YES, you can buy prescription glasses online. YES, they are INEXPENSIVE. YES, they are REAL. YES, MOST of them are made for old ladies/men. But, NO, not ALL of them!
As you can see, another shopper, my stuffed animals, and I all look fabulous in our wayfarers (not Ray-Ban, but who can tell?! and with the prescription and everything they were actually less than $35). And, yes, they ARE uglypretty, and that is the beauty of them. (They are also IN: just go to St. Mark’s Place in Manhattan RIGHT NOW.) They also have a rich and exciting history of stardom (well, the Ray-Bans). (Also there is a cool chameleon video involving Ray-Bans posted on SwissMiss right now, but apparently the chameleon doesn’t really change colors like that. SAD FACE.)
Anyway, here is how to get your own awesome PRESCRIPTION (!!!) Wayfarers.
(1) Go to Glassy Eyes’ blog. He will convince you, as he convinced me, that online prescription glasses are not a farce. (The glassy eye blogger is also cool, as evidenced by his kindly response to my probably late-night email asking him where-oh-where the cool glasses were.) He will also give you the full instructions on how to get your prescription written down (yes, you do need to go to the eye doctor!) and how to fill the information in online and how get frame measurements etc. A note on frame measurements: They aren’t really important for the Wayfarers unless you have an abnormally gigantic head (you know, like Elaine in that episode of Seinfeld where the bird flies into it) because Wayfarers are so hipster and bohemian that they don’t really have to fit right. They are a lot larger than my regular glasses.
(2) Go to THIS PAGE on Opitcal 4 Less and order the glasses. You will never find these glasses if you SEARCH for them any regular way because on Optical 4 Less they are called “Freeways.” (If you don’t like the “Freeways” (or Wayfarers, as I like to call them) check out Glassy Eye and click on some of his great links. There really aren’t ONLY old lady glasses. There are also a lot of nice traditional glasses in all sorts of frame styles that I am sure I would wear if I were a normal person.)
(3) Get your glasess (and plastic case and cleaning cloth, which are included!). They apparently come ALL THE WAY! from Hong Kong. Wear them, preferabbly with a dainty, girly outfit for a perfect and semi-ironic contrast to the thick-black-rimmed-glasses geek persona eminating from your totally cool glasses.
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30 Responses for "Semi-Cheap Prescription Wayfarers"
love the picture of you squatting! so adorable! and they’re cute on your stuffed animals too :)
Hello Kitty DEF didn’t take her frame measurements though ; )
You can also get a similar style for even cheaper at Zenni Optical: http://www.zennioptical.com/cart/product.php?productid=744&cat=22&page=4
I haven’t ordered any in the Wayfarer style but I just got my first pair of Zennis earlier this week and I’m pretty pleased with the quality (although next time I’ll definitely splurge on the anti-reflective coating that I opted out of the first go ’round). Here’s me in the frames I ordered.
Oops, obviously didn’t link that picture right: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3446/3381562034_2820537588.jpg?v=0
Question to…I guess anyone who has ordered glasses online. Does anyone have a high prescription (on the brink of blindness high)? And if so, what type of lens did you choose? Is the included lens type really thick? I ask because whenever I’ve gotten glasses at an eyeglass store, I’ve always chosen a lighter lens.
I’ve been curious about online glasses for a while, so I’m glad you posted this Maria. I think it would be good way to get prescription sunglasses.
Bri — Thanks for posting your picture! Great glasses. And nice to know that you can get different Wayfarerish styles in other colors besides black!
Tricia — I don’t know anything about lens thickness, but you might check out Glassy Eye for that info. He probably has it written up, or else it might be findable in the forums — that’s where I finally found a link to Wayfarers.
because all i know is children’s books:
you should read this – http://www.amazon.com/Glasses-Who-Needs-Lane-Smith/dp/B000C1ZXFY
the art and story is great. plus, it increased my love of glasses. i wish i got to wear fun glasses. i’d select red ones that sparkled.
omg i love lane smith! the stinky cheese man is one of my favorite children’s books! i also like “the true story of the three little pigs.”
Hello, I was wondering what kind lens you got? I want the similiar pair of frames you have on. Some people said you couldn’t put lens on it.
Hi Mindy, I got a regular prescription lens. They let you do it if you buy from here: http://www.optical4less.com/plastic-eyeglasses/p113/.
Thanks Maria, I also have another question. Say if I bought the eyeglasses from another place. Can I just take the eyeglasses to a local store or something to get a lens replacement? I’m not too sure if you heard of http://www.zipia.net but they also have non-prescription eyeglasses.
I looked around on google to see if I can put prescription, but no luck on finding an answer. I bought my current glasses from lenscrafters costing me a total of $389. If I didn’t have insurance it would of been $500. Ehh. =/
Mindy — I myself could never figure this out. There are so many cool frames I would love it myself if I could put lenses in. I think the cheapest way is to choose frames from the prescription web-sites.
Same, I realized how much money I wasted on lenscrafters. Ugh. May I ask how long did it take for your eyeglasses to arrive? Since its from korea I’m kinda of effy. I found the same exact eyeglasses for $11 off a forum. The seller is located in california.
I’m thinking of buying it from the seller. Then just go to walmart or errr costco for lens.
I think if you can find ones you like on the prescription sites (i would def use glassyeye’s blog to find places where they sell them), then you can just get the prescription lenses in the glasses and you wouldn’t have to bother getting lenses from somewhere else.
Mine took about two weeks to arrive — but I am in the US and Opitcal 4 Less ships from Hong Kong!
I see, alright thank you and taking the time for answering my questions! i love your website, i will check out glassyeye’s blog again.
No problem Mindy! I hope you’ll show us what glasses you end up getting!
Hi maria, one more thing you know the side of the glasses does it say anything like made in china? Or anything.. Ugh I end up buying some at a store for 10.80? In total and on the side of the glasses it says something like hand painted frame…are they really light plastic?
mine have a number printed on the inside of one of the parts that go over my ear, but you can’t see it because it’s on the inside. the plastic isn’t too cheap, I don’t think.
Hmm I see, thank you because on other wayfarers I got in the inside of it on the left side it says china a27428d-clr. Then the other side it says hand polish frame.
Best post ever! (even though I am sure you will top it) :)
Thank you so much Moe : ) !
Hi there, I found your blog via Google while searching for first aid for a heart attack. Interesting post.
Good Idea
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Great post.
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Hi, I have visited that Optical4less website many times. I also cruised around Google looking for more Wayfarer glasses, because i am absolutely in love with them, and i found three pairs: a red pair, a white pair, and a black pair, but they aren’t prescribed. i was wondering if it was possible to purchase those offline, because they are super cheap, and they look exactly like the ones in your picture, and take them to my optometrist and have real prescribed lenses put in. it would be so much cheaper for me if that was possible, and i found that on the Optical4less website, they only have black frames available as i am interested in color.
Hi,
just wondering whether you know if ‘optical4less’ send to the UK and Channel Islands?
Im despararate to get some and have been seaching every web page about Prescription Wayfarers for days and ‘optical4less’ has been recommended on several pages, but this page has been the most useful! Thanks :)
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your article; but would also like to share a link of similar website for discount prescription sunglasses with easy to navigate and user friendly GUI, for more information follow link: http://www.prescription-glasses.com/prescription-sunglasses-eyeglasses
You can also get these glasses at http://www.opticstoreonline.com at a reasonable price.
Just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated this post. I had spent about a week looking at various discount eyewear sites on the web and found some Wayfarer-style glasses that were close, but not exactly what I wanted. I finally did the right search on Google, found this page, saw the pics of your glasses, and screamed “Score!!!!”
End result, it took fifteen days to get three pairs of prescription Wayfarers, two had tinting (one full tint, one with gradient tint), and the whole order cost me less than $100 with free shipping. The glasses are awesome and I’m definitely using that site again. You rock!
ZenniOptical.com have quite a selection of Wayfarer style glasses at very reasonable prices ($10 and up with single vision prescription lenses, add $5 for tint to make sunglasses – they have several colors). Anti-reflective coatings are free, and shipping is $5 no matter how many pairs.
Here is a list of some of their product numbers that are similar in style to Wayfarers. Make sure you look at the lens sizes as some are bigger or smaller than others.
Mine took a couple of weeks to arrive and quality was fine.
I cringe to think how much money I have spent on mall prescription glasses (Lenscrafters etc) over the years…
#228421
#220421 (smaller version of 228421)
#270118
#270124
#270218
#270222
#270421
#270517
#270522
#270524
#234930
#220431
#270115
#489431
Have fun!!
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