The last time I was due to get a new pair of prescription glasses, I was T-minus one week to leaving for an almost year-long stint traveling in the Pacific, my eye clinic seemed to gravely misunderstand how to order things in a timely matter, and I had to sweatily try on like fifty frames in one of those two-hour eye places. Four hundred dollars and a whole lot of stress later I was stuck with the funkiest, fugliest pair of glasses you can imagine. (And yes, I know fugly is so circa-2004, but that's these glasses for you.)

I've been wanting a new pair of specs for years. Do I have five hundo sitting around, though?

Do you think I really wanted to just eat eggy-wegs every day for the past week?

No. And no. 

But then I heard about Warby Parker. Cue the heavenly music. 

OK, so Jane wrote about Warby Parker selling these affordable frame + lens combos earlier this year and we even covered the fact that the company donates a pair of glasses to someone in need when you purchase a pair in our charitable gift guide. But for better or worse, I'm one of those paranoid souls who thinks everyone is out there to steal my credit card info. It took a real-life discussion with a happy customer for me to finally give it a go. (And not before doing some additional research. And then seeing cute Warby frames on ReadyMade's own Alexa Fornoff when we were in Des Moines a few weeks ago.) 

I headed to their website to check out their designs and sign up for the home try on—they'll send you up to five pairs, complete with a pre-paid shipping label. All you have to do is hand over your credit card information (eh). I chose three super-fly frames, and someone magically added two more, just 'cause, based off my selections. They arrived within five days in this pretty box:

Once received, Warby Parker gives you five days to send 'em back. So I did what any normal person getting a new pair of glasses would do: Donned all the different styles, got the opinions of my fam, friends, and snapped pics of myself on Photobooth and emailed them to my SOs in different area codes. (You can also post pics on their Facebook page and have others chime in on what looks best, too.)

I felt smart—but maybe too smart—in some, I-so-live-in-Williamsburg-wait-I-mean-Bushwick in others. But I think I found the perfect pair: Whiskey Tortoise Webbs, you are mine.

Overall, quite pleased by my glasses-purchasing experience. I thought the commenters on their Facebook wall were just brown-nosing, but they do truly have great customer service unlike... well, let's not get into that. Their vintage styles may only serve a certain niche, including those who will get excited about where the name Warby Parker actually comes from. But their business model is one any ReadyMaker can support. And they just so happen to have a price tag my 22-year-old self can afford, too. 

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