Glasses direct blog

With Colin Firth sporting his nerdy yet undeniably hot glasses in what the industry predicts to be an Oscar winning performance as George in A Single Man, we take a look at some of the most memorable movie characters renowned for their glasses and specs appeal. According to our survey to find the most memorable glasses wearing movie characters, we have a list of the Top Ten. Clark Kent tops the charts, fooling us with his somewhat obvious glasses disguise and the unlikely sex symbol Austin Powers rocks up behind with his comical phrases and glasses to match! The others are as follows:

3. Harry Palmer (The Ipcress File, 1965) 13 per cent
4. Sue Storm (Fantastic Four, 2005) 10 per cent
5. Harry Potter (Harry Potter series, 2001) 9 per cent
6. Raoul Duke (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1998) 8 per cent
7. Miranda Priestley (The Devil Wears Prada, 2006) 8 per cent
8. Chief Martin Brody (Jaws series, 1975) 6 per cent
9. Pola Debevoise (How to Marry a Millionaire, 1953 3 per cent
10. Tootsie (Tootsie, 1982) 2 per cent

It’s not only the boys who know the secret. Jessica Alba brings the girls to the top as number 4 as Sue Storm in Fantastic Four. Now calm down boys! Poor old Harry falls behind at number 5. Don’t worry Harry you still have plenty of time to climb the charts.

Why not increase your specs appeal with a pair of Mai Tai glasses from Glasses Direct…

Great news if you’re due a new eye test! Tesco Opticians are offering a FREE eye test at any of its opticians across England and Wales.

To qualify for the free test, all you need to do is pick up your free Tesco magazine at any Tesco store and cut out the voucher you’ll find on the first page. Book your appointment by calling 0845 301 3479, and take the voucher with you when you go for your test.

Once you’ve had your eyes tested, simply ask the optician for your prescription and PD measurement and you’re then free to purchase your new glasses from wherever you choose!
Kudos to Money Saving Expert for pointing out this offer.

Click on the following link for information on understanding your prescription and PD measurement. If you still have any questions on how to enter your prescription when ordering on our website, please don’t hesitate to call our team of qualified opticians on 08456 88 20 20, we’ll be happy to help.

What do Superman, Harry Potter, and Pokeman all have in common? All titles featured X-ray glasses in them, which are recognised as a figment of comic-book writers and children’s imagination- up till now.

An American company, ‘Advanced Intelligence’ claims to have designed a pair of X ray glasses that allow the user to see, in real-time (and record if needed), ‘…through some type of materials making it possible to see through clothes that in the same condition cannot be seen by the naked eye.’ From this quote and the look of their website, clearly the inventor has a certain rather lurid, and probably illegal, type of use in mind that would never have crossed Harry Potter’s mind.

I suspect that this is a sham load of tosh but we havent tried these glasses and cant vouch for whether they do or dont work. At $2,400 a pop we’re sure you probably won’t take a gamble to find out either. And as for how advanced, Advanced Intelligence’s technology really is, what they’re selling at the moment doesn’t look like the kind of rocket science you’d expect if and when the real deal is invented.

X-ray vision is in the news a lot at the moment. The full body scanners currently being trialled at some airports to enhance security on flights, according to the BBC, ‘work by beaming electromagnetic waves on to passengers while they stand in a booth. A virtual three-dimensional image is then created from the reflected energy.’ They cost about £80,000 each and are developed by Qinetiq.

If you know of any other examples of this kind of technology, or have actually tried a pair of the ‘x-ray glasses’, do let us know what you think below.

Kookai Neon Printed Dress from ASOS.com

Yes, hot neon colours are back with a vengeance. The 80s-inspired look is brightening up the high street this season. Following on from the neon colour palette first seen on the AW 2009 catwalks, with looks from collections by Marios Schwab, Jil Sander, and Marc Jacobs.

Now you can get a pair of glasses to match your style. This season we’ve introduced a collection of Mojito Neon’s, perfect to accessorise your outfit for the upcoming Christmas party season. In five great colours, you can pick just one or all five to mix amd match as you change your style.

Here at GD Towers, we’re excited to announce that we’ve launched the first of our Limited Edition Autumn-Winter glasses!

Just in time for the Christmas party season, these frames all have gorgeous rich colours and chic designs that are so stylish, anyone will feel utterly divine when wearing them. These glasses are funky updates to existing bestselling styles, ensuring that you can update your look whilst keeping to your favourite style of specs.

Below are some photos of the new glasses, including the stunning Daiquiri Wings, instantly adding a touch of sparkle to any outfit, and the Cuba Libre Orb range brings understated glamour to your look. All of these fashionable frames put the finishing touches to your Christmas party outfit, meaning you will be the belle of any Christmas ball!

Don’t forget that you can use our home trial service to see which styles best match your outfit and with free delivery during the Royal Mail postal strikes, you can be confident that you’ll get the right look at the right price with Glasses Direct.

See you on the dancefloor!

We saw a magic photo of Kylie in last night’s London Lite, wearing some kooky Harry Potter style glasses and we wanted to let you know that you can steal Kylie’s style (and probably for less!) with some fabulous frames from GlassesDirect.co.uk.

We’ve noticed a growth of over 100% (!) over the last year of these style of glasses. But it’s no surprise really, as Telegraph.co.uk reported earlier this year that ‘Harry Potter glasses have been flying off the shelves like magic’ and Natalie Imbruglia has also been spotted adopting the Harry Potter style too.

Here’s Kylie sporting the look:

And here’s some similar styles from Glasses Direct:

Here’s a great link that shows quite a few similar styles for you to choose from and get that Kylie look:

http://www.glassesdirect.co.uk/frameshape/round/price/39:154/

And why not try before you buy with the Glasses Direct Video Mirror and Home Trial service!

So what are you waiting for? Soon the whole of the UK will be going potty for Potter-style frames!

Updated 3rd of November:

Shop with complete confidence at Glasses Direct during the Royal Mail strikes and get FREE DELIVERY until midnight monday

You can be assured that your glasses will arrive – not only have Royal Mail provided that assurance to us, but as always, we take 100% responsibility to ensure your glasses arrive in good condition. And on top of that, we’re offering FREE DELIVERY on all orders until Monday evening when this current round of strikes ends to make sure our customers stay as happy as ever. We’re also using 1st Class Mail as standard which takes priority over lots of other mail to make sure you get your glasses as soon as possible.

Based on recent experience, the strikes are creating delays of a few days but given that your glasses are not an overnight delivery (since we have to fit the lenses), you should still get them within our guide timescale for delivery.

We are avoiding sending out your glasses on actual strike days so your glasses will dispatched when ready and on the day the Royal Mail service resumes. Most customers have told us they prefer to wait any extra day or two rather than stay in to sign for them from a courier service.

If you need to return a pair of glasses you’ve recently received, please do so as normal, following the instructions provided on your receipt or on our website. We will extend the 14 day period to take into account any potential further delays within Royal Mail.

You can read the latest news on the Strikes on the Royal Mail website.

Getting your Home Trial
We will be extending the 10 day Home Trial by several days to allow for any delays in getting the glasses to you. The 10 days will only start on the day your Home Trial leaves our offices, and we will not be sending out any packages on actual strike days to avoid any uncertainty on the whereabouts of your Home Trial.

Returning your Home Trial
Once you have put the glasses back in the post we will be extending the return deadline to allow for any potential further delays within Royal Mail. Should we have any queries on the whereabouts of the Home Trial, we’ll get in touch with you to discuss this further.

We’re doing something different here at Glasses Direct and it’s always nice to be recognised for it. We’ve been included in the Top 20 of a prestigious awards table that looks at the fastest growing technology companies in the UK.

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is based on official financial reports for technology companies over five years. Glasses Direct is in at 19th position with a turnover growth of 2098% over the past 5 years.

This is fantastic news for us and we’re delighted that Glasses Direct has received so much support in a tough economic climate. Consistent value for our customers and new ways to shop (like our home trial service) means that more and more people are choosing to buy from us. More futuristic ideas, such as the video mirror, allow us to keep ahead of competitors and grow during this time of economic uncertainty.

Thanks to all the staff, partners and (most importantly of all), our customers who helped make this happen. Here’s to the next 5 years!

Today is World Sight Day and I want to tell you about a plan I discovered over the Summer and ask for you to consider supporting it.

In West Africa, there is an estimated 2.6m people who are blind. 80% of blind people affected suffer needlessly in developing countries. Their blindness is completely treatable and/or preventable in the first place – sometimes in operations that can take minutes.

Once a person is cured of blindness, they can provide more support to their families, perhaps by returning to work. Everyone benefits, not just the sufferer.

Moorfields, one of the oldest and largest centres for eye health in the world, has committed to developing an integrated eye and surgical training unit that is to be based at the main teaching hospital in Ghana’s capital, Accra. You can see some of the fantastic work they do in the photos on our Flickr page.

This unique facility will enable eye specialists from across West Africa to be trained, in safe and high volume surgery, which is desperately needed to help eliminate cataract blindness or to deliver sight saving treatments for people with glaucoma.

Encouragingly, the hospital has raised about 75% of the £3m it needs already and expects to be in a position to begin construction by the summer of next year, assuming that it is able to raise the remaining 25%.

Please join me in donating to Moorfields’ campaign. This is the first time that we have made a direct appeal to all Glasses Direct customers and with your support we can help ensure the plan takes off.

I am asking everyone to consider giving small amounts that won’t hurt the pocket, but collectively will make a big difference.

You can make a donation using the link below:

http://www.justgiving.com/glassesdirect/

Yours,

Jamie Murray Wells
Founder and Executive Chairman, Glasses Direct

Image courtesy of Paulblank

Ever wondered what glasses Fabio Capello, England football manager wears? Well, here you go! Today we launched a fabulous selection of Zerorh+ prescription glasses, as worn by Fabio!

See the Zerorh+ range HERE

We hope that his specs give Fabio Capello and the England football team all the luck in the World for tonights’ World Cup Qualifier against Croatia. Here’s hoping we’ll see them in the World Cup Finals!