Unusual Sunglasses

Sunglasses can be worn to hide one's eyes. They can make eye contact impossible, which can be intimidating to those not wearing sunglasses; the avoided eye contact can also demonstrate the wearer's detachment, which is considered desirable ("cool") in some circles. Eye contact can be avoided even more effectively by using mirrored sunglasses. Sunglasses can also be used to hide emotions; this can range from hiding blinking to hiding weeping and its resulting red eyes. In all cases, hiding one's eyes has implications for nonverbal communication.
Fashion trends can be another reason for wearing sunglasses, particularly designer sunglasses. Sunglasses of particular shapes may be in vogue as a fashion accessory. Fashion trends can also draw on the "cool" image of sunglasses.
People may also wear sunglasses to hide an abnormal appearance of their eyes. This can be true for people with severe visual impairment, such as the blind, who may wear sunglasses to avoid making others uncomfortable. The assumption is that it may be more comfortable for another person not to see the hidden eyes rather than see abnormal eyes or eyes which seem to look in the wrong direction. People may also wear sunglasses to hide dilated or contracted pupils, bloodshot eyes due to drug use, recent physical abuse (such as a black eye), exophthalmos (bulging eyes), a cataract, or eyes which jerk uncontrollably (nystagmus).