Not sure about the looks. I tape my bars right upto the stem, as that’s where I like* to keep my hands on a climb, so you can’t see them anyway.
*even having a computer or lights on the bars annoys me!
I like compact bends on a 42cm width with ergo drops, and bontranger just hapened to make some in carbon (race-x-lite) and someone just happened to be selling them at a good price. FWIW they’re significantly lighter than the OEM ones they replaced and feel more solid (oversized Vs the old std ones) yet don’t make my palms go numb after a few hours.