Thrift Thursday - For the Four-Eyes

Do you wear glasses? Me too. I tried contacts, but they grossed me out. For a while I had four pairs of glasses (some dating back 5+ years) that I'd alternate, but in the last few months I broke two of them. Of the two remaining, one was all scratched up and the other fell off my face whenever I looked down. Once every two years my insurance lets me get a new pair of glasses (provided they come from some obscure optometrist and they cost less than $130). Have you ever gone shopping for glasses? Unless you want some dusty 1980s looking pair in the cobwebby corner of the display case, it's hard to even find a frame for under $150, and that's not including lenses. Even with my insurance paying it's part, I still had to shell out $200 for these:


and I guess they're okay, but I don't love them. This is the kind of style that straddles the hip/nerd fence, and some days all I see is NERD. I was also a little disappointed to find they had bebe a logo emblazoned on the side. I want to change it to say kbebe or something. The optician kept trying to steer me to the Gucci and Prada pairs with their logos all obnoxious along the sides, but that's not how I roll. I really don't want my face to be a billboard.

Now, if you've taken the time to read this far, thanks! I'm going to let you in on a secret. If you wear glasses, or you know someone who does, check out this site: http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php. You can get really nice glasses for as low as $8! Say what? It's true. I just got 5 pairs and I love them all. Do you know what it's like to open up your mailbox and find a package full of glasses? It's like Christmas Day. . . and all you got were glasses! After living with scratchy, loosey, breaky pairs for years, I'm loving all these new CLEAR, funky, well-fitting ones, and I only spent $80 total! This is what I got:

Hello yellow! Now, I wouldn't spend $200 on these, but for $9.95, what the hell.

I love these, they're like woodgrain:

if woodgrain were made of plastic.

Here's my half-homage to Sally Jesse Raphael:

I think these next ones are my favorite. I've already gotten lots of compliments on them:


To which I say, "Thanks! They were $12.95!"

To which they reply, "Huh? Where?" and fumble for a pen to write down the website.

I also got a pair of suglasses:

With a pretty flower etched on the side:

Sorry for the photos of KB overload. I feel like I'm shilling for the Home Shopping Network or something. I usually only endorse websites and products by indie designers, but times are tough for everyone right now and glasses are an expensive necessity. Affordable is good. Heck, for this price you could buy a bunch with various prescriptions and donate them to the Lions Club to send to needy people in developing countries so you can feel really awesome about your altruistic self. Or you could just turn them into funky brooches.


edited to add: Apologies to my sister-in-law, an optometrist. If you live in Fairmont, West Virginia, go to her (or if you're in the prison system, and I hope you're not, she'll come to you). She has good taste in glasses.