I went for a bit of a toot round the shops yesterday. For ages now I've been looking for some new glasses.
I'm kind of picky, difficult to please where glasses are concerned. I'm sure that this doesn't surprise you in the slightest.
Anyway, it took me almost a year to find the pair that I wear daily now - the same pair that I've worn for five years now. Well, not the same pair - I'm so difficult that last time I needed new specs I just bought identical ones again. So that's two pairs of this model in five years. It"s really time for a change.
As I was walking down the rue des Rosiers (the heart of Jewish Paris, with the best falafel sellers in Europe) I remembered that the manufacturer of my current glasses has a flagship store on the corner of this street. Too good an opportunity to miss, I dragged a jet-lagged LPF (just back from New York) into the Mikli store for some spectacle porn.
And what porn it is. The most beautiful glasses in the world, parading themselves in front of you, begging you to touch them, stroke them, try them on for size.
Naturally, I succumbed to temptation. I tried on one pair.
Perfect.
Possibly even better than my current model. Fitted just right, a great colour, lightweight, cool, stylish, designed by Philippe Starck no less.
These are my new glasses, I thought to myself.
"Can I help you?" offered the alarmingly chic assistante.
"Would you be able to do these frames with the same lenses as these" said I, pointing at my 'old' glasses.
"Sure" she said. And she proceeded to detail the price.
Ok. Now I can usually be convinced to pay a little extra for quality. But sometimes....
The glasses would work out at €905,00. Eek. That's $1100,00. £820,00. For a pair of specs.
I calmly and quietly stepped away from the glasses.
I thanked the assistante and left the shop.
And since then, all I've been able to think about is the beautiful glasses. Truly beautiful, but they are horribly expensive for a bit of glass and aluminium.
I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be back tomorrow to buy them.
28 commentaires:
How about going to contacts? Or, better yet, find a Christian faith healer and let them pray for your eyes to be healed! I had lasic surgery years ago. I can tell you that there's no way I'd spent $1,100 on anything but a good, old fashioned trick.
Trying hard not to judge here, but I hope you're joking. It would be pretty disturbing to think someone would spend that much on glasses when e100 specs would look just fine and the balance could provide food for a number of starving families for a year. You don't have to live like a nun in poverty but you could try not living like Carrie or Samantha for a few minutes...
jeepers creepers! does that come with optional extended warranty too!
Spend 200 max Thats the way to budget Dont look at the expensive ones
Word verification messes I kid ye not
Spend the money, help the economy. It's your money, your face and the specs will be with you for a few years yet.
That is truly obscene, how do they justify it - they cannot possibly "cost" that much. Sorry I couldn't do it. :)
Nico, I'm the same - if it looks good on me it's bound to cot the earth....
Lewis - I actually love wearing glasses; so laser surgery isn't for me...just expensive lunettes!
Ah Ben, alas, I see your point, but you know, if I wear the specs for three years, then - at 25 euros a month - it's cheaper than disposable contact lenses...and more environmentally friendly....!
Alan; I'd hope so....they did give my current glasses a clean and new nose things while I was browsing....so after sales service is good....and rightly so too!
Henry - the word verification throws up some weird things, no? And I'm going to be doing some shopping around first, don't worry...
Rob, I like your style, sir.
Softy - they are handmade and truly beautiful. Works of art. Beauty costs, I guess? And they work out good value over time....he says trying to convince himself!
Sweetie - I have a pair of Mikli's that I bought 4 years ago. Back then I paid $810.00 for them.
I need bifocals - so the cost of the lenses didn't help the price of the glasses in the first place.
This time around I just got the lenses put into the expensive frames. I love them that much. The cost for the lenses? $560.00
Go figure huh?
So now I wear my glasses on a lovely amber string and they've cost me a total of $1370.00
I think they are worth it. They look fab all the time! And - I'm worth it!
Aims - you've just about convinced me! And the lenses count for 250 euros of the 905 euros too...!
Well I was hoping that included the lenses ... phew!
You can't take the money with you when you die .... come to think of it, you don't need the glasses then, either. Hmmm ... what to do?
I put a tenner on you getting them :-)
Should have gone to Specsavers.
As if.
I just can't understand why frames cost so much. It is the same here in Australia.
You can imagine my annoyance when my previous frames fell apart after a few months and I was told the screws used in them were 'unique' and they couldn't be repaired or replaced.
you know you want 'em! come on.
as for me, i definitely will spend more for quality (and labels) if i can afford it. i really didn't bat an eyelash for my $300 D&G shades a while back. luckily for me, i haven't been in that mode of shopping in the past few years. oh wait -- i guess you need MONEY to buy stuff, right? LOL.
Anthony - I've kind of decided not to. But a boy can change his mind, no?
Sweary - as if indeed!
Victor - special screws sounds about right to me....craziness.
Mike, yep, money is good for shopping. Alas, I'm not sure I really have 900 euro glasses money...
Oddly enough I find myself looking for some specs as well.
Better keep a tight grip on them in Cork.
Herself and I would fuck with the snooty shop assistants in an LA boutique by deliberately saying "Thee-Oh".They were too polite to 'correct' us but it was fun to see how often they would inject 'TAY-Oh'into every sentence.
It's all SUCH bollocks.
HQ - screwing with the snooty assistants - quite rightly so too dear! and bollocks indeed. But these glasses are super-jolie...So i am super-tempted....he he
Thats only 92p a day if you ware them for the same amount of time as your last pair
Thanks Brett. It seems like they are getting better value for money all the time!
I think that if its something you wear everyday, that make a difference to your physical health and your frame of mind ( no pun intended honestly ) and you can afford them, then go for it. People spend that for IT gadgets etc.
Just insure them lol.
I have 19 pairs of specs
from £1.99 ones from Asda to £600 white ones with diamonds on the side, and why not
Why is everything that we like usually more expensive? hehe
I would wait for a while...to see if there is any chance of the price going down. Who knows? Meanwhile, you can see if there are other similar options. I am pretty sure that you will find something interesting.
VM - I agree, and I like the sound of white glasses with diamonds...
Lamy, I've been looking for weeks now.....maybe just a little bit longer, eh?
I don't care how good they look- no glasses are worth a grand. Especially when they are all churned out by the exact same Malaysian children
CB, you have such a lovely, unique view of the world....
So did you? If you keep them for 5 years, it's worth it, right?
I don't wear glasses, but PC does. His problem is he's so damn blind there are only a few (or one) cool styles available. I find it annoying. I would probably pay that if they would work and looked fabulous, like I know they do.
Louise, I've not been back yet...but I think I may go stroke them again this weekend, see if the reaction is the same...
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