Designer sunglasses are effortlessly cool – and they’re pretty much compulsory when it comes to cop shows.
Designer sunglasses have always epitomized cool. And ever since the police show began on TV, wearing shades was part of the uniform. From Starsky and Hutch and Miami Vice in the eighties, Magnum PI in the nineties and CSI today – the designer sunglasses went with the badge.
But although wearing sunglasses like Ray Bans is an accepted part of any Hollywood wardrobe and film set, UK police are not expected to follow their cool American counterparts. A story in the Daily Mail revealed that police officers in Essex have been warned to take off their Ray Bans and leave their designer sunglasses at home – no matter how Hollywood they want to look.
Guilty of Looking Cool
Of course, wearing sunglasses (designer or not) is crucial in the summer months to ensure safe driving and to protect eyesight, but critics fear that the UK cops were donning their designer wear to simply look cool.
American crime shows are riddled with designer sunglasses as every cop walks coolly onto a crime scene. But perhaps designer sunglasses are more accepted in the Californian sunshine than in the more suburban surroundings of Essex.
Critics feared police wearing Ray Bans or any other kind of designer sunglasses could intimidate the public. By hiding the eyes and not being able to make eye contact, sunglasses can send out cold, threatening messages.
Sexy Stubble, Designer Sunglasses
CSI: Miami or CSI: New York may be a bit further removed from The Bill! David Caruso wouldn’t be seen dead without his shades, but Essex plods won’t be granted the same privilege. The only officers who can wear sunglasses are those who have a medical prescription or police drivers. If a police officer is wearing sunglasses, the regulations are he or she must remove them when speaking to the public.
It isn’t a new concept – sunglasses and shades have long been associated with a kind of cool, aloof image. And taking off a pair of sunglasses is a way of offering up eye contact in a non threatening way. The British army were told to remove their sunglasses when dealing with civilians in Iraq in an attempt to build trust with the local Iraqis. Eye contact is crucial in communication and building trust.
Looking sexy is not allowed for British police unlike their American counterparts (on TV at least). According to the Mail, as well as being told not to wear sunglasses, they are not allowed to use their mobiles in public or wear designer stubble!
Designer Sunglasses from Sunglasses Direct
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