They say hindsight is 20/20, and if you haven’t yet gotten yourself fixed up with some Warby Parker glasses for your less-than-tiptop vision—brother, maybe you should make up for lost time. At this point, the Warby Parker name is pretty much synonymous with the business of buying new frames online, but back in the early aughts, the easiest way to buy new glasses was to rock up at a physical Lenscrafters (or your optometrist) and get them fitted from scratch. Since its inception in 2010, Warby has made it a lot less of a headache to see about getting a new prescription, plus the glasses to go with them.
While its competitors were upcharging people at least a few hundred dollars for frames even before the prescription lenses came in, Warby Parker emerged onto the scene with a much more reasonable $95 flat fee for new glasses, including a scrip. The brand we once called the “Netflix of glasses” even allows customers to try out a handful of frames completely gratis from the comfort of their own home, rather than jostling for space in one of its many retail stores, or attempting to use its VR glasses simulator online. And we wouldn’t be recommending them as our top eyeglass destination here at GQ if we didn’t think the frames looked good, too. Below, set your gaze on our comprehensive guide to some of Warby’s greatest hits in eyeglasses and sunglasses.
The Best Warby Parker Glasses, According to GQ
In This Guide
The Best Acetate Warby Parker Eyeglasses
The Best Metal Warby Parker Eyeglasses
The Best Acetate Warby Parker Sunglasses
The Best Metal Warby Parker Sunglasses
How to find the right pair of glasses for you
Warby offers a huge selection of eyeglasses and shades to choose from, so coming in with some key data points about yourself—like which shapes will highlight your features, and which colorways complement your complexion—can help you narrow down your search. (Or, you can heed our style advice that the size of the glasses matters a whole lot more than the silhouette, and go from there.)
To that end, Warby Parker has implemented a sizing guide to help you find a frame that won’t overwhelm your features. Kim Nemser, chief product and supply chain officer at Warby Parker, explains that its glasses are denoted by the lens width, bridge width, and temple length—in the form of XX-XX-XXX, respectively. It also sells a range of low-bridge fit glasses to help prevent slippage for people with smaller nose bridges.
Once you’ve got your sizing locked in, it’s time to think about which finish is speaking to you from the lineup. You can either go George Costanza in metal or Martin Scorsese—as in his signature chunky acetate frames. “Metal frames are a bit more subtle, like a gold chain,” Nemser says, while acetate lets you play with color and make more of a statement. For our money, we’d recommend any of the options below for your next pair of everyday shades, from best-selling silhouettes to new colorways. Though at less than $100 for a single pair, it might be myopic to hone in on just one…
