Young Thais go gaga over 'big eyes' contact lenses
| Bangkok, Thailand
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
At a Bangkok college鈥檚 cafeteria, a gaggle of female students peers excitedly into little vials on polystyrene trays.
Submersed in saline solution within each bottle 鈥� with gaudy labels such as 鈥淐andy,鈥� 鈥淢agic Color,鈥� and 鈥淏arbie鈥� 鈥� are the latest must-have fashion accessories: cosmetic contact lenses in pink, violet, and amber. The colors are striking enough. But it鈥檚 the lenses鈥� size that truly catches the eye.
Inspired by a fashion craze that mimics the oversized peepers of popular Japanese cartoon characters, many young Thais are gaga over iridescent 鈥渂ig eye鈥� contact lenses, which, they believe, lend them cute, babyish looks by enlarging their irises.
鈥淭hey make you look like a baby doll,鈥� says Darapan Wisutthiareeruk, wearing exaggerated beetle-green lenses.
Some young men, too, strive for a similar look. 鈥淚 want to catch people鈥檚 attention,鈥� notes Chaiwat Muangthong, a young man who sports a thorny-tousled lavender hairdo with matching lenses. 鈥淚 match my eye color to my hair,鈥� he adds. In both, Chaiwat has recently gone from ocher to pink to green to blue.
In beauty-obsessed Thailand, youngsters see being narak (cute) as a social prerogative.
鈥淭he [teenage] subculture dictates that a girl must be doe-eyed,鈥� explains Pimnipa Thanawinbavorndith, a student peddling the 鈥渂ig eye鈥� lenses during lunch break at her college. 鈥淭he lenses also make your eyes glisten with a watery sheen.鈥�
At malls and street markets where contacts (most with no dioptric correction) sell for $10 a pair, myriad retailers like Pimnipa鈥檚 family are cashing in on the fad.
Within minutes the business and English major offloads several pairs and takes orders for several more.
Chonchinee Bunnag isn鈥檛 one of the takers, though. 鈥淚 prefer a natural look,鈥� she notes. 鈥淭he contacts can also be harmful for your eyes.鈥�
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