glasses disaster: help me find nice ones?

[SayItIsntSo]

Well, about 6 years ago I found my ideal glasses. I wear lenses sometimes but most of the time due to sleep deprivation etc I wear glasses.

Today it appears that the glasses frame has snapped (don't know how though! ) and the right lens popped out onto the tiled kitchen floor, breaking into many pieces. I have a high prescription (short sighted) and I need quite small glasses so that the lenses aren't too thick (even if I pay for the super special thin lenses). The now-ex-glasses were small dark green prada ones (the only prada I am ever likely to own). I need to replace them: the frame has somehow snapped over the top. Have any of you found some good ones and have tips as to how to get a good deal? Eg should I buy online?

thanks pastawine (I love the phrase "I used to work in eyes" by the way). In your opinion which opticians are the most thorough?

Thanks Dione, as far as I can see Boots don't show their range of frames online, so I will go to a couple of branches (am in between 2 towns).

Also pastawine, I think that opticians can choose frames which help to keep the lenses thin, even without the super thin lenses, according to where your eyes are in the frame (not the most technical way of putting it)?

i worked in 3 different opticians over 11 years - the best one i worked in was a small independent optician were i stayed for 9 years - all the staff were trained to a very high level and everyone knew their stuff.

what i found when i left and worked at a large chain was that many staff were not trained well at all and were souped up "sales" assistants rather than optical assistants.

having said that most large chain opticians are franchises - even Boots opticians are mostly franchised. so are specsavers.

it really does depend on who runs them as to how good they are. my friend works in a small specsavers, he is a fully qualified dispensing optician and trains all the staff to a high level - the specsavers i worked in however was pants, and i knew more than their so called qualified staff because i was so well trained at the independent i worked in.

i still go back to the independent i used to work in - its more expensive but worth it as i know there will never be anything wrong with the test, the dispensing or the making of the glasses.

my DH has a very high prescription too - i feel your pain price wise! but i saw some real dispensing disasters at the pants specsavers i worked in so i wouldnt touch that particular branch with a barge pole....like i say though they are all franchised.

prices are usually cheaper at the big chains and they have offers on but for me i would rather stick to the indie i know, and pay more because i know exactly what im getting will be spot on, more so for DH who is a high prescription and is sensitive to changes in his lenses.

ask for recommendations locally, you may have a fantastic franchised big chain near to you - or if they have a fully qualified dispensing optician ask to have them measure you up for new specs and frame etc.

are you short or long sighted? having a high rx affects your frame choice quite a lot and any assistant or dispensing optician worth their salt should advise you honestly.

re the thinner lenses....

if you are a minus rx - thats short sighted - the thickest part of the lens on the blank is around the edge - so if you chose a small, rounded frame the thinnest part of the blank will be used -
if you choose a large square frame the thickest parts will show at the edges. - so if you opt for a fairly soft shape and a small neat frame you get a better result thickness wise - but at your rx i would opt for a thinner lens anyway, but frame choice can still play a part in getting the best result possible

if you are a plus lens - thats long sighted the thickest part of the blank is the middle so frame choice has less to do with it although the smaller the frame the smaller the blank and the smaller the blank the thinner the lens.

ask to speak with a dispensing optician for the best advice. i wouldnt touch any opticians which didnt employ a qualified dispensing optician.

I'm -8 in my glasses and was planning on going and getting some big nerdy frames which are quite trendy at the minute. I'm happy to pay to have the lenses thinned but I suspect it still won't be enough. I have fairly small glasses now and the lenses are thinned but they still stick out a bit from the frames and the frames are thick plastic ones rather than thin metal frames.

I just got two pairs from Specsavers over the summer - one Jasper Conran and onoe Tommy Hilfigger. Very pleased with them both and have thinned lenses in them. Re the contact lenses - have you investigated extended wear? I just got them and they're amazing - for the first time in about 30 years I can see when I wake up in the morning! Very comfy and loads less hassle than the monthlies which I used to have to take out at night. I got mine from Vision Express and the optician told me they correct my vision to better than 20:20 and I can read two lines lower down the chart than with my last lenses.

I've got extended wear lenses but can't wear them for more than eight hours, certainly got sleep in them. Were you fine with them from the beginning or did you have to build up? Optician says I have very dry eyes.

there are several different index thinner lenses, generally the more you pay the thinner the lens will be - the thinnest out at the time i was dispensing was a zeiss lens at 1.9 index but it was glass and was pricey, but they range from a 1.54 index, (not much thinner than a standard lens tbh) up to the 1.9. the thinner the lens the better the result but the more you pay.

i have dry eyes and much as i would love to wear contacts i just find them too uncomfortable - dry eye and contacts dont mix well.

I'm still on the first month, but found them really comfortable. I've kept them in most of the time apart from a couple of evenings when my eyes got really sore. No problem sleeping in them. It was really nice this weekend as we were away in a caravan and I didn't have to worry about sorting out lenses in the tiny bathroom. Will be great when we're camping - often campsites are a bit tricky when there's not always soap for hand washing, or somewhere I can get close enough to a mirror to easily do lenses.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Have seen some styles recently that make me think we're heading back to Deirdre Barlow days! Can anyone link to some nice trendy frames that are kind of 'now' but also classic?