Looking good is important; being able to see just how good you do look is just as important. There was a time when glasses came in two styles; bold and black for men; pastel and cat-eye for women. They were just as limited in their functions; single lens for a specific purpose and bi-focal for reading and seeing distances.

When considering purchasing glasses or eyewear, most people don't have to deal with eyewear manufacturers, buying wholesale eyeglasses, or needing eyewear services. However, they will be visiting eyewear retailers, checking out fashion eyewear or designer glasses, driving glasses, or considering eyeglasses online. Additionally, there is a wealth of eyewear information from a host of optical retail outlets.

Eyewear, or eye glasses, is designed with two main components, the lens and the frame.

Lens are the "glasses" portion of eye glasses and are specifically designed to increase a person's ability to see. They come in three basic categories: single lens, bi-focal lens, and the newer transition lens. To explain, a single lens has one prescription for the whole lens; bi-focal has two and transition lens normally have three lens and unlike bi-focal they transition between the three resulting in no lines between them.

Lens can also be glass or plastic and come with a variety of coatings depending on your needs.

Frames are what holds the glass or plastic lens in place and are considered the "look" of the eyewear glasses or eye wear. Frames can be made of plastic, wood, wire, or metal. They can be very strong and static, or soft and flexible. The style or texture of the eye wear depends on the activity, from everyday wear to safety glasses or somewhere in between, along with designer eyewear or fashion eyewear.

It is entirely possible to wear eyeglasses for no more than the fashion statement they make. As sunglasses add to a look, some find that choosing a frame that achieves what they are going for and having plain glass instead of prescription lens in the frames is worth the cost associated with doing so.

To ensure that your glasses are going to look as good as they work it is necessary to do the following:

1. Get a quality eye exam.
2. Chose lens that address the sight issues.
3. Chose frames that fit your style, face, and pocket book.

Buying eyeglasses or eyewear because you need them needn't be difficult and can actually be fun.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• You can have more than one pair of glasses. As frames change you can update your look with more than one pair or with frames designed for different activities.
• Buying multiple-lens eyewear online doesn't offer the very valuable fitting that retail stores or an optometrist's office has.
• The cost of frames start as low as $40, but they can also go as high as several thousand dollars. Just be sure you really like them and they look good on you before you buy them.