posted this wayyyy back when in one of my very first ylf posts! awww... *tear*

aaanyway. choosing specs can be so very overwhelming. the first time i got them i was 9 and made my not-at-all fashion forward dad choose them for me. BIG MISTAKE. huge gold old lady frames that took up half my face. sigh. thanks, pop.

once i got the hang of it, i've mostly gravitated to funky colors or details -- a deep metallic blue, a fuschia, some cool detailing on the sides -- and square shapes - i think this suits me better, for some reason. my current glasses are roxy brand, in a darker aqua with silver swirls on the side. i change them up about once every year or two. pics:

http://i220.photobucket.com/al.....000261.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/al.....000260.jpg

forgive the grimace... i hate close-ups!

what kind of shape do you think you're looking for, maya?

Your glasses are so cute Hanna! The color is great.

I have an oval face so I can wear a few different shapes. The only ones I don't seem to look good in are butterfly shapes and ovals. I like cat eyes and rectangles best. Unfortunately--and this seems to be a theme in my life--I always seem to be drawn straight to the most expensive thing in the store. I am obsessed with these right now, even the little rhinestones..which I'm usually not into...but these are tasteful and subtle because of the white frames.

http://www.lenscrafters.com/ey.....ari/bv476b

But the price just will not do.

My first glasses experience was similar to yours. My mom knew my favorite color was purple, so I can't say she didn't try, but they were HUGE and she didn't know at the time that you could have the lenses ground, so they were really thick. I looked like Sophia from the Golden Girls D:

Hanna, those are really cute!

Maya, your specs are very elegant.

Here's mine:

My glasses

The front of the frames is black and the back is chartreuse--which makes me feel like I'm looking through a margarita all day long. Not a bad thing, LOL.

I love these! They have sunglass attachments that hook on with two tiny magnets. I spent a pretty penny on them, but they were totally worth it! Glasses are just one thing I'm unwilling to skimp on.

Maya, I look for something like an elongated, upside down trapezoid. Not quite a rectangle. I'm not sure if there's a specific name for that shape.

These are my current pairs, but the cherry red pair (with orange in the inner rims) is my favorite.
Jill Stuart: Bronze metal and Calvin Klein: Red plastic

If I were to buy another pair this year - I'm very tentatively considering it - I'd choose something like this, this (the first one, or this (the blue one.)

I have the exact opposite facial structure challenge as you, Maya - my temples are really wide and high so most frames are too narrow - so I'm not sure what to suggest for you, but can't wait to see what you find.

Ooh Kari I love your red specs! I tried on some red glasses recently but they were too wide. If they just had a smaller size they would have been perfect :(

I really like the blue pair you're considering. The others have a bit too much going on for my taste.

My lenses are so expensive and hard to make that I really can't practically have more than maybe 2 pairs at a time, so I have to choose wisely.

Astanton, I love the idea of inner rim color. Chartreuse and black is sharp.

Alas, the Bulgaris wouldn't work for me anyway. The smallest size is 49-16-135, which is too big. Blast. I guess it's for the best since they're too pricey anyway.

Yeah, they are so pricey. :( I've always shopped at Costco Optical in the past, which cuts down on the frame cost at least, and they discount your lenses if you update your old Costco-purchased frames with new lenses. Fortunately my prescription has been changing less and less every year. The red pair is actually two years old and not my most current prescription, but I don't notice a visible difference between them & the bronze pair. I can still see very comfortably at night for driving in both prescriptions, which is my ultimate test.

I'm just debating whether to get one more pair now while I still have a discount from vision insurance... next month it's gone!

I hadn't thought about Costco. What is their selection like?

My mom and I were discussing this and she mentioned the possibility of getting the frames from outside, but getting the lenses from her office boutique...since it is the lenses that really make the cost skyrocket and not every place offers the kind of lenses I need. I would need to keep the cost down even more since I wouldn't be getting a discount, so my choices might end up being just as limited anyway.

It's weird since I usually hate pastels, but somehow I like the idea of pastel glasses. Lavendar specifically. But for some reason most glasses are dark. I guess there is just more demand. Another pair of glasses I tried on were this color:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotrope_(color)

They were on sale for only $99! But I'm afraid I'm letting the price sway me. I guess I'll be taking pictures in the near future...

My prescription has stabilized too. I kind of wish it would change so I would have a good excuse for getting new glasses :p

I know! I stepped into Lenscrafters and Pearlevision yesterday just for a look, and in the styles that I linked to above, they only seemed to carry the darker/black versions in the store. What's the deal with all of the dark colors?

Costco's main savings are in the frames, since they are quite discounted. Their selection really varies - I'd say a bit more limited than Lenscrafters, but not by a lot - but I usually find a few pairs that interest me (granted, I'm pretty picky.) They really don't have much info on their website, but here are some write-ups that give more current info on the brands carried & the current prices.
http://www.costcoconnection.co.....;doc_id=-1
http://addictedtocostco.com/20.....o-optical/

I never thought of buying the lenses & frames separately. That's a smart way to utilize your options.

Good luck, Maya!

P.S. Love the heliotrope color! The name always makes me think of that "Boundin'" short that aired before "The Incredibles."

Oh, I love those white Bulgari's for you, Maya! Too bad about the price and size. I admit that I had no idea that frames comes in "sizes"- and I've been wearing specs for more than a decade! I usually just try things on and see if they fit, hee.

I have a very narrow face and usually have a hell of a time finding specs- almost everything looks too big on me. I bought these last September, and I really love them. They're by the French brand Face à Face, and from straight on, the front part looks very dark brown, without the hint of red you see in the pic. I'm already craving another pair, though... maybe for my next birthday. For my next pair I definitely want a) black plastic, and slightly retro, or b) a fun colour, probably purple or green.

I love the heliotrope colour you posted- I can see you in frames like that, for sure. I think your darker skintone lends itself really well to frames in white or light, opaque colours- the contrast would really work well.

lovely specs ladies!

I don't have.. I made last year laser eye surgery :)

Maya, the only web image I could find of mine are shown in a different color than what I have: http://www.imago-eyewear.de/im.....modal=true

Mine are color #4 -- they call it dark brown with green, but to me they appear to be almost black, and the green is a hot metallic shade on the inside of the lens part, and a softer olive on the inside of the stems.

If that's hard to picture I'll take a picture of my own pair. I really like them but am now hankering for another pair of frames in a deep plum shade, shape still unspecified.

Oooh, it's exciting to see everyone's glasses!

My glasses are Ray Ban. I like them because the color scheme is neutral (black and silver) but the pattern keeps them from being boring (IMO!) But the best thing about them, by far, is that they are the first glasses I've had as an adult that are narrow enough for my slender face! Since it sounds like you have a small face, you might want to look into Ray Ban.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ty.....1827916290

I shopped around and ended up finding them the cheapest at a Sears vision center. It was the last place I looked because I didn't expect much, but they have amazing sales most of the time. (Their selection is maybe not great, but they have Ray Ban!) It's been a while so I'm not positive about the price, but I think I paid around $230 total, including the specially made thinner lenses that you need too.

Maya - Thanks for all your specs questions. I have an eye doc appt next week and will then have the lovely task of picking new frames. Like you, I have very thick specialty lenses due to extreme nearsightedness and astigmatism. Glasses are my only option now due to hazing on my corneas. And I only have the budget for one pair of glasses at the time.

I don't have any supercool frames to show you, but at http://www.framesdirect.com, they have a virtual try-on tool I've been having fun with. You upload a pic and then they superimpose the glasses on top of your face. It doesn't include the temples, and it's kinda flat, but I'm hoping the hours I've spent on the website looking at different frames on my face will help me narrow down the selection in the store.

I just got mine and they should be ready for pick up later this week. They're smokey purple Pradas. I was torn between those and some tortoise frames, but those lenses were a bit wider and we thought the purples fit better. And I love purple. :)

Here are mine. I have *cough* 4 pairs.

Okay, in my defense, 2 are several years old; my eyesight hasn't changed much, but I went to get a new fun pair last year. Brought DH, which was a mistake (he loves glasses); I narrowed it down to 2 pairs and he said get them both! So I did.

All 4 pairs do get used quite a bit, since they are different styles and suit different moods and outfits.

This week I have been wearing these a lot. They're a little schoolmarm/Tina Fey, and I love the thin dark arms and unusual little dip at the bottom of the frame.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k.....700531849/

These nearly unrimmed ones are perfect for when I want to wear glasses but don't want to look like I am wearing glasses:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k.....otostream/

Sometimes I wish the arms on these weren't as thick as they are; I have to be in the right frame of mind to wear these, because their modern shape requires a little more chic-ness than I can muster up. *g*
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k.....otostream/

These are the turquoise specs, which I LOVE but wear sparingly. I wear a lot of these colors in my clothes, which means I can't wear it in my glasses or I look like a matchy granny heading off to the bingo parlor. :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k.....otostream/

I will probably get one more pair next year, but I'm not sure what type yet. Maybe a rusty-red...

Kristen brings up a good point about the turquoise pair. The heliotrope color that you mentioned, Maya, covers at least 25% of my daily wear. I would love, love, love glasses that color, and I think it would work well with my coloring, but I can't use it for glasses b/c that would be too matchy, matchy. I love the blue pair Kari linked to. Blue is probably the best color for me to go with because it goes with most of my clothes, but I think I only have 2 blue tops.

I am soooo jealous! I've worn glasses since age 5, and am extremely near-sighted and my thick lenses make my eyes look tiny, tiny, tiny. I've always wanted cool frames, but they only draw attention to beady little eyes, so it's been contacts since I was 10. I did have PRK surgery done on one eye at the end of April, and will do the other sometime in August, so I guess it's a moot point now.

Oh wow you guys have given me lots to think about. I hadn't thought about being "matchy matchy" although I don't think it is that bad in your case Kristen, since the turquoise is in a small amount (fabulous glasses btw). Maybe that's why I was attracted to the idea of pastels. I have NO pastels at all in my wardrobe.

I am leaning towards purple/lavender/white specs now. White is my preference since it's a neutral, but still unexpected, and would really work with my skin tone. But lavender and purple would be nice because I do not have a lot of these colors in my wardrobe, and they are good colors for brown eyes.

All of you look great in your specs. Hope I am as lucky! I'm going to Costco on Friday so I'll see what they have to offer. I think Saturday or Sunday I'll head over to Lens Crafters.

I just purchased my specs last week. I will be picking them up on Saturday. I can post pics then. You all look great in your specs! :)

Hey Maya - I stopped by Costco's optical department since I was in the store already today and saw some purple frames that *might* work on you - then again, they both fit on my big wide head, so they might not be narrow enough for you. Just wanted to mention them in case your Costco carries them.

These were really pretty. (Not for me, but I tried them on anyway.)

I tried this pair on in blue as a possible for me, but I saw that they also come in violet.

This isn't what you're looking for, but I kind of liked this pair at Lenscrafters even though the outer color is dark. (On me)

Kari, those first purple glasses are AMAZING. Unfortunately the eye is too big for me :( I need a 46-48, especially when the sides are so thick.

The second purple pair is cute too though, and I actually like the last ones. They may be dark but they also seem fairly saturated with color.

Both of the above pairs look great on you though.

I'm actually not *that* dark so I think I could do a darker color as long as it isn't black or brown. At the moment I have a bit of a tan, so I have to take that into account, but my skin tone is actually very much a medium color. I think my ethnicity just makes it seem darker. I'm going for lighter shades more because of my hair, eyes, and brows than my skin tone.

How are these? They are white and have some small crystals on the side, but they're cute...almost like bubbles. The price is better than the Bulgaris and the shape is right. The eye size of 48 is borderline for me, but the shape is right so I have hope.

http://www.coolframes.com/?fid=18719

Maya, I love those. The shape is fantastic, and I can barely tell anything is going on on the arms. Here's hoping they work for you!

These are the glasses I got about 18 months ago. I love em!

http://www.designerseven.com/G...../index.htm

I also have an older (and much bashed about) dark purple pair, and a less loved red/black frame that my Mum bought at massive discount and I trialled transition lenses in. Really doesn't suit my face.

My health insurance lets me gets a new pair every year, so I really should take advantage of that stat!!! I think I'd like either a blue/green pair, or a purple one to replace the pair I have now (approaching 10 years old but still going strong!!)

p.s. Kristen I love your thick armed ones and the turquoise pair!!! You should def. wear them more often!!!!

Lovely specs, everyone! Maya, let’s get cracking despite your budget. Get the wheels in motion.

Kristen, I hands down like you best with strong frames (the last turquoise pair). They really open up your face.

I'm cracking later this afternoon Angie!

Did you see the Coach specs I posted a few posts up? Are these hitting the right note for you? I know you would have to see them on my face but I can't guarantee I will be able to find them (I just happened to spot them online, but I'm not sure if any stores I go to will carry them). But that will at least give me an idea of what to look for.

Glad to hear it, Maya. The white coach specs are definitely in the right direction. The lines are right – no droop.

What I want to know is, why are there SO many glasses with droop? My last pair were that way (got them pre-YLF) and I noticed this time around many pair that I tried were droopy. Do they purposefully make less expensive glasses droopy so we have to pay more for nicer ones? ;) Not that I mind, I'm very happy with mine and consider them a wardrobe staple - something I'd invest more in anyway.