Warby Parker is the very cool purveyor of retro-style eye wear that has refocused the entire glass wear industry by designing, manufacturing, and selling their inexpensive- yet superior designer boutique quality- products directly to customers via the web, as this three year old e-commerce company is the antithesis to overpriced opticals everywhere. Four chums who met at The Wharton School decided to collaborate in this New York start-up and named their company based on two characters right out of a Jack Kerouac novel- and their vintage inspired aesthetic clearly shows. Warby Parker sells eye glasses, sun glasses, and even tortoise colonel monocles – which I refer to as the Mr. Peanut/hipster intellectual look- to men and women. Recently, Google consulted with the company for their smartphone-like glasses they hope to roll out in the near future, and business heavies such as American Express and Mickey Drexler- chief executive of J.Crew- have joined an expansive group of investors, helping to expand their brand.
Using a frame supplier from Italy and manufacturing in China- like every other company- Warby Parker doesn’t involve a middleman, and is therefore able to keep costs down, so almost every pair of glasses is under a hundred dollars. Their buy a pair, give a pair initiative gives back to the community, and for every pair of glasses sold, they provide a pair to someone in need. Bringing their showroom to life, they’ve taken a refurbished school bus- now adorned with oak shelves, leather sofas, library, chalkboard, and a full selection of fashionable frames- on a six month road trip entitled class trip that is touring the nation in nine cities, and is currently in San Francisco. The Warby Parker movement is definitely going to spread everywhere, and their chic spectacles- that regales me into a glam literary editor when I wear them…wait, I am one…allows me to feel better about actually needing them. www.warbyparker.com
