Eyewear

[sshum88]

MBD...I'm a little blinder than you at -7.5 / -7.75 and have had to deal with thick coke bottle lenses all my life. It's probably one of the major reasons I wear mostly thick acetate frames as they will hide my lenses a little better. I'm fortunate that I don't have the typical asian nose with no bridge and can get away with wearing these frames without nose pads.

A good friend of mine owns an optical store and she has advised me many times over that thin metal frames will not work with the thickness of my lenses...even if I pick the thinnest and lightest lenses possible! The only metal frames that will work is if I go very small and with minimal curvature.

When things slow down and I get better lighting, I'll snap some shots of my current rotation.

Dis - I was told that I couldn't get titanium frames because of the thickness of my lenses. Is that true?
MBD

[thehouseofdis]

Dis - I was told that I couldn't get titanium frames because of the thickness of my lenses. Is that true?

I call bullshit on that! That sounds like a lazy or incompetent (or both) optician. The owner of place I used to cut lenses for in Seattle was a -8 and a -8.5 with astigmatism and she primarily wore of titanium frames as well as the ultra thin stainless frames which have the added issue of flexibility (which causes lenses to chip around the edge if the wrong type of lens is used). Seriously, the lenses available now can make a +/-7 look like a +/-1.

I also would recommend to avoid frames that you need add nose pads to. It's a little like changing the heel height of a pair of boots.

[galia]

I'm not superblind (like -4.5) but having your lenses slimmed will change your life. I wouldn't be able to wear my beloved mosntrosities otherwise, they'd be too heavy

[sargon97]

I'm glad people are starting to post some real eyewear that can be used on a daily bases. Dripping glasses are cool and all, but those sorts of items tend to over power everything else.

I was not thrilled with my experiences at Spectacles for humans either and I would definitely not buy from them remote. If your finding your glasses sliding down your face, its defiantly time to get thinner lenses and a nice light frame, at least for daily wear.

After dozens of glasses over the years I'm at a stage now where I don't like them anymore and I don't like that intellectual / nerd look they give me. I want glasses that visually get out of the way, are light and can be stuffed in a pocket, and don't break if I do anything active. I've found Ic Berlins good for this. Nothing special, but they make tons of shapes and they last forever. My next pair will the folding ones me thinks.

Believe it or not, every once in a while Chrome hearts makes some decent eyewear. My wife has these and she gets complements all the time. The red is much prettier in real life.




City Optix in SF had some nice looking horn glasses, don't remember the name but I'll try and find out.

[sargon97]

Agreed, things have evolved a lot in this area in the last few years. If you go someplace decent thickness should no longer be an issue. The only problem I still encounter is having very high base curve sunglasses with my astigmatism. But even thats changing quickly. I had Oakley do me a pair of sports glasses with a base curve of like 8 and there is literally no distortion. To bad they look like ass, so I can only use them for mountain biking .

I call bullshit on that! That sounds like a lazy or incompetent (or both) optician. The owner of place I used to cut lenses for in Seattle was a -8 and a -8.5 with astigmatism and she primarily wore of titanium frames as well as the ultra thin stainless frames which have the added issue of flexibility (which causes lenses to chip around the edge if the wrong type of lens is used). Seriously, the lenses available now can make a +/-7 look like a +/-1.

I also would recommend to avoid frames that you need add nose pads to. It's a little like changing the heel height of a pair of boots.

[david s]

I've been wearing these Christian Roth's for the last 5 years, not sure if I will ever change them.

[eton97]

guys - this is the place i got one of my buffalo horn frames from....

RetroSpecs & Co. They are based here: 8629 Melrose Avenue - Los Angeles CA

http://www.retrospecs.com/

they have some really interesting pieces - especially if you like original frames.....both horn and metal - my everyday pair are the second pair you see on the buffalo section of the website.

Some of the classic original wireframe are very cool

[sargon97]

^ yeah, those are cool. Have a pair of the sunglasses, the restorations seem very well done.

[Skye X]

I don't wear glasses, but I'm continually looking for the right sunglasses for me. I currently rock these:



But I've been after a pair of these forever:



They come up on the bay every so often, but they're usually about double what they retailed for. Not down. I'm also not into the red lenses. They came with black lenses at some point, but only in the silver frames. I'd have to figure out how to swap that business.

[docus]

I get my specs from Opera Opera in Covent Garden, London - they specialise in classic reproductions and they really know their stuff - they're friendly and knowledgeable and have a very interesting selection. Recommended for speccy four eyed twats like me in London.

http://www.operaopera.net/index.htm

[theetruscan]

I am rather annoyed that no optician -- including the schmancy, pretentious "Spectacles for Humans" in SF & LA -- have never suggested natural frames to me given that a regular complaint I have voiced to them is about the tendency of my frames & very heavy lenses to slide off my face in the summer.

SFH does carry Meyer (I think), which are superlight titanium and reindeer glasses. They may be a solution combined with good lenses, but I don't know. But, no frame weight will ever make up for a prescription that absolutely requires you to use a thick lens. I think, going off memory here (my prescription is weak), that there are some newer lens materials that are significantly higher-index (and thus thinner) than even the best stuff from a few years ago.

Nonetheless, large prescription lenses, even the newest highest-index ones (I think mine were from Hoya) are way heavier than non-prescription lenses. It sounds to me like what you need are grippy nosepieces and smaller frames.

I'm sorry you found SFH pretentious, they've always been very helpful and easygoing to me. DJ even saved one of my ski trips by calling around and talking another shop into making me ski-goggle inserts when I was in a bind.

[theguy1234]

glasses from dior homme aw04,still.

[PaintedBlack_7]

glasses from dior homme aw04,still.

Where can i get those?

Right now im just wearing some cheap looking titanium frames i got at lenscrafters :S

[Chinorlz]

Learned quite a bit from this thread. My vision is ridiculous (8, 9-ish plus astigmatism) and so have just gone straight to contacts. Would love to have a nice pair of frames though and if the technology has gotten good enough to thin the lenses out some that would be great.

The only frames I've bought in the last several years has been a pair of IC Berlins. Left the nonprescription clear lens in and they are my OR eye protection. Super super lightweight and comfortable.

I do like some of the more toned down Chrome Hearts frames. I just have a hard time justifying their $1k+ price tag for the most part. Made in Japan or not.

[reborn]

Learned quite a bit from this thread. My vision is ridiculous (8, 9-ish plus astigmatism) and so have just gone straight to contacts. Would love to have a nice pair of frames though and if the technology has gotten good enough to thin the lenses out some that would be great.

The only frames I've bought in the last several years has been a pair of IC Berlins. Left the nonprescription clear lens in and they are my OR eye protection. Super super lightweight and comfortable.

I do like some of the more toned down Chrome Hearts frames. I just have a hard time justifying their $1k+ price tag for the most part. Made in Japan or not.

OSA, when they are having sale, usually has a decent sale selection (30% to 50% off): Chrome Hearts, Oliver Peoples, Gold and Wood, Retrospecs, IC Berlin, etc. Also, I was at Morgenthal Fredrics this weekend...they had decent selection of frames on sale.