Sexy Spectacles

I do read in my readers, I promise. I also recently hemmed a pair curtains which needed to be shortened, and it was so much easier to do wearing glasses. But I'm also discovering (not having to wear glasses before, thanks to my 100% vision, right till I turned 40) that glasses can add so much to my style expressions (Justin even suggested that I order "fashion statement" glasses, without special lenses) and that glasses can be sexy, or rather that I can feel sexy in glasses.

Soon after I bought a pair of leopard print glasses from a book store, a funny thing happened. I was cleaning up my email box and stumbled onto an email from Firmoo, the global online optical store, which said something about "awesome glasses"... Serendipity again?! Now, that email was sent to me in early February, and I opened it in late April! Despite the fact that I was almost 3 months late to accept the offer, I emailed back, and soon received a very friendly response with instructions on how to order a pair of glasses from their site. I was offered a lot of fun options and did not hesitate to try them all on... not having to leave my couch. All I had to do was either download my portrait or use a web camera. I chose one of photos from my blog and played with all the pairs I could - sweet vintage styles glasses, funky colorful glasses, sleek looking contemporary glasses... you name it.

How do you like these options, for instance?

Or, perhaps, you prefer a little more character?

After consideration, I settled on a pair of these classy looking burgundy spectacles which would go with many outfits (burgundy is neutral, right?). I thoroughly read all the feedback and all the specifications about the glasses. One of the important things when you buy glasses is the distance between your pupils (PD) - it is individual for each person. I have a fairly wide face, and my distance is a bit bigger than average adults'. Each pair on Firmoo comes with a recommendation for what PD it is the best.

After I decided on the frame, there was the process of ordering my spectacles. If you ordered glasses before, you are probably accustomed to terminology. I had not, and I am not. So that part was a bit tricky for me to figure out by myself - in fact, it was super tricky, and I would probably not be able to do it without Justin's help, who wears glasses since 3rd grade. Basically, you are offered three options to choose - single vision lenses, multi-focal or non-RX. I chose single vision, and then readers - that's easy enough. But after that step, there is a mandatory step "Enter Prescription". If you have one, you can either upload the prescription, or fill in the form. But if you don't have a prescription, have never seen one in your life and need simple readers, then you'll be probably as confused as I was. All those abbreviations sound like gobbledygook to me, I was frustrated and had no clue what to do - there was no way around that step, no explanations or instructions as to what to do when you need simple readers and you are unfamiliar with the talk. The contact person tried to help me via email, but I don't think we understood each other. I was lucky to have Justin to help me. He just entered +1 in a couple of fields, my PD number - and that was it. The rest was easy. If Firmoo can add clear instructions for people who, like myself, are entering the world of spectacles for the first time, they will truly have an excellent service, because everything else is exceptional.

For the first time customers, Firmoo currently offers a 15% off the first pair - click here.

My glasses arrived exactly in one week, in an attractive case, with a cleaning fabric.

There was an additional case included in a package, as well as this miniature tool which can be chained to my keys, very convenient. 

But most important are the spectacles themselves. They have a satisfying weight to them, they fit my face perfectly and look on me even better than I expected. The lenses magnify just right for me to read the small print books (which I seem to have plenty of these days... who'd have guessed). I love my readers. I don't know exactly how much it would cost me to go to a doctor to order glasses, but I'm sure much more than ordering a pair online (which now, when I know how to do it, is pretty easy), doctors visits are expensive in the US. And readers from a store typically don't suit my wide face too well. I'm also excited to have a new option - fashion glasses - available to me. It would be great to have a pair or two just for fun, when I'm in the mood to play. Because I can tell you with all sincerity, I feel very different when I wear glasses. There is something about spectacles, isn't there?

Photos by Justin

Readers - courtesy of Firmoo.com

Dress - Chico's 

(one of my oldest dresses, I bought it when my daughter was 5 or 6, so at least 6 years ago)

Cardi - Old Navy (a couple of years ago)

Purse - B Makowsky (few years old)

Jewelry - boutique finds

Shoes - Sam Edelman via Nordstrom Rack

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