I spend a lot of money on glasses. I was unfortunate enough to get my first pair in the fourth grade. When I was informed by the optometrist at the tender age of nine that I would have to start wearing eyeglasses, I had little time to process the information before I was rushed off to the next room, holding my mum’s hand, and told to pick out some alien and cumbersome eyewear that no one else in my class had to wear. On top of that, I was the new girl at school that year. How embarrassing.

I was crying too hard that day to even attempt to pick out my own glasses. Additionally, I didn’t understand what I was supposed to be looking for. My mum and the kind employee at the clinic did their best to help me. I vaguely remember wanting a spotted purple pair, typical of something that one would find in the children’s section of an eyeglass place. What I left with was a pair of gold-rimmed, oval-shaped eyewear. We now refer to them as my Harry Potter glasses. They may be stylish now, but were certainly not in 1994. At the time, I considered gold to be a material strictly reserved for old people, but I was much too shy to say anything. Inevitably, I looked horrendous.

Since then, I have gotten a new pair of glasses every year for the last twenty years. This has been the only perk of being cursed with bad eyesight. Gone are the days of my prescription and new frames totalling less than $100. Now when I get the bill, I can easily spend $700. This excludes the cost of the appointment. The biggest cost are the lenses, having to spend more to have their thickness filed down, and adding a multitude of extra protection since I wear them everyday. Over the last few years, I have therefore resorted to finding frames via the internet. This not only cuts the overall cost by one-third, but it also makes me the coolest and most unique cat on the block. Sure, I run the risk of having them not look or fit right, but by now, with two decades of experience, I know what I am looking for.

These have been my most recent and my prized frames, with links to the brand websites:

2010

Ray-Ban: This is when I was going through an “I’m sick of plastic frames” and “I’m obsessed with Mad Men” phase. I purchased these from the men’s side of an eyeglass store. I loved and still love the look of them. However, due to their wire frames, I instantly reverted back to my days of being in grade four. I never quite felt comfortable in my own skin when I wore them. Now, I keep them for wearing around the house. They are incredibly lightweight and give my ears a rest from my heavier plastic-framed glasses.

2011

MOSCOT: Have you guys ever heard of or worn this particular brand? To this day, they are still my favourite company on the whole. Their eyeglasses are vintage-inspired, and their craftsmanship is bar none. I purchased a pair of tortoiseshell glasses from their website, after being able to upload a photograph and virtually try them on. The only downfall was that when they came, they were the heaviest frames that I had ever owned. As a result, I ended up getting a supplementary pair a few months later. However, I still have them and wear them on special occasions.

2012

Oliver Peoples: My mum will probably say that this was the pair of eyeglasses that she hated the most. I have to strongly disagree. They were jet black and had the thickest (and one of the lightest) frames that I have ever owned. They also fit my face like a glove, and never once hurt my ears nor did I experience any headaches. I constantly received compliments on them, and people referred to them as my Buddy Holly glasses. I loved them so much that after they became faded, I went and bought an exact replica pair. That was something that I had never and still have never done before. I literally wore the second pair until they fell apart, on my face, while I was still wearing them. I highly recommend Oliver Peoples glasses for their look and their comfort.

2013

D&G: I despise this brand. Everyone who wants to be someone parades around this city in D&G garb. That said, I did purchase a pair of their eyewear (that I have now lost). My husband and I went eyeglass shopping together. He found his frames immediately, so we spent the next hour trying to find a pair for myself. My wish-list was tortoiseshell, cat-eye, and wide frames, given that I have an issue with many of them pinching the sides of my face. With the help of an employee, I must have tried on over 30 pairs. Only one fit, and these were it. They got the job done, but were not my most memorable pair of glasses.

2014

Bonlook: I had first heard of this brand after I became an avid reader of Katie Shelton’s blog. Her personal style is something that resonates with me, and she always has the cutest damn glasses. I went to Bonlook’s website with an open mind. I left completely converted. Guys and girls, if you’ve ever wanted to shop for glasses online, this is the site to do it at. First of all, they categorize the glasses by frame shape. Good. Next, they do frame size. Great. They also filter by colour. Perfect. Last, and most importantly, they do it by how they fit on your face! Essentially, you can narrow the results by if you have a small, average, or large head. Oh-em-effing-gee. Coming from someone who always has the problem of pinching glasses, which consequently results in headaches, this was the answer to my prayers. Not only does the website provide photos of normal people wearing each pair of glasses, but it permits you to upload your own photo and virtually try them on. Additionally, once you purchase your frames, they ask you to take a selfie with a credit card under your nose so that they can measure your Pupillary Distance. It looks silly, but is extremely smart.

All of this is fine and dandy. The final steps are to email Bonlook your prescription and payment in a few easy, and safe, steps. Yet, I have left the best part out. Would you like to know it? The entire bill, from frames to lenses, came to a total of $127.00! I have not paid such a small amount since grade school. Never again will I shop from anywhere except for Bonlook.

Have a wonderful week!

<3

Emory

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