The "Winston" frame, with old-fashioned fade

I love my Oliver Peoples frames, and I get complimented on them all the time, but they ran me almost $400. Never again.

In terms of taking the ridonkulous price point of designer eyewear and blowing it out of the water, the kids at Warby Parker brought the big guns. They feature stunning custom eyewear in a nice selection of vintage-inspired frames all for $95.

In a successful effort to make handsome eyewear accessible to normal 99% people with a sense of style, Warby Parker was founded by Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, Jeffrey Raider and David Gilboa “with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective: to create boutique-quality, classically crafted eyewear at a revolutionary price point.” The did just that.

On their Web site, using plain English and smart graphs, they explain why glasses are so expensive at high-end boutiques and how they are able to do what they do (by eliminating the middle man). Their eyewear is available exclusively through the site, which features a nicely-executed “virtual try-on” application to help you fit your new pair with a photo of yourself. They also have an option where you can select up to five pairs to try at home.

And if that weren’t enough… for every pair of glasses they sell, they provide a pair of specs to someone in need with a program called Buy a Pair, Give a Pair.

Such a stylish, affordable and generous solution for handsome eyewear is thrilling. I like it… a lot.

Link:
Warby Parker

2 Comments

  1. Mark Busam

    George,
    Did you ever get the Warby Parker glasses? I like the Winston frames pictured on your site. Thanks.
    Mark

    • George

      Hey, Mark… Never got them. My current glasses (overpriced Oliver Peoples) came from pre-WP days. My next pair will definitely be these.