Warby Parker Eyewear
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 6:15PM 
If you have not heard about this company yet, you will. They've been featured in several magazines, on different sites and many folks are talking about them on Twitter. What makes Warby Parker so special? They offer vintage inspired glasses, that they designed, for $95 and the cost includes perscription lenses and shipping. In addition, for every pair of glasses they sell, they give a pair to someone in need. They have a beautifully designed website, and even the packaging for their glasses is special. You can contact them to try up to 5 pairs of glasses at home to see how they look on you. Or you can upload a photo of yourself and do a virtual try on. I'm going to tell you about my experience buying glasses from Warby Parker.
First I went on their website and looked at all the styles and colors they have available. From the research I did on WP, I knew that they had trouble keeping up with demand for the home try-ons, so I decided to do a virtual try on. I uploaded my picture and tried a bunch of frames. I liked the Nedwins. In the photo below, the image on the left is my virtual try on and the photo on the right is what the glasses really look like on my face. Big difference.
I really like the overall style of the Nedwins and for a day or so I loved the glasses I got (which only took like 4 days from when I ordered them to when they arrived). But I think the Nedwins are too big and certainly too wide for my face. This is something to be aware of with the virtual try on, it's not really to the correct proportions.
So I contacted the folks at Warby Parker and asked if by any chance I could do a home try on. And sure enough, they set me up with 5 frames to try on. One frame (Finn) I absolutely detest, so I won't show the picture here. But the other 4 are nice. And I got the try on frames two days after I ordered them.
How fun? I loved getting to try on different frames. But honestly, I'm still a little torn. I will return the Nedwins because I think they are too big for me (WP pays for return shipping). I love the style of the Emersens (top left), but I'd prefer the frame in a light amber color and the one thing that bugs me about this style is that the silver hinges on the inside show though the lenses. The Madyson (bottom left) looks nice on me but it is not special enough. The Aubrey (top right) and the Sheridan (bottom right) are similar styles. The difference between them is subtle. The Sheridan frame is a bit thinner overall and comes in a lovely combination of browns and yellow called "striped chestnut" (it also comes in black and crystal). The Aubrey I got is amber color and the shape is a bit different from the Sheridan. The Aubrey lenses are less tall towards the bridge and then get taller as they go the outside edge. So the lense shape is trapesoid. I'm leaning toward the Sheridan frames. I really love the Emersens, but those hinges bother me.
The glasses themselves are good quality and they got my perscription right. I was surprised to get them so quickly. Also, they package the glasses beautifully. So that even though you only paid $95 you feel like you are getting glasses that cost four times as much. The glasses come in a beautiful grey box with the Warby Parker logo embossed on it. Inside is a clamshell glass case that holds your glasses and also contains a grey cleaning cloth.
So now I just have to return the Nedwins (WP sent me a postage paid return label) and decide which of the new frames to buy. And of course, return the try on frames.
Lisa Glassberg
A couple of people asked me which style I ended up purchasing. I got the Sheridans (pictured here). Unfortunately that frame style is not available anymore. Seems like Warby Parker is moving away from the smaller frames.