Core77
I have no idea if the viability of this product emerged A) because of the pandemic, and an increased willingness for some to cover their faces with a mask or face shield, or B) because Cobra Commander held more cultural cachet than I thought. But full-face sunglasses like these are now being sold on Amazon, eBay and even Etsy.
At least one of the Amazon sellers has over 2,000 reviews for this product, and while there's no telling how many are fake, there are enough real-seeming ones to indicate these things really exist, and people really are buying them.
My question is, why? I'm sincerely curious as to what the benefit is: Do they block glare better? Are the people buying these hoping to stymie face-rec cameras in public? Is there a perception that these provide protection from the virus? Do people just like the way they look?
Other questions: Where and how do you store these? Do you keep them on when you go to the bathroom? Does it give you a weird tan line? How comfortable is that nose piece, are these not heavy on your face?
These are going for $16 to $18, so maybe it's just that they're cheap enough for the curious to roll the dice on them.
If you've got answers as to what the draw is, I'm all ears. (And with my ears, if I wore one of these that's the only feature you'd see.)
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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So, Full-Face Sunglasses are a Thing
It probably came from somewhere in the Asian skincare world. Protecting your face from UV is a big big thing, though it usually isn't thuis silly looking.
The generation that gave us JNCO jeans and Affliction tees has some thoughts about youth fashion.
My cousin's band all got these similar half shields and made the cover of Offbeat Magazine. I imagine, its a look for them. The Iceman Special
confirming, once again, that yanks are both idiots and sheep.
I think I know what is going on here. These are left over full face shields from the pandemic. You could and properly still can buy these exact same face shields with clear plastic. Just a simple cheap sunglass coating and you got a viable product post-pandemic.
As someone who (used to) cycle commute in areas with dangerous traffic who also wears glasses, I found that the "over glasses" sunglasses frames block too much of my peripheral vision, so I tried the "half face" version of this and felt much more confident about my awareness of my surroundings, not to mention catching a few satisfyingly long, confused glances from tourists. I don't know I'd consider them critical safety gear, but I definitely feel safer moving through intersections and the like without thick opaque plastic frames narrowing my field of view.