Vanessa Brown, a senior lecturer of art at Nottingham University, explores the cultural and psychological relation between sunglasses and our modern idea of "cool." Her research has uncovered about why most of us look better in shades. Because they really make your misshapen face look better. Put on a pair of sunglasses, and an instant beauty as a result of balance! The dark lenses cover up any unbalanced oddities  around your eyes, and research on facial attractiveness shows a clear link between balance and our sense of beauty. Because of mystery. Many of the quick judgments we form about people come from looking in the eyes; shade yours, and you're instantly a more attractive presence. Eye contact helps us form judgments about someone's intelligence, confidence, and sincerity and sunglasses keep us literally in the dark about forming those perceptions. And it works both ways, because the wearer of the sunglasses feels more mysterious, too. Because of their historical link with sharpness and attraction. We take their existence for granted today, but sunglasses are relatively modern, Brown said. Sales started to pick up in the 1920s, but they didn't become commonplace until about two decades after that. The way sunglasses were most used prior to their commercialization helps explain their inside coolness, Brown said, because in their early days sunglasses were primarily used during risky water and snow sports, which made them seem "daring and totally modern." Soon after that, Hollywood stars of the 1950s and 1960s started wearing sunglasses to defend themselves from being recognized by the public or bothered by paparazzi , whose flashbulbs would often explode violently, Brown said. Anyhow, movie stars' adoption of them strengthened a sense of romance. Also--and this is more from my own personal research than Brown's--hang-overs. They're really great for hiding hang-overs. Which of the following would Vanessa Brown agree with?
Sunglasses deliver mystery to the observers as well as the wearers. Sunglasses were mainly used in risky sports after their commercialization. Sunglasses are relatively modern and they became commonplace in the 1920s. Sunglasses cover up unbalanced oddities on the face to give people a sense of mystery.