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From Science of Us:
You know you're at least a little curious. And so was Vanessa Brown, a senior lecturer of art and design at Nottingham Trent University in the U.K. Her research focuses on the meaning we assign to commonplace, everyday objects, and in an academic book that's coming out early next year, she explores the cultural and psychological relationship between sunglasses and our modern idea of "cool." In an email to Science of Us, Brown explained what her research has uncovered about why most of us look better in shades.
Because they really do make your misshapen face look better. Put on a pair of sunglasses, and voilà - instant symmetry! The dark lenses cover up any asymmetrical oddities around your eyes, and research on facial attractiveness shows a clear link between symmetry and our perception of beauty.
As an added bonus, Brown pointed out, sunglasses provide a kind of scaffolding effect, imposing the appearance of an external, extra-chiseled bone structure on top of your relatively softer-featured face.
Two other detailed reasons are also given.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday July 09 2014, @01:45PM
Comment 1: WRT symmetry. If the reason the guys are staring at the hottie in the picture is merely symmetry, then the starfish tank at the zoo should be like an utter orgiastic bacchanalian riot spurting with uncontrollable animal grunts and moans of pleasure on a sticky slippery floor. You know, like a video game release party at gamestop. Yet, it turns out starfish are just kinda "eh" to most people, despite having more axes of symmetry than the sunglass wearing hottie in the pix.
Comment 2: WRT lighting. People seem more attractive when illuminated by a nice sunny day than say, dim CRT illumination. Perhaps, there is an aspect of repeatability that a person who escapes the basement on a regular basis generally appears healthier and also feels the need to buy and wear sunglasses because of all that time outdoors. Look at that dark blob in the shadows over there, isn't she the cutest dark blob in the shadows you've ever barely seen? vs she's illuminated like a runway model and every square inch looks fabulous and as I stare I get to see more square inches as she bounces around on stage.
Comment 3: WRT activity. People wear sunglasses while having fun, or seeing other people have fun... This never comes up in discussion of the sexiness of wearing sunglasses while shoveling manure into the garden, or while pumping out a septic tank, its always, "wearing sunglasses while suntanning in the string bikini on the beach and flirtatiously applying suntan oil allllll over and sensually rubbing it into her skin". Even if they aren't doing stuff like that in the pix, there's still that historical connection. Last time I saw a girl wearing sunglasses looking exactly like that she was... even if she's just walking her dog today. So yeah, historically my experience is a girl in sunglasses is having a lot more fun than one changing diapers or whatever, so by association...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 09 2014, @02:10PM
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Jesus_666 on Wednesday July 09 2014, @07:16PM
WRT your comment on lighting: The presence of sunglasses is orthogonal to ambient lighting conditions. There are bright pictures of people without sunglasses and there are dim pictures of people wearing them. Likewise, even basement dwellers can put on sunglasses and, amazingly enough, runway models often don't wear them on the runway. The effect sunglasses have on a person's appearance are irrespective of lighting conditions.
WRT your activity comment: That may be true; there certainly is an association of sunglasses with an active, fun lifestyle. Then again, skiers tend to wear ski goggles, which are certainly connected to an active, fun lifestyle but aren't terribly attractive if worn with anything but skiing gear. Imagine, for instance, how silly The Matrix would've looked with everyone in trenchcoats and ski goggles. While the association with fun activities may be relevant it's certainly not everything. It's perfectly compatible with the findings from TFA, though, so it may be a contributing factor.