Posh pair of glasses

[LivingThe50sDream]

I usually ask for a luxury-ish item for my birthday. I wear reading glasses and currently have lots of crappy pairs (5 for £10 from Amazon). I never needed glasses until 50 and I hate wearing them but am too chicken to do laser.

I would like to get a very nice pair of glasses and get the lens put in by my optician. I'd like a black elegant pair, maybe designer. I did see someone on a plane recently who was wearing a pair, and they looked great, I think they were Gucci as they had 2 intertwined GG's.

Any suggestions, any recommendations, any particular website to look at?

Go to a decent optician that sells designer frames and try some on (not the well-known chain I shouldn't have gone to). Take an honest friend with you if you can - the sort who will tell it like it is. Get an idea of what will suit you.

What suits one person won't necessarily suit someone else.

There are sites that let you upload a photo and try pairs virtually. You could try one of those.

You might be able to use sunglasses frames. The optician will advise.

There are sites that will let you try pairs at home but someone else might know about those.

My Glasses are Ray Bans. You can go to your opticians and try on designer frames. It is likely they will want to do an eye test too, which you will need if your current lenses are from Amazon.

My independent optician - in an expensive area - carries many different designers. I am wearing frames by Face a Face. I used to wear Tiffany. Cost a fortune but i have had the lenses replaced twice and they still get compliments because they are so unusual. This particular optician has staff who are trained to help you choose the most suitable frames for your face. DH didn’t even look in a mirror - just let them sort him out. A friend once told me that if you wear your glasses every day then you should be prepared to pay to look good. At the time, based on them lasting three years, she quoted 50p a day. I think I am probably more on £1.50-2.00 a day but that still isn’t the cost of a cup of coffee.

Yep, visit some opticians and try on loads of frames.

It's unlikely that an optician will glaze a pair you bought elsewhere, in case they break. I wanted some prescription lenses put into a pair of ray ban sunglasses I already had and the only place on the highstreet that would have done it was Boots, but only because I bought the sunglasses from there in the first place. It would been just as expensive as buying a brand new pair outright, and in the end I went to an online supplier.

My current frames are from Cubitts. They dont have a huge number of branches but if there is one near you, it's worth a look.

Another vote for a good independent optician with a huge stock of frames that are not all made by Luxxotica.

Same as above, I wear my glasses every day so expensive ones only really cost pennies per wear. I’ve had frames by Chanel, D&G, Rayban, and Tom Ford all from my local optician. Expensive outlay initially but they’ve all lasted years and are lovely quality

A local independent.
if you are in or accessible to central London then 36 Beauchamp place

There are online companies who will put the lenses in. I've used them. You'll need your prescription and the distance between pupils (Someone will know the technical term for it).

If you wear specs all the time, get a pair you're happy with. They become part of your appearance.

Remember that if you have your photo taken, the specs could look dated in a few decades. If they suit you well, they'll suit you regardless of fashion.

This particular optician has staff who are trained to help you choose the most suitable frames for your face.

A member of staff at one picked some frames for me to try.

When I go to the hairdressers I do pretty much the same. Give a rough idea and let them pick. You need to be able to trust the stylist to do this.

What Is Pupillary Distance (PD) & How To Measure It (see pp)