Emilia N.
Yelp
Had a great experience picking out my pair of glasses here, and I will update this review once I receive them.
Bit of background on myself: I have a shockingly high glasses prescription. As in, -10.75 for my left and -11.25 for my right. Yes, I know. I have worn glasses since the age of 7. Obviously, I was going to be stuck with very thick lenses no matter what I did. I typically wear contacts on a daily basis, but will wear glasses at night just before bed. I have been sporting the same glasses for the last 10 years, so I decided it was time for an update.
I had heard of Warby Parker the eyeglasses site, but was surprised to hear they'd opened a store in Atlanta. So I had to come check it out. We went yesterday, a Sunday. The store was fairly empty, so I pretty much had free range to look at all the frames without being disturbed. I was greeted fairly soon after coming in, and given a quick rundown on the layout of the store. It goes something like this:
Front left: Sunglasses
Front right: Frames starting from the back are narrow, then medium, then wide at the front part of the store.
Back left: A repeat of the front right, starting with wide frames closer to the front and narrow at the back.
Back right: a PHOTO BOOTH!
Back: Reference desk.
It was nice that the frames were arranged like that, though I did not realize it at the time. I have a big ol' head and should have just stuck in the wide area, but I ended up browsing the medium too. I spoke at length with one associate, his name might have been Chad. I told him about my super high Rx and asked what kind of glasses would be best for what were sure to be thick lenses. He first explained that they have three grades of lenses -- polycarbonate, which comes free with the glasses (which are $95 each for the most part, with some pairs at $145). The next level up is 1.67 high-index, which are meant for strong prescriptions and still have 100% UV-protection like the polycarbonate ($30 extra), and then 1.74 high-index, which are meant for the strongest prescriptions and are not listed as 100% UV-protection, I believe ($130). I went for the 1.74 high-index. All the lenses are anti-scratch and anti-glare. He also suggested that I should stick to the acetate frames with a smaller lenses to off-set the thickness of the lenses.
I finally narrowed it down to the Mitchell (wide frame, rectangular) and Daisy (medium frame, cat-eye). While I felt the Daisy looked better on me, I ultimately went with the Mitchell because it fit better on my face and the lenses were not as large as those on the Daisy. Oh yes, and I made use of the photo booth for both frames. They give you two printouts and send it to your email as well (you will be asked for your email address).
One important thing, they do not deal with vision insurance directly, so it will be up to you to submit a claim to get reimbursed. You can ask for an itemized receipt from the reference desk or contact their customer service department by phone or email.
In the end, I was in the store for probably half an hour. Short and sweet. I'm excited to get my new glasses!