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 got my first pair aged 4 having just started school. The first thing I said leaving the opticians was how dirty my grandads car was!

I got my first pair of glasses just before I was 30. At first, in my vanity, I was delighted that they made me look intelligent and deep thinking! But then I looked out of the window and saw a tree! I could see actual leaves! I'd only ever seen an impression of a tree, but suddenly I could see individual leaves swaying in the breeze! Wow!

I have been a Specsavers customer since I got my first glasses aged 9 (it's our 25 year anniversary this year, Specsavers!). I vividly remember my Mum dropping them off at school along with wrapping paper to cover my jotter. They were purple that faded into blue (ahead-of-its-time ombre!). They were delivered just before morning play and my teacher wouldn't let me wear them outside. I remember being pretty put out I'd finally been able to see, just to be told to take them off again.

I am in need of new glasses, but I have been putting it off as my prescription is reasonably strong (-4.25, -5.00) so I need my lenses to be ground down. I would spend £250 on buying myself lovely new Specsavers glasses with light lenses to celebrate our 25 years together

Ahem ^^^ qualified by nickname

I was eight. It's in the family so was inevitable. I had NHS 'John Lennon' ones and as this was circa 1982 it was those or the plastic Dame Edna ones or nothing. As tortoishell rims were SO deeply unfashionable (no idea why) I took the plastic covering off and they were gold coloured. For my entire childhood I had to have new ones every six months as my eyes changed so quickly.

I've tried contact lenses many times but I have astigmatism and the contacts for these are thicker and uncomfortable. I'm resigned getting the most swishy and glam glasses I can get away with

I can't remember exactly how old I was - early teens. I didn't like it actually, I felt the world looked very sharp and unfriendly with specs on!

I was about 12 and the NHS choice was limited in the late 70s. I chose first of all transparent plastic frames as opposed to transparent pink, blue or brown. I graduated to John Lennon frames later on.
I suddenly realised that everyone did not have perfect skin; a pleasing revelation!
My wow moment was walking past a field with horses in and noticing water droplets on them and on the leaves of trees around them. Even at 12 I was aware that I was going to have to stick with my glasses as I had been missing out on so much. The world was both less perfect and more perfect, all at the same time.

I had 20/20 vision every time I had my eyes tested for years.

But I always knew I'd need them one day as both my parents were longsighted and both got glasses for the first time, the same day as eachother when mum was 47 and dad was 45.

When I got my first pair I was 47, too. To have lived your whole life without needing them then getting them at that age was strangely quite a shock - even though I knew it would happen one day. Because your whole life you have got used to your face without glasses!

My mother got her first glasses very shortly before she died, and of all the flotsam and jetsom of her life, sum total of everything she owned, one of the few things of her's that survived into my adulthood, was her glasses in their original case. They fit me perfectly and the prescription must have been the same as my first one. When a family member had a retro themed wedding, I went wearing my mum's glasses. It felt like she was there, too.

Getting my first glasses was life-changing as the degeneration in my sight had probably been slow and so I hadn't realised I was having difficulty; holding things further and further away so I could read them, etc. But I do a lot of crafts and also in my 40s started developing and selling designs which meant my whole life suddenly revolved around being able to see fine costume details clearly! I also work with colour a lot - so I literally couldn't do what I do without good vision. I have no doubt when I got glasses, my attention to details improved and the number of tiny errors I made went down!

Tips for first timers? When you shop for glasses, see it like paying out for a good, new hair-cut or special clothes or jewellery. Treat yourself!

I first realised I needed glasses when I was 15 in my geography class. We were putting on a friends glasses and I looked out of the window and suddenly the blurry leaves on the trees looked clear. All those years of sitting at the back and not seeing the blackboard properly made sense as was constantly being told off for talking when I was asking someone what was written on the board.
I use specsavers for my glasses and contact lenses and think their service is excellent.

I was 11 when I first got glasses. I was so short-sighted I could only see the A at the top of the letter chart at the opticians! I didn't wear my glasses as much as I should though, I'd got used to navigating the world without them and they made me feel very self-conscious at first, especially at school. When I left home I got contact lenses, but since having a child I'm back in glasses full time - much cheaper and easier to take off at the end of the day!

I was 26 when I started to wear glasses - just before i got married.

I absolutely hated it. I'd been getting dreadful headaches with nausea and vomiting - couldn't concentrate at work and it was pretty horrible. So being able to see properly was quite nice - once the initial headaches wore off.

But the actual getting glasses bit was horrible. I hate wearing them and I was really self conscious - even in front of my (now) DH. I wouldn't wear them around the house at first, I was quite embarrassed.

Although they are still far from a "favourite accessory" I'm resigned to the fact that I need them. Too scared to try contacts but vanity has taken a back seat!

I got my first pair when I was 14. I had no clue that I needed glasses, I thought what I coul see was normal. I walked out of the opticians that day amazed. I could see people on the other side of the street, read bus numbers. People used to wave at me across the street and I would ignore them because I couldn't see their faces. I felt elated just to be normal!

I got my first pair when I was about six (this was in the 1960 s!). I got them from the little optician in our high street (well before Specsavers days) and I have never forgotten walking out of the shop and seeing actual things in the actual windows of the other shops! It had always been a complete blur to me as I was very very short sighted. School had not really been an issue as teachers of 5 year olds did not use boards much then - books, dancing around, games ... so I don't remember things changing a lot there, but the fun of going shopping was incredible. Still love shop windows! (Guess how I'd spend the prize ....)

I had my first pair of glasses aged three, following a bout of measles, which not only damaged my eyesight, but left me cross eyed as well. I had an operation to correct my squint; this was followed by glasses and fortnightly visits to the hospital to do exercises to improve my eyesight.

I hated my glasses. They were round, pink NHS ones (there was no choice for children back in the 1960s). I cried a lot and didn't want to wear them. My mother used to tie them on, so I had no choice. I kept losing the lenses - they would fall out, necessitating us all combing the garden to find the missing lens. I managed to snap the glasses in half - my father repaired them with a blob of araldite, and repaired the bit that went over my ear with some duct tape. There is one photo of me in my glasses - a small, plain child, dressed in a tweed coat with a velvet collar, glaring at the camera. I always took them off for school photographs, and remember the complete blur that was my normal vision.

I had glasses until I was eight, and was deemed no longer to need them. The relief of being able to get rid of them was huge. My daughter wears glasses now, and I am so glad she is not forced to wear something as hideous as these!

I was seventeen, learning to drive and my dad realised I couldn't see the traffic lights down the road I love my glasses now and wouldn't be without them!

I got my first glasses at university after I realised everyone else could see the front of the lecture theatre except me.
DH got glasses as a child & remembers being amazed that he could see individual leaves on trees and blades of grass, rather than just green.

SirChenjin I had the brown NHS ones as well. I broke so many pairs in various accidents as a child. Even by sitting on them (I'd had to take them off for a shower after PE at school.)

I got my first glasses I believe when I was 14. I felt like I looked like a geek and at that time I wasn't aware of picking glasses out that were fashionable or that made me look good so as you can imagine I looked like a geek. I then switched to coloured contact lenses which made me look quite nice. I only recently decided to switch things a bit and wear glasses again except obviously I'm now fashion conscious and picked some amazing glasses.

I was 10 years old and had never had a proper eye test before. My big sister convinced me to go telling me its a great feeling to be told you have 20/20 vision.

Turned out I didn't!

I was prescribed glasses for being shortsighted and chose a big pink pair of specs.

I remember wearing them to school for the first time and suddenly being able to read what was written on the black board (yes it was in the old days of black boards!) and I remember thinking how much uglier the boys in the class looked compared to how I thought they looked when I wasn't wearing glasses.

I did regret my choice of specs because when my dad first saw them he thought they were joke specs and told me to take them off. Thankfully there are much nicer styles available these days and I'm now proud to wear glasses.

I walked out onto Oxford Street, early evening and remember thinking how beautiful the twinkling lights were. I hadn't realised until then how much I needed them.

I have to wear them now for reading as I've suffered from headaches for years when I do close sighted stuff like that for too long. But I wouldn't say I need them for anything else, I don't wear them when I'm out because I can see perfectly well it's just that my eyes get strained. I don't mind them though, I used to think they'd be really uncomfortable and now I'm just ok with them.

Thankfully I don't yet wear glasses. Fingers crossed

I got my glasses at age 10 and my parents let me wait till the Summer holidays to get used to them before going back to school and by then, I was so used to wearing them, I didn't think twice about it at school.

I didn't wear glasses until I started driving lessons. I felt uncomfortable in them to start with but these days styles have really improved and feel the compliment me.

I was in my twenties when I had my eyes tested and found I needed glasses. Wow what a difference I didn't realise that I had poor vision