• Accessories
Warby Parker Review: Stylish Glasses For The Modern World
Reviewed by Amanda Hitchcock
Last Updated January 2022
WAIT! Before you buy, are you interested in Warby Parker glasses? Check out our comprehensive review on performance, quality, and value.
WARBY PARKER
Hardy Blue Light Filtering Single Vision Glasses
Starting at $95
Made from hand-polished cellulose acetate, Hardy separates itself from the pack with a sloped rectangular eyeframe and clever keyhole bridge.
SHOP NOWFeatured Product: Hardy Blue Light Filtering Single Vision Glasses
Price: $95 with $50 For Blue Light Lenses
The Warby Parker Hardy Glasses have a more modern look than your mother’s glasses. These glasses feature a slightly sloped rectangular design along with a keyhole bridge. They are made from cellulose acetate for added flexibility and strength. The Warby is also available in 3 different widths for added inclusivity to a wider audience.
Ratings Breakdown
QUALITY
★★★★★
Warby Parker glasses feel comfortable on the face for long periods of time and are built to last.
VALUE
★★★★
Even though Warby Parker is a household name for stylish, comfortable, and long-lasting glasses, the price tag is a bit steep.
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
★★★★★
The Warby Parker glasses are exceedingly stylish, yet also help with eye fatigue with extended screen time use.
BRAND
★★★★
Warby Parker creates great products and offers payment plans. They also donate a pair of glasses for every pair purchased.
Who is Warby Parker?
Warby Parker was started by 4 MBA graduates from Wharton College in Pennsylvania. Dave Gilboa, Neil Blumenthal, Jeff Raider, and Andrew Hunt got the idea while they were still in school together to solve a few different issues. As glasses wearers themselves, they were sick and tired of having to spend a small fortune on a single pair of prescription glasses.
They came up with this idea partially as a solution to the expensive glasses issue. But, they all wanted to make sure that whatever business they started would also give back to the community. Therefore, bringing quality glasses to the masses and also donating to a non-profit, VisionSpring, that Blumenthal worked for during college.
VisionSpring’s mission is to bring glasses to developing countries. Due to Blumenthal’s work with VisionSpring, he had a much better understanding of how glasses are made and the exorbitant markup that occurs in regular stores.
So the MBA quad came up with Warby Parker to bring glasses down drastically in price point, and also make it easier to shop by creating their platform as an online store. By the creation of their “Try 5 for Free” concept, which lets consumers pick 5 glasses to try for free, it instilled confidence in the brand right out of the gate.
Dave Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal are the only two of the original 4 that are involved with the company currently. The other 2 guys left for different ventures but still sit on the board of Warby Parker.
Pros
- Extraordinarily comfortable fit
- Multiple width sizes
- Minimal nose sliding
- Frames are stronger than they appear
- Each pair comes with a protective case
- Try 5 for free
- Free shipping
Cons
- A bit too much pressure on the ears in some cases, but could be an adjustment issue
- No way to differentiate between cases for different pairs of glasses if you own more than one pair
Warby Parker Comfort & Performance
Warby Parker glasses come in multiple different options for prescriptions or no prescription. This lets the wearer find the perfect pair of glasses for their specific needs.
The pair of glasses I got from Warby Parker were the Hardy style with single vision and blue light filtering lenses. Since I work on the computer all day, I wanted to see how their blue light filtering glasses compared to others I’ve tried.
I wore these glasses only for a week and a half and did notice a difference. They were light and flexible on my face, which was unexpected. The comfort level of the Hardy frames was amazing. The only complaint I had was that the ear pieces dug into my head a bit. But, I could have either ordered the incorrect width or they needed to be adjusted slightly.
These frames come in 3 different widths:
1. Narrow
2. Medium
3. Extra-wide
I ordered the medium width since that is the most common. After wearing them all day long, I noticed less eye fatigue than I usually do. Overall, I am surprisingly happy with the Warby Parker brand and the blue light filtering technology and plan to order another pair of glasses from them.
Is Warby Parker Good Quality?
Warby Parker designs all of their glasses in house before any manufacturing takes place. They use cellulose acetate for their frames that is sourced from a family-owned Italian company. This plant-based plastic product has become much more popular recently in the glasses arena.
This is due to it not being a petroleum-based product and is strong, yet flexible. And while they design all of the glasses in house, in the United States, the actual frames are manufactured overseas.
However, all of the Warby Parker glasses are put together and finished in their New York optical lab. They wanted to be able to oversee how everything gets finished and shipped to make sure each pair of glasses meets their standards. So, even though the frames are manufactured overseas, I really like that everything is put together to completion here, within the States.
When it comes to the products used for Warby Parker lenses, these products can vary. The most common lens product they use is CR-39, which is a commonly used, and inexpensive plastic. They also offer their lenses in polycarbonate and 1.67 high-index. On top of offering 3 different lens types, Warby Parker also offers a few different finishes on their lenses. These include:
- Non-prescription
- Single-vision
- Progressives
- Readers
- Sunglasses
- Blue-light blocking
The fact that Warby Parker also offers the consumer the opportunity to try on 5 different pairs of glasses for free, helps to solidify the quality of the product. They don’t want their products to not work for their customers and stand behind the product quality with their warranty.
Is Warby Parker Worth It?
If you’re used to paying hundreds of dollars for a decent pair of glasses, then Warby Parker glasses are probably worth your time. Since they come in at $95 a pair, to start with, they are exponentially more cost-effective than most of their competitors.
However, there are a few other online glasses companies that actually come in quite a bit cheaper than Warby Parker. One of the companies I’ve been buying my glasses from since 2006 are about 75% less expensive than Warby Parker. But, the quality may not be as high as the glasses from Warby Parker.
The biggest perk offered by Warby Parker is the ability to try on a few different pairs before you commit to the purchase. None of the other online retailers I’ve run across offer that option. And this gives me a bit more confidence when purchasing a pair of prescription glasses.
Warby Parker Coupons & Discounts
Warby Parker consistently runs specials and has discounts on different glasses. So, it’s best to keep an eye on your favorite frames in case there happens to be a discount on them. Plus, if you join their email list you’ll be likely to get some discount codes and be apprised of upcoming deals and new items.
As a bonus, we have a Warby Parker discount code you can also use to save even more money.
FAQs
Before any consumer decides to dive into trying a new glasses company, there are bound to be questions. And buying a pair of glasses online, sight unseen, can be even trickier. So here are some of the most common questions asked about purchasing glasses online, and more specifically from Warby Parker.
Warby Parker Summary
Overall, Warby Parker offers some fantastic options for glasses and contacts wearers. Since their price point for glasses and contacts come in at hundreds of dollars less than the traditional competitors, it’s hard not to give them a try.
While they don’t offer a lot of different frame options, the options they do offer are more modern and understated. And if you’re not sure you’ll like the frame offerings they have, you’ll probably love the opportunity to try 5 for free.
Just this option alone sets Warby Parker apart from other online glasses companies and instills more confidence in consumers.
