If you don’t know about Warby Parker already, then shame on you. Better late than never, though… Right? Anyway, in one sentence, Warby Parker is an upstart eyewear company that makes stylish prescription glasses for $95 (prescription lenses included) and donates a pair to someone in need each and every time they sell a pair.
Here’s a little more detail, straight from the founders themselves…
A collaboration between four close friends, Warby Parker was conceived as an alternative to the overpriced and bland eyewear available today. Prescription eyewear simply should not cost $300+. The industry is controlled by a few large companies that have kept prices artificially high, reaping huge profits from consumers who have no other options. By circumventing traditional channels and engaging with our customers directly through our website, Warby Parker is able to provide higher-quality, better looking prescription eyewear for under $100.
Now, with all that said, allow me to get to the coolest thing about Warby Parker… Their “Home Try-On” program, designed to address the concerns of anyone who is a bit apprehensive about buying prescription eyeglasses over the Internet (which, in reality, is probably everyone).
Here’s how it works: You go to their website and pick out five frames you’d like to check out. Then enter your info, and they’ll mail them to you. For free. To try on for five days. After which you mail them back. Again, for free.
Anyway, I signed up for the Home Try-On service as soon as I found out about Warby. Unfortunately, that was right about the same time everyone else found out about them, because they’d just been featured in GQ and Vogue, so I had to wait a bit longer than expected… Right around four months, to be a bit more precise. No worries, though: They’re a young company that got a lot of publicity real quick, and I’m sure they are working through the growing pains.
The important thing, though, is that I got my glasses today! Enough talk, on with the unboxing…

For reference, your handsome author, in his current spectacles, the Larrabee by Oliver Peoples

They come in a nice black ballistic nylon box…

With nice button clasps on the side


These are called the Miles (Click the name for a purchase link)



They are too wide for my face, this makes me sad, you can tell by the look on my face

These are called the Webb


These are perfect for my face, I feel handsome again

These are called the Roosevelt

I took some artistic pictures of them, because I am an artist

Even if the fake lenses didn’t make me look jaundiced, I would still look horrible in them

These are called the Nedwin, which is the nerdiest name of all time






Sometimes I gaze into the mirror, and wonder how I became so handsome

And these, my friends, are called the Huxley




Thought these were too bold at first, then remembered my bone structure and changed my mind
Well, there you have it, folks. A complete unboxing, including pictures of my charming face in some glasses that fit me miserably… But who knows? The specs that do nothing for me could do wonders for you! And you can find out, for free, thanks to the guys at Warby Parker.
Now that they’ve boosted their inventory, I would highly recommend them… I’ll be sure to update if/when I purchase a couple pairs… I’m thinking the Webb in “Amber” and “Revolver Black Crystal” or maybe the Nedwin in a couple colors or maybe the Huxley or maybe…
Jack Spade | Drill Nylon Slim Turnpike Briefcase | $395
First things first: Yes, $395 seems incredibly steep for a nylon briefcase. But I don’t post this necessarily as a recommendation (unless you’ve got more money than you know what to do with), but to provide an example of what I’ve been thinking about lately… I’ve been thinking about the fact that if I’m going to become a lawyer—a highly likely possibility!—I am going to have to give up the backpack and start toting a briefcase. In fact, I should probably do that before I pass the bar… I look like an idiot every time I wear a backpack with a suit, whether I’m a lawyer or not. Regardless, I don’t want a totally boring briefcase. There’s really only so much you can do with a briefcase, though. I like this one because it plays around with the materials involved but, yeah, it’s hardly the most exciting thing ever. Oh well.
Wolverine | 1000 Mile | Fall/Winter 2010 Collection
I can hardly believe it as I type it, since I am currently experiencing my first full East Coast summer in a long time (which, if you don’t know, means lots and lots of humidity), but cooler times will be upon us before we even know it. And while the boot was truly “fashionable” in 2009, I think the trend will carry for another couple years… Things that are functional tend to do that.
Commonwealth | Diving Watch | $180
If this watch looks familiar, it’s because I posted one that looks just like it, except that one was a real Rolex and was approximately 150 times pricier.