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 was 6 and got used to wearing it pretty fast. Tel them its cool to wear glasses

I was 9 when I was taken for an eye test after complaining for 2 years I wasn't seeing properly.

At the time there were 'NHS frames' and I tried them on, my mother didn't like the way any looked so we looked at other frames and I got some pink plastic frames with metal edges.

I went to school with my new glasses, 2 or 3 others in the class wore glasses but had NHS frames so I was a bit nervous of being different.

After I came home from school my mum asked me if anyone had said anything about my glasses, I replied, "they call me Elton John".

My real 'wow' moment was getting contact lenses, I was 14 and although I should have been wearing my glasses all the time I didn't.

The optician put the lenses in and sent me to walk around the town centre with my dad who was shocked at me saying things like 'Oh I can read the name of that shop on the other side of the road'.

By the time I was 16 I was mixing between lenses and glasses and I remember Art classes where we were given a 'setting' to paint, often a bit of fruit and a glass, I would take my glasses off to do smudgy background and then put them on for detail.

I was a teenager, when I first started to wear glasses a boy told me I looked cool. I never wanted to get them off after that!

I'll share a different story with you all. I've had glasses since I was 18 months old - I'm 25 now. I was under the hospital ophthalmology department from a young age, til around 15.

The things I'll never forget are, being offered squint correction surgery aged 14, I think my response was "I'm going to be normal" plus lots of tears. Then a year or so later being told I was being discharged from hospital back into my local optician - no tears but a day I thought would never come after years of 6 monthly hospital visits.

My advice for choosing glasses is, don't be swayed by other people, and try not to be swayed by price. You want a frame that reflects who you are and your lifestyle. Also don't be afraid to go in and try things before your appointment day, so you're not caught off guard when told you can choose some new frames.

Oh and this goes without saying but if you're not happy with your optician then go elsewhere - I ended up at a tiny local one as all the big ones couldn't thin my lenses enough at the time when I was looking for an optician. Now I wouldn't go anywhere else.

I wear glasses for reading and did find it difficult to come to terms with wearing them. More a question of having to admit I needed them!
I wouldn't consider contact lenses though. I am sure I couldn't cope with something in my eyes and would have great difficulty in putting them in.

Don't wear glasses

I got my first glasses when I was 8. I remember looking out of my bedroom window and being amazed that I could see birds in the garden trees.

I'm very short sighted and literally couldn't leave my bedroom without glasses or contact lenses. My tip to new wearers is to give it time to get used to them. I always find it takes a few days before my sight adjusts. Take the advice of the staff in specsavers too when choosing the frames. They always know which ones suit my face and pick ones that I would never have tried on my own.

I got my first glasses when I was 14 and realised I had to stop sitting at the back of the class with the bad girls and sit at the front to see. My advice is don't go with the fashion (I did and looked awful) and take your time in finding what suits you.

Yes, I wear glasses. I got my first pair when I was 24 after I had been working in an admin job for over a year.

The first time I wore glasses, it was hard to get used to them. I would suggest getting lenses that are anti-glare as I could actually the reflection of the white of my eye in my glasses and it was so off-putting. Now that I have anti-glare lenses, sometimes I forget I'm even wearing glasses.

I would also suggest buying larger lensed glasses, not the narrow ones. I have narrow frames and I can see the outline of the frames as I'm wearing them and wish I would've invested in geeky glasses instead of chic.

I was eight, and they were very eighties-tastic!

Walking home from the opticians was disorientating, but I was excited at being able to see into people's windows as I walked past!

I first got glasses after been in a car accident, at first they were really strange but now they are a fashion accessory

I wear specs for reading and found a pair that I really liked that made me look like a slightly severe teacher with authority - even my children seem to respect me more when I'm wearing them. If I have to go somewhere which intimidates me I always don my specs.

I have been lucky and not needed glasses until nearly my 4th decade. I had been having dizzy spells at work and a few headaches, so eventually went for an eye test. It was a relief to find out it was simply down to me developing short-sightedness and nothing worse! It was actually fun choosing some nice frames! I don't fancy the idea of contact lenses so will stick to glasses.

Not until six years ago .I only need them for reading and so at first I kept forgetting to take them out with me.
Specsavers provided a friendly service and helped me to choose suitable frames.

I got my first pair age 9 after a few years of squinting at the blackboard and copying my neighbour's notes at school because I couldn't see. When I put them on for the first time I was almost traumatised! The world was so vivid and almost fake looking, I felt like I was walking around in a cartoon and it didn't seem real. Was handy to see what number bus was coming though.

I first needed glasses at work as I was working on computers. Glasses in those days weren't as glamorous as they are now but they can now be an accessory

ive worn glasses since i was 14 , im now 36. mine are for reading/close work so i dont need them all the time. The first time i wore them i felt special as there was only 1 other person in my class with glasses. my 2 older children both wear glasses too. my daughter has had them since she was 3 and my son has had them since he was 8

I first got glasses at 16 which for me was the end of the world! I absolutely hated them and avoided wearing them whenever possible. My biggest tip for wearing them would be to spend AGES choosing. I chose a pair just because another girl at school had them and they looked great...on her. On me - AWFUL. Choose a pair that suit you and you will be more confident and comfortable in them!

My very first glasses were NHS huge rimmed ones and I hated them! However, I did get my first wow moment when I was older and purchased a new pair of glasses for driving! I could not believe that I had dared to drive without them in the past!!

I first got glasses at 16 which for me was the end of the world! I absolutely hated them and avoided wearing them whenever possible. My biggest tip for wearing them would be to spend AGES choosing. I chose a pair just because another girl at school had them and they looked great...on her. On me - AWFUL. Choose a pair that suit you and you will be more confident and comfortable in them!

I started wearing them as a teenager and I was so upset at having to wear them, I really didn't want to be bullied!

I got my first pair of glasses when I was 14 - I hated having to wear them, but my Mum helped out by putting together loads of pictures of celebs wearing glasses. It definitely made a difference, and I think wearing glasses is actually pretty cool now!

I moved on to contact lenses and then ended up having laser eye surgery, but more for convenience than fashion as I was VERY short sighted. Although now I've finally realised - I actually look quite good in specs!!

I got glasses a few years ago age 36 because I kept getting dry eyes at work looking at computer screens. Went to Specsavers and they tested me and said I should benefit from glasses. Unfortunately I always get very dizzy after eye tests so it was a while before I could choose some, and it was just as letterbox-style glasses had come into fashion. I complained I kept looking round the frames instead of through them and was told I'd just have to get used to it. After a few months I still couldn't walk without falling over and gave up on them.
I'm now 40 and my eyesight got bad enough I couldn't read the TV screen, so I've pulled the glasses out again. It makes screens look like high-definition without paying for it! I'm using them quite a bit, but still can't walk in them without falling over, or eat my dinner as I end up looking under them and getting food in my nose. I have no sense of balance and crap proprioception, so rely on vision instead to know where my hands are and whether I'm upright.

I did wear them at university but never found that they helped to be honest. I have been slack and now bothered since. I really should get another eye test to be honest. Thanks for the reminder!

Perhaps I just didn't need them at that point despite being told that they would be helpful. I have had a subsequent test and told all was okay and they were not needed. Very odd!

no i don't wear glasses