Materials

Materials come in all forms just like styles do, and which material you choose is going to depend largely on how your glasses are treated day to day.  You may pay big money for titanium spectacle frames only to find that you really didn’t need all that flexibility.  By the same note, I don’t recommend frameless glasses if you are deep sea crab fishing as they just won’t hold up to the wear.  But that’s another story! Plastics are wonderful because not only are they affordable and lightweight, they are also sturdy and they come in every color under the sun.  Stainless steel frames is also a good choice, and is affordable as well as light weight and cost effective.

Glasses are very much a fashion accessory, the right style is crucial

Frame Styles

Keep in harmony with your face shape, if you have a super tiny heart shaped face don’t get huge bug eyed black glasses, unless you want to look like a dragonfly. Try to stay within the confines of your size, and lenses frames should be proportional to how big your face is. Blue eyes should stay away from blue frames, and men should probably not wear small narrow frames, as most look like they were borrowed from the wife’s purse.  Ladies with a square shape to the face should likewise stay away from square spectacles, instead try ovals to soften the lines and bring attention to the eyes.

Providers

Lens Crafters is a pretty good company, Pearle Vision is fast but very expensive (they can usually get your glasses ready within a few hours, and boy you can expect to pay for it. Vista Optical is also another good company for frames and at least in most areas have a pretty good deal on frames going at any one time.  Even the local mom and pop optometrist can get the job done, though they are usually more expensive than and not as fast as some of the larger chains.

Image Credit: MaxFX/PhotoExpress

Make sure you choose your spectacles frames carefully. Even if you update your specs every few years, a well made frame may last through several sets of lenses! If you are into designer spectacle frames they can come with a considerable price tag, and if you can spread the cost of this over even 2 sets of lenses this can amount to hundreds of dollars.

Hair and Skin Color

People are either warm tones or cool tones, and knowing which you are will really help you make a good choice.  Blondes, browns, and grays without any red tones are considered cool tones, blondes, brunettes, grays, and even black with red hints are considered warm tones.  Obviously red hair also falls into this category.  Skin tone and eye color is probably going to fall behind hair color in importance, but if you have dark skin, go for a darker frame, and go greyer in tone, not brown.  These will highlight your face better and give you some definition.

Eye Color

Eyes should not in my opinion try to be matched.  If you have dark brown eyes and want brown frames, take ones that are at least light brown or amber.  If you have bright blue eyes, blue frames are going to make your face awfully bright.  I like natural steely blues and soft browns for eyeglass frames.  I have icy blue eyes and bright red hair on milk white skin and finding a good color frame is painful to say the least.  Too much color and I look like the circus is in town, so I try to keep my frames as muted as possible.  Light, soft brown hues or gentle coppers are what I strive for because my eye color is so bright.

Face Shape

Face shapes are mostly a preference, but suffice it to say if you have a drastic face shape don’t go with a dramatic frame shape.  Look in the mirror and see what direction, if any, your face points.  If it points up, then choose frames that lean a little heavier to the top, if the face points down; choose frames that lean heavier to the bottom.  If your face is on the square side, stay away from frames that accentuate that feature, choose instead rounder frames which will soften your face.  If your face is super round, don’t go with the John Lennon look.  Choose styles which contrast, at least a little bit, the shape you naturally have.

Earliest Ideas

The earliest known ideas about eye lenses were said to be found in Egyptian paintings, which is not altogether too surprising given the advancement of that culture.   Emperor Nero’s tutor, Mark Rennie, is credited with the first written record of someone using magnification to read, stating that small letters can be better seen through a glass of water.  Some rumors that Nero himself used an emerald for viewing through.  The Book of Optics was published in 1021 and was translated into Latin in the 1200’s.

Eyewear Starts Taking Off

By the time Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals in 1784; wearable eyeglasses had been around about 500 years.  Lenses treating astigmatism where invented in Great Britain in 1825.  This was by no means the only trick in town though, and in many places hand held styles still where the main fashion into the early nineteenth century.

Modern Eyewear in the United States

The eyeglasses we would recognize today can likely be traced to the 1950’s when plastics became readily available and cheap.  Today, corrective eyewear is more of a need than a luxury and most health plans in the US offer at least some eyeglass coverage, with more and more people getting the care they need at ever younger ages.  Eyewear today takes any and every form that we ask it to, including prescription ski goggles, swim goggles, safety glasses, and paintball masks.  Options available in lenses and frames today were unheard of as few as forty years ago, metals like titanium and aluminum.  Though available, they were not cost effective to wear in frames.  The costs of eyeglasses were drastically reduced when eyewear became available online in 2005.

Specialty Eyewear

If you need it, we’ve got it.  There are several athletic gear companies like Adidas and Converse who not only make reading glass frames, but also eyewear for serious sports uses.  I have a pair of these for horseback riding, for skiing, and my husband finds paintball much more enjoyable with a prescription mask.  It isn’t always fogging up on him, and being able to see who you are shooting at is always a plus.  And really, what is the point of wearing swim goggles you can’t see out of?  The same goes for personal protection equipment, poor vision is not contusive to work safety.

Gucci

The Gucci brand is an Italian company that started out in 1921; in of all things the saddle and saddle bag making business.  They have come a long way since that point in time, and now make some of the nicest eyewear on the market.  I especially like the lines they have for men, and they are not over done. They also seem well made and strong, and if you are going to pay through the nose for designer frames that is a big plus.

Adidas

Adidas eye wear is largely made for sports, but the trend to wear them everywhere is growing fast, especially in schools.  They tend to have a sleek, cutting edge type of look that gives a slight futuristic impression.  All of the eyewear is tested by actual athletes for comfort and wear, and the company, just like it does for shoes, sponsors Olympic athletes to wear the frames.  I like this pick for kids because not only Adidas a “cool” brand, they hold up like nobody’s business and are a good pick for the money.

John Lennon

I love these, the style is so unique and the frames without nose pads are amazingly comfortable, they are in fact the frames I wear.   They don’t fit everyone’s face shape, and run a little to the smaller side, but if you can wear them, do.  Some of the styles can be hard to find and expensive when you do, but hunt around and you are going to have a great look not seen on every street corner.

Dolce & Gabbana

If you like your eyeglass frames a little on the exotic side, this is the brand for you.  Not really the brand that flatters the male face, I think the styling gears more toward an effeminate look personally.  They are well made, and are known for their chunkier fashion statement.  I don’t like them for kids, they are too expensive to really be practical for the younger set with their tendency to loose things.

EBay

This is the number one best place in my opinion to buy spectacle frames.  You can’t get your lenses here, but frames I would pay over two hundred dollars for anywhere else you can get for forty bucks at EBay.  I love that, plus if your favorite frame has been discontinued, you can often find them being auctioned off even cheaper here.  Make your purchase, and take them in to the Optometrist of your choosing and they will give you your eye exam and order your lenses, and because you aren’t buying the frames at a huge markup the cost will be seriously reduced.

Framesdirect.com

If I had to have a specific frame that I just couldn’t find on EBay, this is where I would go.  They have EVERYTHING and I mean it.  There returns policy is pretty good and most of their customers seem happy, they claim to have to have the best deal in town and all you have to do is send in your prescription and they will get you started.  The eyeglasses you pay four or five hundred dollars for at Pearl Vision are likely to cost you half of that here.

Bestbuyeyeglasses.com

They are another huge supersite that has a ton of the big names and can get you set for much cheaper than the chains usually can.  Their site is clean and easy to navigate and they seem to have a to have a happy customer base.  I like that they show the retail price on their site, and even though they might not have quite as many frame names as framesdirect.com they do have a huge selection in their own right.

Vista Optical

This is the optometrist I use, and you do need to see someone in the flesh for fit the frames to your face.  It is important when you are buying online to remember that you have to go in and try out the frames before you commit to buying them online.  Just because they look great on the rack doesn’t mean they will fit your face.

Ideal for practically any situation and the perfect complement to framed glasses, rimless eyeglasses are very adaptable and enjoy constant popularity with spectacle wearers. They are in essence lenses joined to the central bridge and outer arms without the usual frame in place to secure them. This is achieved using a miniscule screw to secure the elements in place.

While it’s all down to personal preference in the end, having a mixture of framed glasses and frameless glasses offers the best of both worlds. Framed, and they are often highly fashionable but a little harder to coordinate with your outfit. In contrast rimless spectacles are practically invisible and so much easier to coordinate with any look.

It gets better too, because there are also semi-rimmed glasses available which truly capture the best of both worlds. This means if you were only getting one pair of glasses, there is a world of choice and a whole spectrum from framed glasses through to rimless.

Rimless glasses are very subtle

Rimless eyeglasses are also a fair bit more forgiving in terms of matching up with your facial structure. As far as rimless are concerned you can afford to get it a little wrong, such mistakes are a lot harder to spot. This can’t be said for normal frames.

In terms of the materials that these spectacles are made of, rimless glasses normally use much stronger materials such as titanium, flexible stainless steel, or various plastics and other strong man made materials. Flexibility and strength are the main requirements of the materials do counterbalance the disadvantage of having less structure to hold the frames in place. Any failure in the tiny screws that practically holds them together can be disastrous, so do check before you purchase that they are fully covered by a warranty. There are also spectacle repair kits available that include tiny replacement screws and a screwdriver allowing quick replacement when out and about. Though this sounds bad, rimless glasses are actually very sturdy, and usually made up of materials that can bend and flex so as to prevent them from breaking easily.

Image Credit: Shock / PhotoExpress

The price of these is determined by the materials as well as the types of hinges, and the design of the bridge and arms. By choosing to shop online then it’s possible to shop around and get the best price.

They unfortunately aren’t suitable for everyone. The beauty of rimless glasses is their apparent invisibility, but this is not possible in all circumstances. Those who require very thick lenses will find that framed glasses are needed in order to support the extra weight. Others may be able to go with rimless specs, yet the thick edges may mean frames would be preferable for aesthetic reasons.

Regardless of personal preference, having the choice is the most important thing when it comes to choosing spectacles. Rimless glasses help to expand on the already wide range of options and open up new avenues of consideration.