Do you wear glasses? Please share your memory of wearing them for the first time and your tips on getting them for the first time with Specsavers - you could win £250 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at Specsavers would love to hear your story of when you first put on a pair of glasses and realised what you were missing - did you have that "wow" moment? How life changing it is to have your vision corrected for the first time? They'd also love to hear your tips for other people on wearing specs for the first time - whether they are for a long or short sighted prescription.

Specsavers say "when you choose Specsavers Opticians you are in safe hands - as shown by a YouGov 2014 survey*, Specsavers has been voted the most trusted optician in the UK. We always completely follow the guidelines set out by the General Optical Council - this means that all our glasses are professionally fitted under the supervision of a qualified optician. Every pair of glasses is individually made to meet your vision requirements and lifestyle needs - your dispenser will check that your new glasses fit properly and that you have clear, comfortable vision, making any necessary adjustments to ensure a perfect fit – making getting that first pair a easy!"

Share your thoughts and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 voucher from here

Please note Specsavers may use your comments - anon of course - on their pages on MN, on their social media or possibly elsewhere - please only post if you're happy with this.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

I remember seeing the details of the leaves on a tree - this was age about 7 - and just thinking it was amazing, as I'd never seen anything so clearly before!

First glasses at 12 I think. I only noticed much later that I had no depth perception without my glasses, due to having one eye very much weaker than the other.

I was 10 when I got my first pair of glasses. I had the morning off school to go and pick them up. They were the chunky brown plastic NHS ones (my Gran had exactly the same style!!!). I was mortified. I went back into school and the teacher announced to the whole class that I had new glasses and I was to put them on and show everyone. I think it was possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life. I hated them.
I moved onto contact lenses as soon as I could, but wore them too much and got an eye infection. I then made it my priority to get a Saturday job with Specsavers so that I could earn enough money to buy myself some nice glasses. I worked for Specsavers for years, even through University. I learned so much about glasses and lenses and became a dispensing optician. I am still extremely fussy about my glasses, and am so glad that children these days have much more choice about what they wear and much cooler styles to choose from!!

I had to get glasses I think at infant school towards the end. It wasn't great. I didn't get NHS ones but they were still hideous and didn't suit me. I look back know at the pictures and laugh but it didn't feel great at the time and I was so so glad to get contact lenses a few years later.

I would recommend people take a friend to pick glasses and see what they think of the frames but to try out lots of styles and see what feels best and looks good.

These days loads of frames and glasses are super fashionable so its great news for myopic peeps.

I got my first glasses at approx age 9
I was worried about what children at school would say
My mum led my decision
There wasn't much choice 40 years ago
Now I do use spec savers. I love the choice of designer frames
As a kid there was little choice
My daughter got glasses at age 17 and chose 2 great pairs
One day and one funky
Its great they can nowadays be a fashion statement!

I remember the day at the beginning of Senior School when I was 12 that I had an eye test and was told I needed glasses. I just used to sit nearer the board to see I thought it was natural not to be able to see as far! My mother chose these horrid dark brown national health glasses which I absolutely hated. I still can't wear those kind which have come back into fashion now. When I was older I got contact lenses but after my son was born I went back to glasses as lenses got smeary with creams used on baby. So SpecSavers now save the day with a fabulous range of thin gold rimmed and half rimmed specs which I love. They've sorted my astigmatism out too and I always have a variety of tests.

I've worn glasses since I was only 5 or 6 - so long that I can hardly remember being without them. My mum loves to tell the story about when I first got them and told her with amazement that the trees looked so sharp! Everything has been fuzzy till then and I hadn't even known it! I do remember as a child taking my glasses off at Christmas so I could look at the fairy lights on the tree - they looked so beautiful and ethereal when they were out of focus.

First glasses when about 6...great I could see but they were NHS PINK...then I had NHS Blue....thenI threw them out of a window and my poor single parent Mum bought me a pair!...Am still ashamed 39years later.Great being able to read properly.My mumtook me to Moorfields as she never does anything by halves.
I now use specsavers for me and partner and children....they are great!

I was always getting into trouble in junior school for not finishing my work or getting it wrong. This has something to do with me sitting in the back of the class and not being able to see the blackboard. Then I got my first pair of NHS specs, I hated wearing them but my school work improved no-end, it was such a joy to see the blackboard and keep up with all the other kids. I could not imagine not wearing my glasses now they are part of my face

I don't wear glasses but I DO have a glasses-related confession.. When I was about 7 - I idolised my cousin who was 6 years older than more, wore glasses & was COOL! I was desperate to be more like her & getting myself some glasses seemed the ideal way to start. I told my Mum I couldn't see to read & my eyes were hurting & she took me to the opticians. I lied my way through every test that put me through - please remember I was 7 & I would NEVER do this now!! - said I couldn't see any letters on the chart, couldn't read close up or far away, couldn't make out shapes, etc, etc. I attended a few appointments & on the last one they put eye drops in which meant my vision was blurry for 4 or 5 hours afterwards. I never did get glasses, & I never confessed to being a complete fibber. I later looked at my medical notes when at the GP surgery & it was marked as 'hysterical amblyopia' - I felt terrible that my fibbing had a name!!
I feel awful now & would never waste anyone's time like that again.
I still think glasses are cool though & I look forward to shopping for my first pair in Specsavers at the first sign of my vision dropping below 20/20! :D

I was around 25 and remember being amazed at the detail I could see the other side of a pub on a Friday night and maybe a good looking bloke!!! I thought I couldn't see just because it was dark and badly lit...alas no I just need glasses on! Who knows how many blokes smiling at me I missed!!

I was 7 when I had to start wearing glasses, I got bullied at school, 4eyes blind as a bat, she doesnt eat her carrots..... all the names etc I hated having to wear them, I already got bulied but this just gave tge bullies more amo. My glasses were NHS specials gees they were awful, I used to lose them on purpose leave them in the toilets, on the bus, in shops. I thought tgat eventually mum wouldnt bother getting me anymore, how wrong was I! I must have set a record for the amount I lost or broke (accidentally on purpose)
Each pair outdid the previous ones. I never told my mum, I dont know if she ever knew? By the time I started senior school I gave up and wore them, mum even haf my name scratched down the arms luckily on the inside I think I would havd wanted the ground to swallow me if it had been on the outside! By the time I was 20 I finally got a nice stylish pair! Thankfully youngsters today get the choice of really lovely glasses and i hope with all my heart that none of them get bullied now? But so important to wear them

I was 7 when I had to start wearing glasses, I got bullied at school, 4eyes blind as a bat, she doesnt eat her carrots..... all the names etc I hated having to wear them, I already got bulied but this just gave tge bullies more amo. My glasses were NHS specials gees they were awful, I used to lose them on purpose leave them in the toilets, on the bus, in shops. I thought tgat eventually mum wouldnt bother getting me anymore, how wrong was I! I must have set a record for the amount I lost or broke (accidentally on purpose)
Each pair outdid the previous ones. I never told my mum, I dont know if she ever knew? By the time I started senior school I gave up and wore them, mum even haf my name scratched down the arms luckily on the inside I think I would havd wanted the ground to swallow me if it had been on the outside! By the time I was 20 I finally got a nice stylish pair! Thankfully youngsters today get the choice of really lovely glasses and i hope with all my heart that none of them get bullied now? But so important to wear them

I got my first glasses at 11 (now 35).

I had been complaining about not being able to see the board at school properly.

I remember when I got them that I could see all the individual leaves on the trees and I hadn't realised I'd not been able to see them that clearly beforehand.

I wear contact lenses more now. I have a love/hate relationship with glasses. As you can imagine, my eyes have deteriorated considerably over the years, so my lenses are very thick even after being ultra thinned. This means I struggle to find a pair of glasses I love. I'm hoping eventually I will and I can wear my glasses more.

I was 5. I couldn't see my mum waiting for me at the school fence. Getting glasses opened up a world of vision. However I'm so severely short sighted that I feel my life was really transformed at 14 when I got my first contact lenses - no more getting broken glasses playing PE and having to navigate the rest of the day and the journey home blind, no more double vision, headaches and weight on my face, fogging up in winter and sliding off in summer. I love Specsavers for introducing me to lenses I can even sleep in - a massive bonus since we go camping regularly with our historical reenactment group.

When i was first told i needed glasses it was a terrible feeling i thought omg im going blind, it can be quite catastrophic. But it wasnt it was good it was amazing feeling being able to see things as silly as the number on a bus or see the bee on a flower rather than a blur. Even now when i get a new pair of glasses its a WOW as i never really notice how bad eyes get till you get new glasses.
I have had NHS glasses and i have had designer all do the job but when you buy them look at yourself if you feel ok then thats the pair for you i had a assistant once tell me a pair looked great and i hated them and it was the most uncomfortable feeling knowing you hate them because you think everyone is staring and looking at you thinking the same. Cost isnt everything try all prices and styles till you find whats comfortable and your happy with. I like to be able to see out the side of mine one pair had the blocked arm and i hated it as i couldnt glance out the side quickly had to turn my head ..never again lol.

Opticians are great my last optician found i had something wrong with my eye as when i had the eye test the red and green circle test i had wiggly tadpoles and a curved vision, i am now under the hospital as they found i have a cyst sitting behind my eye distorting my vision.they said they have never seen it before but now they have new equipment things like this can be seen.
I would consider contacts but with my dodgy eye i cant see it helping at moment but hopefully one day i might experience them.
I would also say if you do opt for glasses get the sunglasses too im never without mine.
Glasses for the first time can take a bit of getting used to what with the giddy feeling but it passes after a couple of days, plus the misting up when you go from hot to cold and back again lol all fun wish they had wipers though for when it rains lol :)

I longed to wear glasses. In the very late 80's lots of my favourite actors wore glasses and I really wanted a pair. I bought some pretend ones from some random shop.
Then wonder of wonders the optician said I needed them.
I love choosing frames and because my prescription hasn't changed for some years I've got several pairs that I can choose from depending on my outfit.
I wear contact lenses for my mountain climbing and ski-ing but I love my glasses.
The right frames are like the right wedding dress. You just know when you put the frames on.
If only 'they' could develop a coating that minimises the look of fine lines under the eyes that would be grate.

I bought my first pair when I was 23. I'd been delaying to buy them after seeing an optician, who told me I was short-sighted, but I was delighted to see the difference after wearing them for the first time: everything was so clear. I didn't realise that my eyesight was so bad by that time. I clearly remember constant headaches while wearing them in front of the computer. However they didn't last long - my daughter broke them 'nicely' when she was 15 months or so.

My first pair were the brown-rimmed NHS ones with springy steel ear grabbers (!) and that was over 45 years ago, but I really don't remember how young I was at the time.

Over the years, I've obviously had a few new pairs, and like so many others, leave wearing them feeling like the environment just became a lot crisper / sharper. The most important pair for me were bought shortly before a holiday to the Far East. With just 2-3 weeks to go, back in 1978, the weather was chilly and ice on the ground meant I slipped and broke my brand new glasses. Back then it was a few days to get replacements, but our family optician moved heaven and earth so I'd have a replacement pair in time for the 2 weeks trip to some of the sunniest places I've been.

Must get my eyes tested again (high blood pressure) but the cost of photochromic (react in sunlight, and chosen particularly for that Far Eastern holiday, way back when) are never that cheap, sadly. Hate the 'two for the price of 1' offers, too, as they generally exclude any extra coatings or special requirements usually (not just at Specsavers, I hasten to add).

I may not go to Specsavers this time (think they were my choice only when an independent closed down), as both pairs I had seemed too loose (and at different times have fallen off me head when looking down, leading to a chunk missing from the lens after it hit the ground). I still wear a pre-Specsavers pair when I need to go out or do DIY, as I know those won't slip off so easily.

I remember being amazed that I could see the blades of grass on the lawn instead of just a green blur. My advice would be to wear them all the time. I was told just to wear them for watching TV or looking at the blackboard but wearing them all the time was much more useful.

Was a bit of a shock, just how much of the world I had not been seeing.

I marvelled at the bricks on the buildings in Manchester, detail I had clearly not seen for years!

I started wearing them at the age of 8 or so. On the way back from the optician's I kept excitedly reading to my mum the names above shops, and numbers on buses. I had never seen them before.

I got my first pair of glasses at age 4 and I truly believed they were 'eagle eyes' I vividly recall standing in the playground at school, and, using my magic 'eagle eyes' I would be able to scan the playground for treasure - and see through the walls into the teachers staffroom - I had a very vivid imagination as a child but those glasses (as well as being necessary, gave me hours of fun!)