glasses - what to choose, where to buy?

[widge]

Because I wore my contact lenses for far too long when I was younger, my optician recommends I wear them as infrequently as possible now, which means I'm stuck with my glasses all day every day (very shortsighted).

Mine are OK, but black frames and not very exciting, so thought I might go for something more colourful this time. I've got light brown hair and blue eyes. What colour frames do other MNers wear?

Also, has anyone ever bought glasses online? I googled and found some that seem really cheap - but are they any good?

I've got rimless oblong glasses. The no-frames thing is great but it does make them quite delicate which is difficult with ds around (although you can get very skinny yet flexible frames). Wouldn't buy online tbh, apart from anything else you need someone to fit them properly.

Some opticians have a system where they upload your pic on a computer and then you can look at yourself wearing the different styles of glasses - it's a much better way of working out what suits you than looking in the mirror.

I have rimless ones - they're very light and unobstrusive - I got mine from Specsavers 2 for 1 - I think they were around the £170ish mark

wouldn't buy on line

I saw a good selection at a large branch of Tesco's

I got a lovely pair from ASDA people are always commenting on them although tbh I chose them for cost 69 pounds all in and a pair of prescription sunglasses for 25 at the same time

I like the idea of seeing how I'll look on computer first - I shall have a look round at lunch time today, thanks!

I have a fab pair from specsavers. They are the "unbreakable" frames. Rimless and very lightweight, they can be bent and twisted and ripped off your face by toddlers, but don't break!

Specsavers have terminals where you choose your frames and then you can take pictures of yourself to see whether they suit you. I think you can have up to 4 pictures displayed at once to compare.
Excellent idea since once I try a pair of frames on, I can't see myself in the mirror, lol!

Don't be scared of colour either!
I have a pair with bronzey frames for looking serious and professional, but much prefer my 'cool' ones with a slight purple sheen - look much funkier and less dull, and wearing them becomes a statement rather than a neccesity!

I'm an Optometrist and I'd just like to say its really better not to buy them online: you have no idea what they will look like on you or whether they will fit properly: its not like buying contact lenses which are fine online so long as they are made up to your prescription. We have that computer system and it's great! If you can find a nice helpful assisant/ dispensing optician, who is trained in finding the right frame it can make all the difference. One colour which is very popular at the moment is a nice deep rose colour, which I think by the sound of your colouring would probably match your colouring but its hard to judge without seeing you.

Some of my favourites at the moment are jai kudo They're a little bit different and they seem to suit most people!

I've just got some from Boots in their 2 for 1 offer, a rimless 'posh' pair and a groovy purple framed pair which are a greeny colour on the inside - NO ONE commented about the rimless ones (suppose that's the idea of them!) but loads of people have said how much they like the groovy purple ones - if someone had told me when I was 16 that i had to wear glasses with dark purple frames I'd have sulked for a week!

widge, we have bought glasses for dh and dd1 from 39dollarglasses.com and been very happy with them (both have each had two or three pairs from there). There isn't a huge range of styles but for the price you could get a couple of different pairs to vary the look! You need to have your prescription (obviously) and know your inter-pupilar distance (ie the distance between your pupils - get someone to measure this with a ruler held against the bridge of your nose). Dh has astygmatisms (sp?) in both eyes and this was by far the cheapest place we could get them. Even cheaper than using NHS Vouchers!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I've been trying on loads of glasses this week. Seeing what I look like in them in the picture on the computer rather than in the mirror is an eyeopener, ha ha! Some I thought looked great, er maybe not.

Will definitely have a quick look at those websites - more choice is great.

The idea of a smart pair for work and a fun pair for out of work sounds v tempting, the best of both worlds. Lucky there are 25% off and 2 for 1 deals out there at the moment!

ever considered lasik eye surgery? i've thought about it .. i wear contact lenses mostly, but i got a semi rimless pair from dollond and aitchison 50% off
i got my DH to come along to help chose and the assistant was very helpful and made suggestions

Just remember, a lot of Opticians also do a January sale as well, widge!