please help me look for new specs!

Blog

Forum

Finds

please help me look for new specs!

cyan45

Active Member

i've gone back to lurking until now, and would greatly appreciate your help

so, i've finally decided to take the spec shopping plunge, and am already overwhelmed! j/k

(sorry, i'm having trouble adding some photos of myself for reference, so please forgive me)/

in the meantime, i find myself loving cat eye specs both for their retro look and ability to flatter long oval face shapes (i think?):

1) http://www.lenscrafters.com/ey.....6g/6588446

2) http://www.lenscrafters.com/ey.....ns/6569057

a few questions:
--since i have bad eyes and my lenses are very thick, what kinds of frames will accommodate that well?

--i live in the bay area (san jose); where are some good, relatively local eyeglass frames stores to check out? i am willing to spend more than my last pair (from costco) if that helps broaden the quality and/or design options.

thanks so much!!!

15 years ago

General

5 replies

Latest reply was from Elly

Laura B.

Active Member

I also have pretty thick lenses in my glasses and I find the ones that have plastic all the way around the rim hide the thickness better. Most places can make you lenses that are substantially thinner than your normal ones, for an added price.

Wish I could help with the local store, but I do like lenscrafters. Sometimes they run a sale that gets you 50% off the entire pair.

Good luck!

15 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Cyan--- I think that the plastic all the way around is going to be better for a heavy perscription. Sometimes rimless or half-rimmed styles actually have a flexible plastic strip that helps support some of the weight of the lens, but it isn't recommended for heavy lenses. Also, rimless or half-rimmed styles should ideally be done in a polycarbonate because not having the protection of a frame all the way around the lens makes a lens more likely to crack or shatter. Therefore you need a more shatter resistant material. The downside with polycarbonate (it is very light) is that it makes your lenses thicker than with a standard or hi-index plastic. I have a prescription of -2 diopeters in one eye and close to the same in the other and the outside edges of my rimless polycarbs are just a bit thicker than a 1/8 inch. (edited to correct my stupidity since i was thinking in metric)

15 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I agree with Elly that plastic all the way around is best for thick lenses. Particularly if you are like me and have one eye that is worse than the other, the difference in thickness between the two lenses is really glaringly obvious with very light or rimless frames.

Can't help with local shops, but I have these cat-eye-ish specs (now sold out, unfortunately) from Warby Parker and I like them a lot:
http://www.warbyparker.com/har.....black?sc=7
Warby parker lets you try on their frames for free at home, if you want to go that route, and they are priced very attractively. Mine have held up well and I have had them about a year.

15 years ago

cyan45

Active Member

@ student, elliy& diana--thanks for the full rim advice.

elly, i've made note of the polycarb material. thanks, i had no idea this was important!

diana, your frames are BEAUTIFUL!!! i just called to beg for any leftover frames, but they are all out. in fact, they are discontinuing their entire narrow frame line! rats...

my sister just sent me a link to zennipotical.com. did angie or the forum mention this online frame retailer? can't recall...

15 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Angie did a review of them awhile back, and I think another forum member (or two) tried it out and ordered from them. Angie wasn't impressed with the quality and it is very difficult to decide if something will flatter your face (plus get the correct frame size for your face, pupilary distance, ect) online, since you can't return the specs. I have considered ordering a backup pair, just because my own specs are very expensive and they have to be sent away for the lenses to be changed, so if I ever broke them, ect. I could be without my glasses for a couple weeks (I wear contacts alot, but it would still be a pain). A really cheap pair would be my only option especially since every pair of my old glasses came to an untimely end or had a fatal flaw (I had three pair in a row with a manufacturing error). However, I am very specific in that I like one particular specific shape on myself (a less common one) and generally look decent in all glasses that shape so I would be comfortable ordering online, especially for a backup pair.

I know on another forum someone was really happy with her experience with zenni, but I don't think she wears glasses full time.

15 years ago

Category