Tinted Glasses Are The Secret to Happiness, At Least According to Me & Brad Pitt
There’s some truth to Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose. The legendary French singer imagines a state of bliss in which everything around you is a source of joy, seamlessly unfolding into deep, passionate love. It sounds great, but it’s not what prompted me to buy my first pair of rose-tinted glasses.
At the time of that particular acquisition, I was working at a downtown Manhattan shop that had an unusual—and highly effective—shopping tactic: get your clients stoned, and then talk business. Though this wasn’t discussed during the interview process, once on the job I, like any good employee, stood behind the idea. (And as a broke college student, was happy to partake in the store’s rituals.) In the small, potent room hidden in the back of shop, I assisted with lucrative transactions, aka chilled with rappers, CEOs, stylists to the stars, and even one it-girl whose business boasts healthy living, free of substance.
I was highly entertained by the exchange (pun intended), until my manager joked that my puffy red eyes might be scaring clients. And so, I bought my first pair of tinted glasses. Thanks to Edith, I chose rose.
Years later, I still wear my rose-tinted glasses, or a variation thereof (rose, green, or brown) frequently— and not as a consequence of having bloodshot eyes. In fact, they’ve become part of my day-to-day “look.” I still get hassled by friends whenever I choose to wear them in a dim lit bar or restaurant, but hey, they’re prescription!
And let me add that life through rose-colored lenses ain’t half bad: Colors are more brilliant, working under fluorescent lights has become more tolerable, and they still act as a protective shield from weirdoes on the subway, scolding colleagues, and well, anyone else.
As an obvious advocate, I’ve noticed a proliferation of tint-wearers, not only on the streets of NYC (usually by older men who may claim that they’re ‘light sensitive’) but also on the red carpet by celebrities like Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., and most recently Brad Pitt at the Monday night premiere of his new movie, The Big Short. It’s certainly become a fashion statement— one that I stand by— but, you have to wonder whether these guys are fashionable, light sensitive, or just stoned… Either way, La Vie en Rose, man!
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