Glasses Direct | London Retro Presley Review
Hello everyone, Sexy Specs over here!
Today I'm going to be reviewing this gorgeous pair of spectacles from Glasses Direct. They have such a wide choice of designer frames as well as their own brand of glasses all from a really reasonable price point.
They contacted me recently to see if I'd like to collaborate with them and I thought that it would be a great opportunity for my blog. I don't wear prescription glasses, although I'd love to as theres some lovely frames available, but one of my close friends does. She also works for a high street opticians so with her knowledge of glasses and my knowledge of shopping online, I thought that it would be the perfect match for us to review these glasses.
If you're looking for a pair of designer glasses then look no further than Glasses Direct as they have an abundance of styles in their new section known as the Boutique. This section of the website features some of the best designer brands of glasses around including Ray Ban, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci.
My friend and I scoured the Glasses Direct website and made a shortlist of the frames that we liked and thought would suit her. As a glasses wearer, I thought it would only be right for her to get the frames for herself so that she could really test out the quality of the lenses and how accurate the prescription is.
Now we had a pretty good idea on what frames would suit her but if you're ordering for yourself and you're unsure or can't decide between a few different pairs then Glasses Direct offer this awesome free 7 day home trial service. I've never seen another website off this service, neither had my friend, and we thought that it was such a genius idea. Since trying out these glasses, I mentioned it to one of the girls who was my bridesmaid and she's actually going to try out Glasses Direct as she was really impressed that you could try on the glasses before buying them, as not seeing them in the flesh first was something that had always put her off buying frames online.
To use the free 7 day home trial, simply choose four frames and Glasses Direct will ship them out to you within 2 days so that you can try them on in the comfort of your own home without any pressure from sales assistants and in natural light rather than the harsh bright lights of an opticians. The trial gives you plenty of time to see how they look and feel and to get the opinions of your friends and family (if you want their opinion!). Then you simply place your order for your favourite pair online and pop the trial box of glasses back to Glasses Direct via their freepost service.
There's no pressure to buy one of the pairs that you'd chosen in your trial box- if you don't like any of them you can order a new home trial once Glasses Direct have received your trial box back.
We picked out a pair of London Retro Glasses in the Presley style. We loved that we were able to get a 360 degree view of the glasses online as it was important to us that we could see all of the details and that they would look great from all angles!
The Presley frames are available in two colour ways, shiny black and rich havana, the latter of which we picked.
Rich havana is like a tortoiseshell which looks a lot softer compared to the shiny black frames. They also feature a small amount of gold detailing where the hinge is on the arms.
There was so many different pairs of London Retro glasses to choose from as they've just launched their new Retrospective Collection for spring summer '15. The collection takes the 70s trend and adds a whimsical yet urban edge to it.
The Presley style are ideal glasses for all time wear as they work perfectly for during the day but are still smart and sophisticated enough for evening wear.
They have a slight cat eye shape to them and a although they fit perfectly with modern times, they do have a strong vintage air about them.
The detail on these glasses is really sweet too with 'Retro' and 'London' logo plaques on the inside of each arm and gold bands where the hinges are.
Funnily enough, I did get some prescription glasses about eight years ago for an astigmatism with a very low prescription in them. I paid an absolute fortune for the glasses from a local optician even though they were only for watching TV and reading, as the only nice styles seemed to be the expensive ones and then when I had my eyes tested again a few years ago, I was told that I didn't need glasses at all. So although I the only glasses that I wear now are sunglasses, I have worn prescription glasses in the past and know how they should feel.
Both my friend and I agree that these glasses feel very comfortable to wear. She has been wearing them for the last couple of weeks and has been messaging me to tell me how comfy she is finding them. She has had that they feel really light weight and even though she wears glasses all day every day, she can't even tell that she has them on. This is really important when wearing glasses because if you're carrying them around on your face all day, you need them feel comfortable as well as to feel comfortable to see through!
The glasses feel as though they are extremely good quality. They feel substantial and not flimsy in the slightest.
My friend said that the glasses didn't need a lot of adjustment at all and that the fit was very good from first receiving them.
She also commented that the prescription was spot on and completely accurate and she has had no problem with her sight when switching over to these glasses from her previous pair and contacts. Sometimes wearing new glasses can take a bit of adaptation and getting used to but she has had no issues with these glasses at all.
The Glasses Direct website makes it really easy to order your glasses with the right prescription in. All you need to do is to ask your current optician for your prescription and enter it into the well explained corresponding boxes online.
Its important when ordering prescription glasses, particularly on the internet, that you have the correct pupil distance measurement to enter into the order form. This is something that you would need to ask for when having an eye test as it is not something that usually comes with a standard eye test so it wouldn't be included in your prescription automatically.
When filling out the form online, there is the option to select your pupil distance or to revert to the standard distance. All of the prescriptions are checked over as Glasses Direct have their own in house opticians so if they have an issue with your pupillary distance, perhaps if you've selected the standard when it shouldn't be, then they will contact you first rather than just making your glasses up from the information you've entered. This is really handy, especially for those who are ordering for the first time or are unsure as to what to input.
They have a contact number as well so that you can speak to someone at any point of your ordering process so there's no need to feel nervous about ordering online. Having dispensing opticians available to talk to really helps you to feel confident in ordering your glasses online and I'm sure so many people would feel more confident ordering online rather than in a store if they were reassured that they could have someone to contact for help.
Glasses Direct have lots of different offers on on their glasses. These ones in particular would usually cost £125 for the frames including the lenses plus a free pair of glasses which is an absolutely fabulous deal. When you get to the check out, there are several different add ons that you can add to your basket, for example, you have the option to add tinted lenses, thinner lenses and an anti reflective coating.
My friend and I agree that for such high quality glasses, the price tag is a very reasonable amount to pay. I really feel as though Glasses Direct are giving everyone the opportunity to purchase high quality designer glasses at an affordable price.
These glasses have single vision lenses in them and they're thin, light plastic lenses rather than the standard thickness lenses which makes them even lighter and more aesthetically pleasing to wear.
The lenses also have an anti reflective coating on them which is optional but I would highly recommend it. My friend has said that it is ideal for her as she finds that the glare from artificial lights can affect her vision. I used to find that the glare would give me a headache so when I had glasses, I would always opt for the anti reflective coating on my lenses.
All Glasses Direct lenses come with a scratch resistant hard coating which you'll need if you're going to be wearing them often. Glasses are an investment for your health and you need to look after them! The scratch resistant coating helps you to do that. After all, many people will put a screen protector on their iPhone so it only makes sense to have something on your lenses to protect them from scratches too.
The London Retro glasses came in a really sturdy hard case which not only looks stylish but it does a great job at protecting the glasses from damage. If you're a girl who commutes and carries a lot of things in her bag, then you really need to make sure that your glasses are being protected from damage and getting knocked about.
We're really impressed with Glasses Direct and the London Retro Presley glasses in particular. They look stylish, feel comfortable to wear and are affordably priced. My friend really knows her stuff when it comes to glasses and she would really recommend them after trying out these glasses. I completely trust her judgment so if I need them in the future, I know I'll be heading to Glasses Direct.
Do you wear glasses? What are your favourite styles to wear?
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