There are two things I loathe spending my fashion dollars on - work out gear (which we've covered in-depth here) and glasses. I have a hard time justifying spending money on an accessory that nobody really sees me in except my husband and the occasional, very unlucky, delivery guy.
But then those trendy Buddy Holly glasses started popping up everywhere. I needed a pair. I knew, without a doubt, they would be THE accessory of my spring/summer wardrobe, a jumping off place for all sorts of creative, interesting combinations that would make me more interesting and popular with my co-workers and lead to all sorts of ... Okay, I just really wanted a pair.
So, I headed off to the place you always go when you're looking for retro and kitschy finds - Costco. Surprisingly, I didn't find any. I did manage to find several flattering, stylish pairs that I might have bought under different circumstances, but I had only one thing on the brain - my BH's (that's Buddy Holly's, in case you were wondering. I was trying to use an abbreviation to simplify but since I just had to explain it to you it kind of misses the point and now you have so many extra words to read it's bordering on ridiculous. Ahem.).
I'd seen some retro styles in one of our local boutiques so I checked out a couple of them and, eureka, I found several pairs! For $500! Seriously? I simply couldn't justify spending that kind of cash on an item I was most likely going to sit on within a week. I did find a couple of other frames that were "all right" but still would have put me over $200; a lot for something I felt very lukewarm about.
Now, the last time I had a Great Glasses Hunt, I ended up buying a really cool pair of reading glasses at Anthropologie and swapping out the lenses at my optician; I was hoping that might work again. I found a pair I liked fine and felt funky enough but Chris said I looked like a granny, and while 50s rocker is one thing, granny is something else entirely. I took them back.
Out of stores (and gas) I went to my last great hope - the Internet. I definitely had some misgivings about turning to the Internet. The biggest one? You can't try the glasses on. Which is a pretty big one. Not much can replace trying on different pairs, having a trained professional help you decide what looks best for your face ... but I had a limited budget and a closet full of clothes that were calling out, "Buddy! Buddy!" so ...
Within about 5 minutes on the Web - jackpot! BH, in multiple colors even, and so cheap! I mean mind-blowingly inexpensive. I found glasses starting at $8 (seriously) with UV coating for an additional $4.95. Insanity! I uploaded my photo to a couple of sites and "tried on" different pairs, scoured the photos of people wearing the same frames (what I found to be the most helpful tool - you could get a sense of the style and size of the frames) and looked at a lot of cheap glasses.
I ended up ordering two pairs (one pair of BH's and a pair of green cat's eye glasses) for less than $80. I figured one pair at least would work and I was still way under budget. They both arrived quickly, in about ten days, and they were ... unexpected. The online program I used had made the green pair look as if they'd be cat's eyes; they ended up being the BH's I wanted. And the original BH's? They turned out to be streamlined professorial specs. But they made me look smart, so I kept them.
The final result? Ordering glasses online is a bit of a gamble. But it's a cheap gamble. I'd say if you have a strong sense of style or want a very specific look, go for it. Myself, I'm very happy I ordered two pairs; I actually wear both a lot. Guess there's something to be said for looking smart.
