You can’t discuss fashion in Bangkok for long before mentioning Korea.
Korean influence is everywhere – look at the blunt bangs paired with tousled locks, the oversized head bows and the extravagantly painted nails. But nowhere is the Korean influence more apparent than in the large, liquid brown eyes of teen girls across the city.
It’s no exaggeration to say that big eye contact lenses divide the nation.
For some, they are creepy and weird. For others, they are a fun, playful way to make yourself look a little bit more like a Manga cartoon. And who doesn’t want that? Apparently not everyone, as my best friend and I have had many a heated discussion on the topic.
Myself? I love them. I realized the powerful allure of them one afternoon in Dean & Deluca. The waiter was wearing a pair, and I found myself gazing adoringly into the chocolatey pools of his eyes. Seriously, he could have got me to buy anything in there that day.
The moment I could peel my eyes away from his, I purchased a pair of the contacts (emerald green, to disguise my blue eyes). I tested them in the UK where the feedback was generally that I looked like I’d taken some kind of opiate. Whatever, I love them. And if I could ever find a pair in my prescription again, I’d wear them all the time.
While I don’t resemble a Manga cartoon in any way and am probably far too old to be trying them out, I maintain that on young Asian girls rocking the cutesy look and some ridiculously over-the-top eyeliner and false lashes, big eye contact lenses are fun. And isn’t that what fashion is about? Especially in your teens.
Sure, you can see the color obscuring your vision a little when your pupil dilates; sure you’re probably not supposed to buy prescription lenses at Victory Monument street market and sure, they make you look a little freakish. But, if you put all that aside, they are really rather great.
