Vickie Fee

Buying new frames is a spectacle

In December, my glasses broke. They didn’t come apart, mind you, they broke like a brittle bone.

Not that there’s ever a good time to break your glasses, but in the middle of Christmas shopping isn’t the best time to have to suddenly shell out a few hundred bucks. But since I’d need a guide dog and a white cane to get around without them I didn’t have a lot of choice. (Actually, I also have contacts. But some days if I haven’t slept well or I’m under the weather or I’m under the gun on a deadline, my middle-aged eyes resent the contact lenses and turn as red as a blister.)

AND THE WINNER IS…

So, when my husband got home from work we headed to the optical department at the nearby Shopko’s. (As luck would have it, I still had a valid prescription on hand from the previous year’s eye exam, so I only needed to find frames.)

After trying on and looking in the mirror at myself modeling like 57 different pairs of glasses, I narrowed it down to my two top choices.

But, I just couldn’t decide.

Hubs was with me. However, he was absolutely NOT going to bear any responsibility for my selection. (We’ve been married 30 years and he’s a smart man).

The sales person did express an opinion, but since I didn’t know her from Eve, I had no reason to trust her advice.

So, I turned to my pals at Chicks on the Case. I snapped selfies wearing each of the contenders, texted a pitiful SOS and asked the ladies to weigh in. We’re an opinionated bunch. (I’m sure that comes as a shock.) My fear was there might be no clear winner. I needn’t have worried. All the Chicks, except one, chose the same frames — which I decided to order. In defense of the lone dissenting Chick, I had narrowed it down to my two faves, so the pair she chose was a close second, to my mind.

Just to seal the deal, a friend in town happened by the store — and she preferred the same frames as the majority of the Chicks. Since she had seen them on me in person, not just in a poor quality photo, I felt confident enough with the frames to hand my credit card to the woman at the counter.

I ultimately decided against the red frames because they just seemed a little too…seasonal.

Speaking of photos, the ones posted here are not the ones I texted to the Chicks. While these aren’t glamour shots, and I’m not terribly vain, I prefer not to frighten readers. I’m willing for my blogmates to see me without a dab of make-up, hair in need of washing (even combing might have helped), and a gray-green complexion brought on by fluorescent lighting. The Chicks have already seen me at Malice before I’d had any coffee, which is truly scary.

I’m liking the new frames, which are chocolate brown on top and turquoise green along the bottom and sides — although I never would’ve imagined myself choosing green ones. I guess that’s why it’s imperative for you try on every pair of frames in the store before buying — just in case.

I’ve worn specs since the fourth grade. The best part about getting glasses at the time was that I no longer had to sit in the front row just to see the chalkboard.

Over these many, many years, I’ve had frames that were brown, gold, silver, red, and purple (twice), including styles reminiscent of Granny Clampett, Warren Buffett, and Elton John.

Lisa Q, Mathews assures me the new frames are understated hip. I need all the help I can get in the “hip” department. Truth be told, I could use a replacement.

Do you ever have a tough time making up your mind before making a purchase? How do you finally decide? Please share in comments. 

47 thoughts on “Buying new frames is a spectacle”

    1. I bought the ones I’m wearing in the top photo, Connie. I know the green doesn’t show up super well in the picture, though.

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  4. I am SO disappointed you didn’t go with the Santa hat frames!
    Seriously, it is hard to pick frames! It boggles my mind how many there up on the walls of optical shops! The lighting in most of the shops is horrid, which never helps you realize how they truly look on you. It also doesn’t help that I need to have my face almost on top of a mirror to see how the frames look on me! I relate to the seeing eye dog, white cane thing!

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    1. LOL — thanks, Deb! I know, it’s selection overload, and at the same time your thinking, “There’s nothing her that looks right on me!”

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  5. I usually make a decision and am fine with it. No matter what it is, i choose and am done. Cant decide where to eat or what to do during the day, but that is another matter.

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  6. I hate shopping for frames too, mostly because I am too blind to see what I look like without actually wearing my existing glasses. Plus, I hate shopping in general. But you do look great in your new glasses. I didn’t see the other option, but I think the Chicks chose wisely!

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    1. I hear you, Lisa! And what about shoes? If I like them, they don’t fit. If they fit, I don’t like them — or they cost a week’s salary. (And will they match the purse it took you six months to find?!!)

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  8. This is timely, as I have an eye exam this afternoon. I’m pretty sure I’ll need a new prescription. If so, I hope to be able to keep my current frames. They’ve been with me through the past three prescriptions and I fear they may not last much longer. I love them, and don’t want to spend money on new ones. But I’ll make sure to try on a LOT of frames if necessary! I hate shopping of any kind. If I can’t make a decision, I take that as a “sign” that I don’t really need the item. That may not be an option if these frames would break with the removal/replacement of lenses.

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    1. Good luck (possibly) shopping for new frames, Deb — and don’t be afraid to phone a friend! (I hate the part of the eye exam when they squirt air in your eyes!)

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  9. I’m the world’s most indecisive person. I think. Maybe. Let me get back to you on that.

    As you can guess, I have a very hard time making decisions as a result.

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  10. I wore contacts until recently, when I got that middle-aged-dry-eye thing. Ugh (on so many levels). But I’ve always had glasses, too, and I take FOREVER to decide on frames. Which is not surprising, given that I take forever to decide what I want to order in restaurants, as well–which is not nearly as important. Wait, maybe it is…

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    1. John and I have had LOTS of those “What are you going to order? I don’t know. What are you getting?” conversations at restaurants, too. 🙂

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  11. I wear non-prescription cheaters and I buy the biggest, funkiest ones I can find. That is because I have been told by multiple meanies that I am “not a glasses person.” I am apparently “not a hat person,” either. So….I love love LOVE Drew Barrymore’s FLOWER glasses line (available at WalMart, folks!) and am waiting for her to make cheaters. So hurry up, Drew! http://www.flowereyewear.com/

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      1. Drew does have some cute styles. Lisa, you look fab with or without glasses! And cheaters are versatile. You can slip them on to give you gravitas and slip them back off to look flirty — or maybe that’s just in movies! (I mostly slip mine off and squint because I still have trouble with bi-focals.)

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  12. You look fabulous, Vickie! Great choice, Chicks!!

    I’m suuuuuuuuuuuuuper indecisive. Even worse, I often make up my mind VERY strongly at first, then later have the complete opposite opinion. Confusing much?

    PS Thanks to Lisa for the Flower link. I also wear non-prescription cheaters, but I’m looking for a little more pizzazz than my Dollar Store specs often deliver.

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    1. Thanks, Kathy! Fear of making a decision is actually called decidophobia — I learned that today. If you’re ever in a desperate situation (like I was), reach out to a Chick or several. 🙂

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  13. Usually, no. I know the general qualities of what I want and I’m pretty good at discarding what doesn’t fit. Witness my last car-buying trip. Took about an hour to decide, “yes, that one.”

    That might go out the door now that we’re trying to find a dog breed that suits both The Hubby and I.

    The new glasses look good!

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  15. Like you, V, I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 14.My childhood eye doc helped invent soft lenses, I so I was wearing them at 14. However, about 25 years ago, I developed both dry eye and an allergy to lenses, so I’ve been glasses ever since and I hate it! Although as I age, I appreciate that they hide the bags. Choosing glasses is a miserable decision, and I’m thrilled you came to us. But of course I have to ask… which among us was the naysayer?! LOL, I know you won’t say.

    Fun post!!

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    1. Thanks, Ellen! You look really cute in glasses, BTW! I am grateful to the Chicks for helping a girl out! And hubs is grateful, too — because I was beginning to press him for an opinion. 🙂

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  16. Oh, what a great idea to snap a couple of selfies! I hope the Chicks are as accomodating when I have to go swimsuit shopping! (You’ll be sorry you wear glasses on that no-good, terrible, very bad day!)

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    1. We’re always here for you, Becky! (The scariest part of my swimsuit modeling, which will not be a public event, would be my beached whale white legs.)

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  17. I started wearing glasses when I got my drivers license. Personally, I don’t give a rat’s arse what they look like on me.
    But do I have trouble making decisions? Nope. I hate shopping. I usually do all kinds of research first, make a decision on what I want before I leave, and then hit the store with exactly what I will be buying. Unless it’s online of course.
    Although I have no problem speaking up when I get the wrong thing from an order.
    For example, when I bought a couple of pens last year for future friends, I had them engraved, with a specific pen color chosen for each gal. Of course the person who wrote out the ticket (not me, because my handwriting sucks), reversed the names. I told her, oh no! I will pay for these, but you will do them over again. Fortunately, the lady knows I’m a faithful customer, so they wrote off the bad pens and redid them correctly.

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    1. I admire your decisiveness, Hestia! How much I enjoy shopping depends on what I’m shopping for. And the more expensive something is, the harder it is for me to feeling confident enough to hand over my credit card. 🙂

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