The Warby Parker Experiment

IMG_1469 Sometimes I forget about blog posts that I start. This is one of those gems.

Early this summer, Amanda and I got to thinking about buying new glasses frames, refreshing our faces. That's just what geeky couples do. 

I had read about Warby Parker, an up-and-coming boutique frame shop out of New York that has a unique online purchasing model. In short, you shop frames online and Warby sends them to you, five at a time and cost-free, to try on at home before purchasing with lenses. Very hip. You can't apply your vision insurance to the purchase, but every frame is $95, lenses are included, and shipping is free. I can dig it.

Like Tom's Shoes, Warby Parker also has a "One-for-one" program where it gives a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair purchased. Does everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside?!

Amanda and I took a couple days browsing the site and all of Warby's frames. The styles range from classic to hipster, and colors from conservative to bright orange. We each picked five frames to try and in just a few days we received them to try-on at home.

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The only issue we ran into with the process was that many glasses are unisex, so when we thought we were ordering his/her frames by the same name, we actually just ordered the exact same pairs.

Though we decided not to buy at the time, Amanda liked the Roosevelts and I like the Digbys. I'm sure those will be our next glasses purchases -- for the cost, style, service and concept of Warby Parker.