Shopping for Glasses

Glasses are one of the most important accessory choices you can make. They sit on your face, they’re often the first thing people notice and they can really make an impression if they say a bit about who you are. Next week we’re heading out for a glasses shopping party to Highland Optical and you might be wondering why I don’t stick to my downtown territory when it comes to glasses. Here’s the skinny on that:

1. Sharyn Webber (the owner of my fave shop, Highland Optical) has been in the business forever, but she’s not stuffy! She stays extremely current and buys cool frames (even her ‘more conservative’ buys are cool, so there is something for everyone.)
2. Sharyn and her ‘Optigals’ understand that our clients have particular image requirements and they work seamlessly with our recommendations.
3. They work really well with bone structure, colouring and personality style and they love our Eye-Deal frame style choices and we love theirs.
4. They gently encourage people to get out of their comfort zone and make bold choices in eyewear.
5. They are nice and show their expertise at the same time, which is a great thing when you’re shopping for a major purchase.

Here’s what happened on our last trip:

Each of my clients is quite different and all of them were looking for frames with more personality. Here is a shot of their glasses, before we shopped. They are (from left to right), Sheila, Maureen, Cheri and Barb).

You’ll notice that each of them had smaller frames (outdated, as the trend had moved into deeper frames and generally bolder). Sheila’s frames were too rectangular for her face shape, Maureen’s were rimless underneath and although the weight is fine for her bone structure, they’re not as bold a statement as they could be. When we last shopped, we were looking for a good pair that would last for a couple of years as her style evolved. We hit the colour and the detail level, but she was now ready for a stronger statement. Cheri has a lot of personality and her glasses were purely functional, making her look older than she is (and not nearly as fun)! Barb is a dynamo and her glasses just aren’t at all present on her face. She needed something that made her look more dynamic.

Away we went on the racks of options and pulled all kinds of cool frames. Gradually we winnowed down the possibilities to two or three and then tried them in the daylight outside the store, tried one after the other, switching it up and checking out the impact and finally some decisions were made. This might sound like a long process, but in reality, the choices for four ladies took just over an hour, so about 15 minutes per frame. When you know what to look for, shopping for anything is fast and easy. It’s also fun to shop in a group with similar goals and supportive attitudes as each of the women encouraged their shopping buddies to try something new. All of the women ended up with a ‘wow’ feeling at the end.

We got Sheila into what we affectionately termed her “Batgirl” glasses, Maureen got into a soft yet bold version frame, Cheri ended up with a retro nerdy chic look and Barb got a much more powerful cat’s eye style that is great for her face shape (and her lovely high cheekbones) and for her ‘dynamic’ image. In the ‘after’ shots if you look closely, you’ll notice the cool colours on all of them – the picture really doesn’t do them justice. Sheila’s frames are opaque purple on top and translucent purple on the bottom, Maureen’s are gray on top and rose coloured on the bottom, Cheri’s are black with tuxedo shoes on the ends of the arms (you can’t see it in the photo, but when you see her from behind, the shoes show up beautifully against her funky short hair. Barb’s glasses are also a very deep aubergine, with small translucent striping across the top of the frame and skin tone pink legs for arms (she has little high heels on the ends of the glasses arms too and the arms themselves are shaped to look like a luscious pair of ladies’ legs), so she can take them off and show her sense of humour.

If you’re going to wear glasses every day and if you really want to make a statement, life’s too short to wear something that says nothing about you. In fact, if you’re serious, start building a wardrobe of glasses and your face will always be ‘well-framed’. If you’re like me (with a crazy prescription), glasses are expensive! This is a great place to consider cost per wear as well as how fun it is to express yourself with a great choice that suits you.

Before you know it, you’ll be down to a dollar per wear and you’ll have had years of the pleasure of people noticing how cool your glasses are and how current and interesting you are for making an amazing choice. It’s a great conversation starter and glasses contribute to your credibility every day.

Need help to choose or not sure what you want your glasses to say? We can help!