I’m lucky to live in a city that boasts over 300 days of sunshine each year. In fact, Phoenix is the sunniest city in the United States. Let’s not talk about the heat – it was well over 100 degrees today and we still have months of summer weather ahead of us. I try to focus on the positives this time of year.
Back to sunshine. I have sensitive eyes and can barely see, let alone leave the house without looking like I’ve been crying on a sunny day without sunglasses. They are a big part of my daily routine and really, one of my favorite accessories. Even my kids ask for their sunglasses when we leave the house. So when the fine folks over at Warby Parker asked me to help them spread the word about their new line of sunglasses, it was a no-brainer.
I’ll admit it. I had no idea Warby Parker made sunglasses. Probably a pretty dumb oversight since they are well-known for their cute and reasonably priced specs, but true nonetheless. Their website includes pricing for prescription and non-prescription lenses, so you don’t need to have subpar vision to buy a pair. I’ve always admired their frames, but I no longer have a need for a pair of prescription glasses since I got LASIK about 6 years ago (BEST DECISION EVER). Unless I move to a cloudier locale, my need for sunglasses won’t be going away. Gotta love desert life. People here always say you don’t have to shovel sunshine!
Warby Parker offers a pretty cool home try-on program where they will send you five pairs of frames for FREE to try on for five days. They also include a prepaid return label to send them back, so it literally costs you nothing to try out a few styles at home. For someone like me who personally hates store employees hovering over my shoulder and giving me unsolicited advice, this is my kind of program. And free?? My kind of company. They also offer a Toms-like one-for-one program where they donate frames to non-profit organizations. Pretty cool stuff.
I had a lot of fun browsing through the different styles online and picking out my favorites. I easily could have tried on five more styles, but I tried to be practical with my picks. I really loved the aviator options, but since I already have a few pairs in my collection, I found myself favoring the dark plastic styles.
I also really like Warby Parker’s new Field series, which is a limited edition multi-layered style totally different from all the other sunnies I own. I’m a big fan of the Bonnie frame in walnut/tortoise, but sadly, it wasn’t available for home try-on.
The website says you will received them in 3-5 business days, but it actually took six business days for the package to arrive on my door stop. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the five styles I ordered.
#1: Piper in Jet Black; #2: Raglan in Pearled Tortoise; #3: Percey in Charcoal Fade; #4: Griffin in Jet Matte Black; #5: Barkley in Antique Shale Fade
The only pair I really dislike are the Percey style (#3 above) only because the lenses are a tad too small for my style. I really like #1 and #2, but both my four year old son and husband like #5 (Barkley) the best. Although I usually don’t take fashion advice from a four year old, the two of them might be onto something. All the frames I tried on go for $95 for non-prescription lenses.
Overall, I’m really impressed with Warby Parker’s sunglass line. But I need your help! Which pair is your favorite? Mama need some new sunnies!!! Leave a comment below letting me know your pick!
