Seeing clearly in 2020 with InVision Optical
I remember the first time in my life that I could see clearly. I was in 3rd grade and my mom took me to get my eyes checked. I didn’t know I wasn’t seeing things clearly until the optometrist pointed that out. It was during the eye exam when I couldn’t read the top line of the eye chart; he did the, “Is this better, or is this better?” while sliding lenses back and forth. The letters and numbers became so clear, I couldn’t believe it. I had poor eyesight and I needed glasses. It’s amazing to think I was walking around seeing things, but not REALLY seeing them. I was missing out on viewing the world from a crisp, clear standpoint. I have needed sight correction ever since.
I worked with InVision Optical to find these perfect Face À Face frames
I remember the day I got my glasses. They were squared-off gold wire rimmed frames – probably considered nerdy back then (it was 1987) and probably would be coveted as cool “vintage revival” now. I was at the age where glasses weren’t cool and mocking someone for having four eyes was a thing. They were ironic geek chic, only to be appreciated years later. The first time I put them on, my world changed. I saw everything that I had been missing out on. On the car rise home I was reading street signs, license plates and remarking how I could see the crisp texture on every leaf on the trees. It was mind-blowing. However, my mom told me to only wear my glasses in school because if I wore them too much, my eyes would rely on them and my eyesight would continue to get worse. By the way, that’s not true. It’s actually awful advice…
In High School I ran cross country and running with glasses had its challenges, so I got contact lenses. They raised the bar for visual sharpness – I could see everything from every angle. Glasses felt more limiting and would always slide down the bridge of my greasy teenager nose. As I became accustomed to contacts, glasses fell out of favor. Basically, I’ve worn a combo of glasses and contact lenses for about 32 years.
Now that I’m older and I’ve been working in the fashion/beauty and accessories business for the last 15 years, I’ve longed to be the “cool glasses guy”. Glasses can change an entire look -- I can appear more studious, edgy or I can mimic the feeling of a certain era with a pair of frames that channel 1970’s Yves Saint Laurent. In 2010 I found the glasses I’m wearing in the picture below on the street in New York. They were abandoned in a puddle on the side walk. I took them home and cleaned them. I put them on and looked entirely different. The lenses were blanks so I would wear with my contact lenses on. I wore them though out fashion week and they were the accessory that topped off my look. I remember people remarking, “You look like Yves Saint Laurent in those frames.” When you put us side by side, I really do (I’m on the left). Point being, glasses can change your look or appearance and perhaps give you credibility of some sort. Like, “he’s really sophisticated or smart.” In glasses, I am both.
The problem with wanting to be the cool glasses guy, is that I have come to rely on contact lenses so much for vision correction, that I hate wearing glasses. I don’t feel like I see as well and when I wear glasses, I feel a sense of being left out. As if I’m behind the glass looking in. They also hurt if they don’t fit correctly (the arms of glasses press into my pressure points behind my ears giving me headaches) or if the frames are too heavy, they keep sliding down.
When Warby Parker came on the scene, I got a couple pairs of cool frames. One thick black frame, a nod to Clark Kent and one smoky blue frame. I look awesome in them but the vision quality just isn’t there (not high-grade lenses) and the downside of them being so “affordable” is they are so heavy. They don’t use high grade plastic for frames whereas more expensive plastic is lighter. Heavier frames slide down my nose and I have to keep pushing them up. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had them adjusted to stay in place, but then the arms push into the nerves behind my ears and I get a crazy tension headache. I’ve heard over and over, “You just have to get them adjusted correctly.” Believe me, there’s no right way to adjust them that won’t give me headaches. I’ve worn both of those glasses under 25 times since I got them in 2011 – so really, no value. I basically gave up on glasses, except for the ones I wear when I take my contacts out at night. I’ve had those since 2006 and I got them with gift cards my dad gave me to Macy*s. The style is so outdated and awful, but they are small frames and lightweight. It’s like I’m not wearing glasses at all.
In the last 5 years I’ve randomly found my way into the eyewear industry. I spoke at the Eyewear Expo in New York on men’s eyewear trends in 2014. That led me to work for a large eyewear retailer doing a rebrand for their social media. I’ve also done collaborations with eyewear brands for my blog and Instagram. This all came about very organically. Because of this, I have 7 other pairs of glasses I’ve gotten as gratis and I wear exactly none of them. I have a junk drawer filled with glasses that I don’t wear for the same reasons as above. Fit isn’t right, slide down the nose, give me headaches and can’t see as well. Not long ago I vowed not to work with eyewear brands anymore because there’s no value in it for me.
Me, an eyewear expert speaking at the Javits Center Eye Expo.
I moved to Minnesota in 2015 and one of the first people I met was Anthony Bosca, owner of InVision Distinctive Eyewear – an independently and locally owned optical business in the Twin Cities. We struck up a conversation at the dog park and I noticed that his longer hair had a perfect cut, shape and texture. I’m all about hair, so I notice these details. Being new to Minnesota and without a stylist, I asked who cuts his hair. He referred me to his stylist, who is now my stylist, and Anthony and I became friends.
Anthony reached out to me when he was expanding his North Loop store into a new location. InVision Distinctive Eyewear has been around since 1987 and it now has 4 shops in the Twin Cities with highly curated and edited collection of niche designer eyewear from all over the world. A year ago when he was launching his new Washington Street location, he wanted me to experience the new store and write a blog post about it. I told him that I actually have keen insight into the eyewear industry, so I could help. But I warned him that I hate wearing glasses. He and his team set out to give me a great customer experience and he promised that not only would I find a pair of glasses that suit my style, but I would not feel like I’m seeing the world through a looking glass and they would fit me and not give me headaches. Kind of felt like a tall order – but I remained open.
Images below from InVision Optical North Loop
204 N Washington Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55401
I went through some sort of “Queer Eye” transformation at InVision North Loop because I found a perfect pair of frames that fit me, compliment my style and I can see clearly. For a guy who wanted to wear glasses but didn’t enjoy wearing them, it has changed the way I see myself in glasses. The frames I chose are beautiful and light weight from Face À Face and they are fitted with high definition lenses. The arms of the frames have a little spring, so they rest against my pressure points behind my ears, but don’t push into them. I don’t know why or how, but they don’t slide down and I’m not constantly pushing them up. I found a pair of glasses that work for me and the process of picking them out was fun, no pressure and a lot easier than I thought it would be. These are the winners!
Things to consider when looking for frames:
1. Face size and shape. As you search for frames, consider your general face shape (round, oval, triangle, square) and what size is it. You want glasses to compliment your features and face shape. For me, I have a narrow face and it’s kind of long. Frames that are too wide or big for me are not flattering, unless I’m going for Iris Apfel vibe. Which I’m not!
2. What’s your coloring? Take into account hair color, skin tone, eye color. Glasses don’t have to match your hair color (dark vs. light), but you might want to consider frames that work with your natural colors but give a little contrast. If you’re going for a more modern/edgy look, the more contrast, the more the glasses will pop your look. Depending on your eye color, some frame colors bring out your eyes (whereas others hide your eyes). For me, I used to have dark brown hair so I always got brown tortoise frames of some sort to compliment my coloring. Now, I’m 70% gray hair with some pepper mixed in, so a lighter frame seems to look less obtuse. Some of the dark bold glasses I have from a few years ago don’t even look as good since I’m aging gracefully into a silver fox!
3. Fit. There are no rules – If you like them, you like them. If other people think they look bad on you, who cares. This might seem obvious, but it’s actually not. How many times have you not gotten something you liked because a friend or significant other didn’t like it. Trust your gut here. Also, there are small visual cues in terms of fit to pay attention to – and I didn’t know any of these. There is some sort of unspoken rule that your frames should sit slightly below your eyebrows so that your brows can be seen – brows are indicators of expression and they are a beauty punctuator above your eyes; don’t hide them. I have about 3 pairs of old glasses that hide my eyebrows completely. Once this was pointed out to me, I liked them less because I love my eyebrows. It’s tiny things like that, that a professional can help with.
The point with glasses is having them complement your look while letting your natural features shine. You would ideally choose frames that work with your eyebrow shape. If you have really arched brows, you might want a frame that plays with those lines. You also want your eye to be in the center of the lens. I would not have thought that matters until I tried on frames at InVision that were not the right size. This is why I stress going into a store to try on frames, rather than blind internet buys. There’s nothing like trying on and getting the fit advice from a professional. You can also determine how they feel. The thicker the frame, the more shadows they cast – you would never know this without trying on. This is why I prefer an in-store experience over anything else.
Now, actually looking for frames:
1. Browse, try on and test. You can either ask an eyewear specialist to look at you and suggest frames that might work. Or, you can self-browse and see what jumps out. Normally I like to look on my own and see what speaks to me. I like a sales person to hang back, let me do my thing and make suggestions later. However, I have a junk drawer of frames I don’t wear, so I did things differently this time. I worked with Anthony and Tim Moss (an optometrist that’s been doing this for 25 years) – they sized up my style, my face size, proportions and my coloring. The first frames I tried were the ones Tim was wearing. They were these bold Face À Face frames; they were so unusual. I thought they were fun and edgy and I wanted those. Anthony and Tim weren’t trying to steer me away but gave me other options to look at and try on. We stared in Face À Face because it was the first brand to catch my eye. I eventually came to see and understand that the gold ones weren’t me. They were too big, too bold and trying to be the cool glasses guy. I had to come to that conclusion on my own.
Tim steered me away from his awesome Face À Face frames and I was naturally led to the ones I’m wearing.
2. The golden rule of 3. The specialists at InVison suggest narrowing down to 3 frames to make your final choice. That seemed like such a small number. How do you narrow down a shop filled with eyewear to 3 frames and only choose one? That’s when I realized I tried on about 20 frames which were no after no. They were sleek and beautiful, just not suited for me. While I whittled my final decision down to 3 pairs, I kept going back to this one Face À Face pair which was literally the 2nd pair I tried on after the gold ones. When the gold Face a Face ones were a bit bold, they suggested the pair I ended up getting. Same designer, a different aesthetic. While I spent 45 minutes trying on, I got the second pair I tried on. You know when you know, but the choice becomes more obvious when you keep trying on others and don’t feel the connection. In some respects, they chose me. The two other frames I tried on were from Matsuda.
What’s interesting about the pair I settled on is I’ve always tried to re-create that classic 70’s iconic YSL look, like the frames I found on the sidewalk 9 years ago. That look is kind of dated unless you are going for a true vintage look right now. When I look at the Face À Face frames I got, they have that timeless vintage feeling, but a more modern style and less of a heavy frame. They are a really cool color that compliments my light hair and dark eyebrows. Beyond that, they function. The arms have springs, so they stay against my head, but not pressing into my pressure points (because the arms have some give). They don’t slide down and I don’t get headaches. They are engineered flawlessly. Tim took into account that I feel like I can’t see well in glasses – that I feel like I’m sacrificing vision when I wear glasses. He put in high definition lenses, crafted using digital technology and a laser guided blade that bends the field of vision so that if I look left or right without turning my head, the vision is still clear from the outer edges of the lenses. Whereas in my other glasses, the vision is not as strong in the outer area of the lenses. These are made differently.
The first time I put them on, I actually felt like they were too strong. Almost like I could see through things. It was like seeing life in 4K vs. 1080p. They are a different type of lens, and it took me a while to get used to them. It was about 2 weeks. I wore them a few hours at a time until I settled in. I can’t explain how they are different, but they are.
I’ve now had these frames and lenses for several months and wearing them has become effortless. I love them and I feel like they are my own. I’m not trying to be someone else or become someone else when I put them on. They enhance my style without changing it, and that was kind of the point. Working with InVision felt like being in a high-end boutique with a friend as a personal shopper. I highly recommend them!
Face À Face Trunk Shows
Friday, Jan. 24, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
InVision North Loop (204 N Washington Ave., Minneapolis)
InVision Minnetonka (11300 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka)
Saturday, Jan 25, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
InVision Galleria (3340 Galleria, Edina)
InVision Grand (867 Grand Ave., St. Paul)
As an added bonus, I also got a pair of Robert Marc sunglasses. See below - they are pretty much the coolest sunglasses I’ve ever worn. Mirrored lenses in a faint pink crystal clear frame. It doesn’t get any better than that!
