Another Eyewear Option

After striking out with Warby Parker and Classic Specs, I had more or less given up on finding suitable sunglasses through a company that offers try-at-home service like those two. (I know about Lookmatic, but nothing they have appeals to me or is the right size.)

Then I learned that New York-based men's clothing store Steven Alan has started offering prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses with frames of its own design. Each frame style is offered in multiple color choices, which I see as an advantage over their competitors (most of Warby Parker's frames are offered in only two color choices, sometimes three).

The pricing is not as wallet-friendly as Warby Parker either, but that's not unexpected because Steven Alan's clothing tends to be higher priced. (Their men's shirts range from about $150-200, in large part because almost all their house-label clothing is manufactured in the United States.) Prescription eyeglasses are $195 and sunglasses are $245, which puts them about $100 above Warby Parker's prices. There is also a $40 upcharge for the high-index lenses that I require, compared to $30 exta at WP. Overall this is still reasonable pricing for a prescription of my strength, but it's certainly not an eyewear bargain. (Non-prescription sunglasses are available for $145.)

The eyewear website says the acetate used for their frames comes from Italy, but makes no mention of where the frames themselves are manufactured, so I would assume they are made in China. I'll know the answer to that question soon enough, because I've ordered four frames to try on. Not all their frame designs are available as sunglasses, so I chose two that are and two that aren't, just to get a sense of how their frames fit and look.