Effortless online ordering, excellent affordable styles, and an ethical, transparent and thorough donation process that provides glasses and entrepreneurial training to communities in need: We couldn’t love Warby Parker more.
Buying glasses, for some reason, really stresses me out. Salespeople are pushy, and often I end up walking out of the store with something that looks nothing like a pair of glasses I want to wear on my face everyday. After relegating several overpriced reject pairs to the “only worn when desperate” corner, I started exclusively wearing vintage frames, despite lectures from my optical shop that the shapes aren’t ideal for lenses. Now, however, I have a brand-spanking-new eye-friendly pair of specs, thanks to Warby Parker. I am only ever ordering glasses from the comfort of my own home again. Internet glasses forever, on the reals.
Their frames are all priced at $95 including prescription lenses, free shipping and free returns (special lenses run a bit more-I paid $135 because I have astigmatism). The vintage-inspired styles are a well-curated selection of options, from classic to more contemporary. You can upload a photo of yourself to try the glasses on virtually from many angles, and email it far and wide to get opinions. Once you choose a pair, the process couldn’t be simpler. Plug in your prescription, and your address, and you’re done. They’ll keep you updated (seriously, seriously updated) on the status of your order, and it will arrive lightning fast. The only danger here is falling down a rabbit hole of optical addiction. The best part? You buy a new pair of glasses, and they work with Vision Spring and other organizations to help train low-income women to sell glasses in their communities. The greatest.
~ Haley Cullingham