price point. Check out the frames in the "New Formal" range at seeinstyle.com for our Bateman inspired collections.

The guy who will get the most wear out of these is the one who has adopted this retro aesthetic as his personal style. He’ll wear it with a suit, jeans or even lounging around in his underwear.