Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Shopping hiatus, week four

Going strong. But I have to admit that I'm amassing a list of things I would like to buy when the hiatus is over.

Like new sunglasses. The sun arrived abruptly yesterday and I was reminded once again that new shades must be purchased. Easy, right? No, no, no. I wear glasses. Incredibly strong glasses with thick lenses because I pretty much only see vague blobs of color when I take them off. The last time I shelled out for prescription sunglasses (5 years ago) it cost me $400 and I haven't been willing to do it again, despite the fact that those glasses are now worn to shreds.

Until now. I think I could happily live with any of these options, even if they aren't necessarily meant to be sunglasses.

zenni optical choices
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

The best part is that they are all under $30, even when you throw in the tinting. Genius. I really do love Zenni Optical.* Just make sure that you ALWAYS click to see the larger image. Some pairs that look like solid colors in thumbnail view actually have crazy patterns on them.

If I were purchasing right now I'd probably get click happy and end up with all of them. Instead, I have until the end of the hiatus to mull over my options, and I'll probably end up selecting two pairs, so that I have a back up.

*Back in December my regular glasses broke, well before my insurance was willing to cough up for a new pair. Luckily, I remembered a post that Caroline had put up a few months earlier about Zenni Optical. I went to my optometrist, got a print out of my prescription and then jumped online and browsed. I ended up purchasing four pairs for less than I usually spend on one. They arrived within 2 weeks. It was fabulous.

21 comments:

  1. That's amazing! I think glasses and sunglasses definitely belong in the essentials pile. I love all the ones you've shown here!

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  2. This is fantastic, I also have very miserable vision and getting new glasses is such an enormous expense, this is a great link to have.

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  3. I need a new pair of glasses like crazy! Thanks for the tip, #4 might find themselves on my face soon :-)

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  4. love the #4


    D e g a i n e

    http://www.fashiondegaine.com

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  5. LOVE #4. i can't close in on them so i'm not sure if they have horses on them, but they're my pick :)

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  6. can i vote? i vote for #5, if so - i like the way that the front of them aren't quite flush with the arms, you know?

    i totally feel your pain re: prescription sunglasses. i have a pair that cost me about the same amount, and the kicker is that they're STILL not my absolute favourite!

    awesome resource re: zenni optical. now i just wonder if they'll ship to canada..

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  7. Also love the Retro Intellectual Lois Lane No. 4 option. And I'm forwarding this post to my mummy and pops this very instant because they are always losing their glasses and so they have come up with a very amusing sollution: they buy the jumbo pack of insanely-colored cheapo plastic glasses from CVS. And so on any given morning my dad will whip out his hot pink or lime green specs to read the Times. I think it's time for them to learn about Zenni.

    Thanks for letting us know!

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  8. ok, i'm getting #4 for myself ... i hope you won't be mad. i spent way more than i like to admit on my last pair of glasses, so i could use a more budget friendly option for the next go round.

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  9. I highly recommend you check out Warby Parker glasses. Like you, I have horrible vision and my lenses are embarrassingly thick. Not to mention ridiculously expensive. They're only $95 for the frames, $30 extra for high index lenses (for those w/ bad vision), and free shipping and returns. It's seriously a dream come true. Mine are in the mail right now, and I can't wait to try them on. I hope they fit! And that I can see, haha.

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  10. i wish i could have pair no.3 right now! but i hardly wear mine enough to justify a new pair. all so cute, rachel. i'm sure you'll be darling in any one of them.

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  11. :) i'm the rebel and love #1.

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  12. rachel! tell us - did your eye doc give you a hard time about giving you your pupillary distance? mine did; I'm thinking I need to be more pushy. they don't even "do" glasses...

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  13. @ amy - I was worried that my eye doc would make an issue out of this, because I'd heard that some of them do, but it was no big deal. I just went in and asked for a print out of my prescription and then double checked to make sure the PD was on there. The only weirdness I had is that my doctor lists the PD separately for each eye and then you have to add the two together to get the total PD. Easy. They are LEGALLY required to give you your complete prescription, so they shouldn't put up a fuss about it.

    Does your doc only do contact lenses? Maybe that's the issue. I think you only need PD if you are ordering glasses, so it's possible that they don't take a reading for a contact lens exam. But I don't know how that works. Kind of weird that they don't "do" glasses at an optometrist's office!

    My doc did try to offer me a discount if I would buy a pair of glasses from them instead. Which made me feel like I've been getting ripped off all the other times I've bought glasses from them.

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  14. You've saved my life by relaying this site. I run in a circle of glasses wearers and you might think we found the fountain of youth or something! We're going to get our prescriptions today and start ordering pronto.

    Now I'm REALLY looking forward to the summer. (I just got a chill thinking about going to the beach and actually seeing what's going on -- not seeing the day through pictures later).

    Thanks a bunch!

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  15. i have the first glasses and i love them. they make me feel nerdishly smart and altogether cool. especially when i wear them with something "new englandy".

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  16. Oh my lord! Thank you so much for this information. I hate spending a fortune on glasses but i like having a couple different choices to wear!

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  17. Yes yes yes! My sunglasses are from there, with the prescription, with tint, for only $18! And I get SO many compliments on them. They're tortoise shell with a dash of Jackie O.

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  18. Just came across your blog through C&C, and I jumped for joy (mentally) when I saw this post! My fiance is desperately seeking some new spectacles! Thanks so much for this post! I'll definitely be back! :)

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  19. Just wanted to let you know i linked to this blog post on my blog!
    http://justeventeux.blogspot.com/

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  20. I bought 4 as regular glasses after this post. Love them. A bit smaller than I anticipated. All 3 pairs I bought are smaller than I had guessed they would be.

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