There’s got to be a better way to buy glasses. Those of you with good eyesight and those of you who are far-sighted won’t relate, but this is a regular pain or those of us who are near-sighted. For the uninitiated, buying glasses typically starts with an eye doctor appointment. This takes about 10 minutes and is necessary to check both eye health and your prescription. When the appointment is over, you will be given a new prescription, which means you’ll need new glasses.
Eyeglass stores are fun. There are lots of shelves containing different styles of frames for men, women, unisex, kids, and sunglasses. Most places also have a ton of mirrors so you can try on different styles until you find the look you like. The frames all contain non-prescription lenses that are then replaced with your prescription once you make the purchase. However, that’s exactly where the process breaks down for us nearsighted folk. Without our prescription lenses, we can’t see what we look like. I can see clearly within a foot, but beyond that, everything is blurry. This means that when I try on glasses, I have to bend over and get very close to the mirror.
Maybe this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but think about it. These things will be on my face every day and they will be seen by everyone who looks at me. I can be confident about how they look when I’m crouched down within a foot of a mirror, but beyond that, I have no idea how they look. This means that I have no idea how I look. Do the fit my face? Do they fit my body type? Do they match the colors and styles of clothes I like to wear? I have no idea.
And so, I formally declare that there has to be a better way. Let’s get on it, eye glass vendors.