EyewearTalk

As a Product Specialist in the Eyewear Group at OpticsPlanet, I like to think our superior customer service is what brings people to our store. Of course, good customer service doesn’t hurt, but our main attraction may be great prices on the best name brands.

Our commitment to the best prices on the best brands is what guides us in the Eyewear Group, and we are proud to announce that we are an authorized distributor of the eyewear collections of the Luxottica Group. These collections represent some of the most prestigious designer names including Ray-Ban, D&G by Dolce & Gabbana, DKNY Donna Karan New York, Anne Klein, Brooks Brothers and Arnette, among others.

Of course, each label has it’s own personality. In general, all of the Luxoticca Group labels tend to appeal to people who appreciate quality craftsmanship and leading-edge fashion, but there are certain names that especially express a unique identity. Anne Klein is famous for innovative fashion for women, DKNY Donna Karan New York is edgy urban and Arnette is California cool.

We are constantly trying to make it easier for you to find what you want. We have grouped our glasses into categories such as gender, age, frame color, lens color, etc., and included menus to quickly display a selected style. See the drop-down menus on the Rayban Brand Page or on the D&G by Dolce and Gabbana Brand Page for samples of this feature.

As an authorized dealer of every brand we sell, our glasses are 100% authentic, brand new and come with the full manufacturer warranty. We do not sell replicas, imitations, fakes or cheap sunglasses. The lenses for our Prescription Sunglasses and Rx Eyeglasses are prepared to manufacturer specification by a manufacturer authorized lab. See Luxottica Group Designer Sunglasses & Fashion Eyewear for a list of our Luxottica labels.

Think of OpticsPlanet when you think of the top names in Designer Sunglasses, Prescription Eyeglasses and Fashion Frame Eye Glasses.

At OpticsPlanet, a big part of our work is helping customers get the right size glasses. Of course, size is important when it comes to how the glasses look on you and how comfortable they are. Most glasses are not available in a wide range of sizes, but the limited range fits most people very well. In this blog, I will suggest some of glasses using a small, medium and large size guide.

Serengeti offers their superb lens technology in small, medium and large sizes with different frame and lens colors in their Serengeti Aviator standard sunglasses. The different sizes of the Aviator are also available with prescription lens at Serengeti Small Aviator Prescription Sun Glasses, Serengeti Rx Prescription Medium Aviator and Serengeti Large Aviator Rx Sunglasses. The Aviator with progressive bifocal lenses is only available in small and medium sizes at Serengeti Small Aviator Progressive Rx Sun Glasses and Serengeti Rx Progressive Medium Aviator.

American Optical offers their AO Original Pilot standard sun glasses in a variety of colors with different temple options in 52mm, 55mm and 57mm sizes that correspond to small medium and large.

Adults who need to fit a smaller face should consider glasses that are sized to fit children. The AO Original Pilot 45mm Sunglasses are suggested for adults with smaller faces as well as for children. The Ray-Ban Juniors from Ray Ban are an excellent choice for those with smaller faces who want to wear classic Raybans!

Here in the Eyewear Group at OpticsPlanet, we have special expertise in glasses for larger faces. One of our Product Specialists, Pam, has been trying to find glasses for her husband, Rich, who has a larger face. His is a larger face and not just a large-average.

According to Pam, people with larger faces must make sure their glasses are big enough for proper appearance. The rule-of-thumb is that glasses should be as wide as your face. Rich has had glasses that were too narrow for his face and they left marks where the temples rubbed his skin. Pushing your glasses up on top of your head will widen a frame but doing this too much can overly stretch them. Glasses with spring hinges such as Serengeti’s S-Flex offer a little more give for the larger-average faces.

The only glasses that fit Rich well are the Spiral from Bolle. The SG-1 from Wiley-X was close but not comfortable. The Coopers from Spy Optics weren’t big enough and neither were any of the Serengetis.

Even with the best information, it can be hard to be sure you are getting the right size. If you order online, check that the dealer has a Return Policy.

Knowing your glasses size is especially important when you buy glasses online. If you haven’t had a chance to try on the frames in a store, you want to make sure the glasses will fit for comfort and looks.

When I try on glasses in the store, I always look at the measurement information that is printed on the inside of one of the temples or on the bridge. You don’t have to try on too many glasses before you begin to know your size.

The size information is a set of three numbers that are measurements in millimeters. For example, I recently bought frames that are size 54-19-140. The first number (54) is the horizontal width of one lens. The second number (19) is the distance between lenses, and the third number (140) is the length of one of the temples. I am a larger person and this is the bigger size in this style. The smaller frame is 52-17-140.

At OpticsPlanet, we provide this size information on each page that describes our Sunglasses, Prescription Sunglasses and Eyeglasses.

The first thing I consider when choosing the right size is to make sure the glasses are at least as wide as my face. Otherwise, the glasses will look and feel too small. The width of glasses includes the horizontal width of one lens times two (one for each lens) PLUS the distance between the lenses PLUS the distance the temples stick out which can be a few millimeters. It is helpful if you know the width of your face, otherwise, after you try on a few pairs, you’ll know the minimum horizontal lens width you need.

I don’t use the value for the distance between lenses as a guide for fitting over my nose. The number can be misleading especially if the shape of the lenses bring them close together at the bridge. I use the number to get a sense of the overall width of the frames.

Sometimes, there isn’t a lot of choice in the length of the temples. A number like 140 is common. However, for myself, I have found that a temple that is longer than 140 is more comfortable and provides greater stability. A temple that is too short may not have enough length for proper final fitting and adjustment. Also, a temple that is the proper length looks better by going straight back across your head and not angled up. The temple length number can be misleading. A frame that wraps may have a temple length that appears to be short, but you need to take the wrap into consideration which pushes the temples back over your ears.

When you know the size that fits you best, you can confidently by glasses online and take advantage of great savings on the best brands. See our Sunglasses Guide and our Rx Prescription Guide for more information about choosing glasses that fit well.

At OpticsPlanet, we have a flexible Return Policy and many of our customers order several pairs of glasses at a time with the idea to keep what they like and return the others for a full refund. This is a good way to try glasses you buy online.

We have a lot of experience helping customers with special size needs such as smaller or larger frames. I will talk about our recommendations for those situations in a future blog. In the mean time, people with smaller faces should consider child size frames such as the Ray-Ban Junior. The junior Raybans are way cool smaller versions of the classics. For larger faces, see the Ray Ban Highstreet, the S-flex models by Serengeti and the Bolle Spiral.

The internet continues to work to the advantage of the consumer. In the case of Sunglasses and Prescription Eyewear, the internet has made it possible for more retailers to compete for your business with lower prices and better service.

The availability of inexpensive prescription eyeglasses means my dream of having a wardrobe full of stylish frames to match any of my many moods is within the realm of reality. I have been seriously searching Google for sites that sell glasses and I think I know each dealer by heart and can recite every model number in their catalog. Now that I know there are stores on the internet that sell prescription glasses for $7.00, I am in disbelief when I see the prices in the stores at the mall.

Cheap-chic means different things to different people. For those who want the best price on the best labels, such as Ray-Ban, Serengeti, D&G or Spy Optic, you will be rewarded if you do your Google homework. Look for dealers who only sell authentic product with warranty. My goal is more on the side of quantity than quality so I’m willing to forego a familiar logo.

I’m still deciding on which dealer to try first. I want to keep the level of risk low in case it doesn’t work out right away. I am hoping to find a dealer I can return to many times.

Not all of the discount dealers instill the kind of confidence that makes me willing to turn over my credit-card information to them. I become especially concerned when a web site does not list key pieces of contact information or does not describe a return policy.

I’ll keep you informed of my progress.

Now is the time to take advantage of the savings that are possible by ordering your own prescription glasses on the internet. On the internet, you can choose from the latest styles from the best brand names, and, along with looking great, you’ll feel great because of all the money you saved.

There are many sources on the web that explain what all those funny numbers mean in your prescription. At OpticsPlanet, we have a Guide To Ordering Prescription Glasses and a Prescription Glasses FAQ. There really aren’t that many numbers and it’s a great feeling of empowerment when you know you can go anywhere you want, prescription in hand, and order glasses.

Bi-focal wearers are not excluded from this party and I want to explain the extra steps that are required for this group to order glasses. I recommend you also see our Bi-focal Prescription Guide.

When you see a frame you like, you need to check whether or not it can be used with bi-focal lenses. If it can be used with bi-focals, you need to check if the lenses are standard bi-focals or the no-line progressive style. The availability of a lens and frame combination may depend on the store so it might be worth checking a few places if you don’t find what you want right away.

An important prescription measurement that needs to be taken for bi-focals is the “Segment Height.” This is the location that divides the lens, top and bottom, between the far and distant vision portions. This measurement needs to be taken for the specific frames so you need to bring the frames to your optician for the reading.

At OpticsPlanet, we have a Trial Program so you can “rent” a frame at a nominal charge and have the segment height taken. The program includes some of our most popular frames. If you don’t see the frame you want in our program, we suggest that you order from our Non-prescription Sunglasses, have the measurement taken, and return the glasses for a full refund. Make sure that the optician does not make permanent marks on the trial lenses.

Along with the segment height, your bi-focal prescription includes a value called “Add” which is the difference between your far and near prescriptions. Whether your prescription is bi-focal or single-vision, make sure your optician provides you with your pupil distance.

That’s all there is to it. You will never need to complain again about how much you had to pay for bi-focals. OpticsPlanet is the leading online retailer of Prescription Sunglasses and Prescription Eyeglasses at unbeatable prices. Throughout our web site, there are links to the single-vision and bi-focal version of many of our frames.

I am currently wearing my first pair of glasses with multi-focal lenses. It’s taken me a while but I’ve come to like them.

Just around the time I bought these, some friends were talking about how they were adjusting to their new progressives and they complained about dizziness and headaches. Fortunately, that was not my experience. The thing that made me want to rip them off my face was that the near vision lens seemed to be positioned too high and was blurring my distance vision. I noticed it especially when I was driving and needed to see distant most of the time.

It made me feel like I wasted my money but I knew going into this that there might be a few false starts.

From the beginning, I was wary of how well multi-focal would work in small sized lenses, but the sales person assured me there was no problem. I originally wanted glasses with larger lenses but they’re hard to find, especially for men.

I am considering taking the glasses back to the store to see if the nose pads can be spread out so they sit lower on my face.

I’ve had these for a couple of months, now, and I’m starting to like them. I am naturally looking through the right part of the lenses for near and far, and I am not feeling like I want to tear them from my head. I’ve even had friends ask me to read small print for them.

Empowered with a print out of my prescription, I am on the look out for discount priced glasses and, if the price is low enough, I’ll buy a pair for general use and a pair specifically for reading and see if I like that arrangement.

Many of the brand name Prescription Glasses we sell at OpticsPlanet are available as bifocals and no-line progressives. In my next blog entry, I’ll give more details about how to order multi-focals. Until then, I recommend that you see our Bifocal Guide and our Trial Program.

The Bolle representative was here recently giving us an update on their latest styles. He had trays of sunglasses laid out on the table and no one could resist grabbing glasses and seeing how they looked in the mirror.

Glasses are fun. Some people have closets full of shoes for every occasion and many of us are just as ga-ga over glasses. Elton John must have a whole wing of his house for his collection.

I like eyeglasses. Sunglasses are more utilitarian for me and I wear them, basically, to protect against UV radiation. But, if I had the chance, I’d love to mix it up and present a fresh look everyday with eyewear that matched my mood. Now that prescription glasses can be ordered on the internet at more affordable prices, I thought my dream of a closet full of glasses would come true, but I’m not sure yet.

I was Googling for glasses the other day and stumbled on a number of web sites that offer prescription eyewear for around $39.95. I thought, heck, even I can afford a low-risk gamble like that. I checked them out and the selection of styles, including some classics that my trendy local eyewear chain wouldn’t be caught dead carrying, made me excited. At that price, I could be really irresponsible and order a cutting-edge fashion frame and a pair just for reading.

I showed the web sites to a co-worker and she said I should find out what their return policy is. I thought this was a good suggestion because, along with not wanting to toss my money into the virtual unknown of the internet, I am concerned about who gets my personal information and credit card number.

Alas, my research on the companies cooled my burning desire to be cheap chic. Basic information, such as return policy, phone number or e-mail address, was sometimes missing and this did not give me a warm-fuzzy. I was not sold by the companies with unclear pictures or little information about the frames. Some stores looked like fronts for drop-ship operations that might confuse my order with the tube-socks they sell on another site.

The jury is still out. If I find a style I can’t live without and I get a sense the company’s real business isn’t stealing credit cards, I might give it a try. I would definitely pursue it if I was buying for someone else who is in a low income situation, especially with the classic, long-lasting frame styles some of these stores offer.

At OpticsPlanet, we don’t have prescription eyewear for $39.95, yet, but we do have the best brands of Sunglasses, Prescription Eyewear, top-notch customer service and a Return Policy.

I will keep you informed if I decide to take the leap and try the others.