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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: 3, Informative) by dwmoody on Wednesday July 09 2014, @05:32PM
I disagree with the entire premise of the article. I've never seen anyone who I thought looked more attractive while wearing sunglasses. I find the inability to look someone in the eye to be disconcerting in and of itself, as well as the fact that I am deprived of an important element of visual feedback during a conversation. I suspect that this is why law enforcement officers stereotypically wear sunglasses while doing traffic stops - I'm pretty sure they aren't too concerned with looking "hot."