Style Archives - The Traveling Four

I have worn prescription glasses for a long time, and one thing that I know to be true is that they can be costly. Traditionally, going to the eye doctor WITH vision insurance would still cost me, out of pocket, between $100 – $400 easy. This amount includes any on-going sales the vision center might be having at the moment. Typically, I would go for the frames that were on sale and not the name brand ones. The name brand frames would send that price up higher, so I usually avoided them. When picking frames, especially when you aren’t looking to spend a lot, the glasses available aren’t always the ones you absolutely love. Every year or two, I would repeat this cycle when I had to get new glasses until I found out about the beauty of shopping online for new glasses.

One day, I was casually talking with one of my co-workers about the pains of shopping for prescription glasses and how much I wished there was a better way to do things. At that time, she shared with me how she purchased her glasses online from a specific company and how much she enjoyed the process. This little tidbit of information sent me on a mission to research online companies that allowed me to order some new glasses. My research showed me a lot of alternatives, but I’ve only ordered from three. Below, I will share the three companies that I purchased glasses from so far and give you my thoughts on the ordering process and the glasses.

Warby Parker

My co-worker told me about Warby Parker. She said that she got her frames and lens together for $100 through their website. I was astonished. One Hundred dollars for frames AND lens… No Way! I thought, but after going through the process, she was right.

On the Warby Parker website, you can browse through the assortment of eyeglasses and sunglasses that they have available or, you can take a quiz that helps you narrow down your search based upon your face shape and specific likes and dislikes. The quiz gives you a listing of glasses that you can look at. You can choose 5 pairs at a time to try-on. They will mail you those 5 pairs in the mail to try for 5 days. After you have tried them, you send the test pairs back, and you can purchase any or all of them if you want. If none of them are your style, you can try another 5 pairs until you find something you like.

The process was seamless. I received the 5 frames to try-on relatively quickly and made my selection out of those. The pair I chose is in the photos above. One good thing about Warby Parker is they have brick and mortar stores, so if you need to go in for anything, you can search your location to see if they have a shop near you.

Zenni Optical

Zenni, Zenni, Zenni… Oh, how I love my Zenni’s. As you can see from the photos above, my Zenni collection is large. I think that I’ve gone a bit overboard, but the price, quality, and assortment of glasses they have has been amazing to me. With Zenni, I have purchased glasses for as little as $12.00, including lenses (with anti-glare). I have bought so many glasses from Zenni, and each pair has not disappointed me. I have been able to buy various colors and styles (as you can see above) that I probably would not have purchased from a vision center. You can upload a photo of yourself and virtually try on the glasses that are on the website. One important thing to note is that you will need to know your pupillary distance or PD and have to have your eyeglasses prescription.

Zeelool

I found out about Zeelool through a social media influencer that I follow on Instagram. She did a video on the glasses that she purchased, and I thought they were pretty nice. So, I checked out the website. After searching through the site, I found a few glasses that I wanted to purchase. I was able to upload a photo of myself and do a virtual try-on of the glasses. You will need to know your pupillary distance, just like with Zenni. Also, note that these glasses ship from China so, it takes a couple of weeks for you to receive them in the mail.

Many more online eye stores are out there, but I wanted to give you an overview of the three that I have personally used. I have bought my son a few pair, and I recommend it to everyone I know who wear glasses. I now have an assortment of glasses to switch up when I’m trying to create different styles. Hopefully, if you’re looking for a new pair of glasses, you’ll find some you like too. If you have experience with any of the other companies, let us know about them in the comments.

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Culture

Early 1900s Bohemian Style — Early 1900s Bohemian style

Bohemian or Boho Style represented a casual, free flowing, style that was generally seen amongst the artistic crowd of the 19^th century. Originating from the French word bohemién, this term was used to describe the Romany people who were thought to come from or through Bohemia (now a part of the Czech Republic) in their migration to France. The Romany people were of Indian heritage and are also referred to by the term gypsies. Their style of dress which usually encompassed loose fitting clothing of earth tones or pale prints not only was adopted as a fashion statement but as a counter-culture of free-spirited, free-thinking people of the time. Bohemian style over the years has been incorporated in many movements, such as the hippie youth movement of the 1960s, and pulled from many cultures (Native American, Persian, and Asian). Today Bohemian style is mostly worn as what is termed “Boho-Chic” which has kicked the look up a notch to incorporate more form fitting, put together looks but still holding true to most of the traditional patterns and fabrics. Anyone who has been to Coachella has probably seen or rocked the Boho Chic look.

Fashion: The Materials

Fabrics:

Fur
Lace
Straw
Wood
Suede
Denim
Leather
Crochet- from the French word croche, meaning small hook

Patterns:

Kilim
Floral
Tribal
Animal Print
Mixed Prints
Paisley- of Persian origin; displays teardrop motif known as a buta or boteh

Techniques:

Tie-dye
Macrame
Applique
Fringing
Distressed
Patchwork
Embroidery-decorating fabric using needle and thread or yarn

Adornments:

Studs
Beads
Pearls
Pom-Poms
Feathers
Tassels- a dangling ornament made of a tuft of cords or threads

Fashion: The Look

Because this style has pulled from so many different cultures there’s a large array of items to choose from to achieve this look. For bottoms you can choose from yoga, palazzo, split leg, and harem pants plus cut off jean shorts, distressed jeans, and bell bottoms just to name a few. Some dress types include tunic, maxi, and kaftan; while skirts also include maxis as well as broomstick skirts, and wrap around skirts. Tops include kurtis, tunic, and peasant; usually with ruffled sleeves, bell sleeves, and/or off the shoulder. Turquoise stones, pearls, beads, feathered, leather and wooden jewelry are usually seen as accessories, as well as chokers, layered necklaces, and Mexican bracelets. Shoes include gladiator sandals, chunky heels, platforms, clogs, and suede boots. Handbags can be crocheted, knitted, straw, beaded, or fringed. Floppy brim hats, straw hats, fedoras, head scarves, turbans, headbands and hairpins are just some of what adorn the head in this style. And that’s not even all, this style is so versatile that I think anyone can find something they like in this category.

Shop the look below:

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