New glasses frames, high myopia/progressives

March 3, 2016 6:03 PM

I'm looking for new eyeglass frames and want some new ideas for what to look for. My prescription is -9.00 SPH, -2.25 CYL, ADD +1.00. This places several constraints on what I can wear. The frames need to be small enough that the lenses will not be Coke bottles but need to be tall enough to accommodate the progressives, and I'm a little stumped on ideas for my next pair.

I currently wear Silhouette rimless glasses--I can't remember which lens number but the last pair were like ovals with the ends sliced off, this pair is more angular (I wanted to try more rectangular frames but the optician said that in order to get adequate segment height I'd have to go too large and would hate it). The size is 47-17-135. (I'm a woman, and I'm only 39.)

These are really comfortable, but as my prescription has worsened, I think I may have hit my limits of what I can get away with in rimless, even with an upgrade to 1.74 high index.

I will be purchasing from my local independent optician--I can't do online ordering. Obviously I'll try a bunch of pairs on (which involves the optician taking 20 camera phone photos and me texting because I can't see what I look like and none of them look anything like they will with the real lenses in!) but I'm a little lost as to what to look for. When I look at what's in style, it all seems too oversized or bulky for this kind of script.

posted by anonymonkey to Grab Bag (15 answers total)

I went radical with my most recent pair (now up to a prescription of -9.5,) dark heavy plastic. It's the first time in years that I haven't been scratching myself with the edges of my lenses. I'm really, really surprised that I don't hate the way it looks, after years of the thinnest possible frames.

BTW I'm impressed you've gotten away with rimless this long. They refused me outright around -6.0.
posted by SMPA at 6:29 PM on March 3, 2016

I have slightly different issues than you do: I don't need progressives, but my bad eye is worse than your prescription, and I have really different prescriptions in each eye. (There's 5 diopters difference between my bad eye and my good eye. When I wear glasses, it looks like one of my eyes is way bigger than the other.) I've found that my best bet is to find a really good optician whom I trust, go when they're not super busy, and explain my prescription issues and that I'm more interested in glasses that look good and work well than glasses that are trendy. Opticians seem to find me an interesting challenge, and they'll help me pick out glasses that work well with my wonky prescription.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:41 PM on March 3, 2016

You can probably go over 47 wide - I have a tiny face and given the current big-glasses style, I can comfortably up to a 51 or so. (I'm 39). My rx is moderate, but my husband is in the high -8's, and wears a Clark Kent-ish shape, but in titanium. He's never been able to wear plastic instead of nose pads, and with his lenses, titanium is great because it's so light.

Here's a pair you might consider -- I've had titanium Modo frames myself and they were very high quality. They are available at brick and mortar opticians.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:44 PM on March 3, 2016

The worse of my eyes has been hovering around -6.50 since I was in high school and I've been wearing progressives for about ten years now (I'm 45). I'm male. These are my current frames and they look great with my prescription (in 1.67 high index). My wife recently got a slightly different frame (mine's called FAME, hers is FLORA) from the same collection but it's not listed on their web site.

But as it happens I just ordered my new glasses a few hours ago, and they are these. I have found that the "tall enough" issue hasn't been a problem with anything I've liked. What has made a huge difference for me is getting the fancy "free form" progressives. My current lenses are Seiko, uh, Supersede II? Basically all of the lens brands have something more or less equivalent and your optician (and your optician's lab) will have favorites, but they should be able to work with you to get something that's much more awesome than what you're used to (unless you're already used to "free form" lenses, in which case, ignore me).

Between the fancy frames and the free form lenses my glasses are now astonishingly expensive, but I like to think of it in terms of a two year investment, in which case I'm spending less than $2/day to see and not look terrible in the process (and that's pre-tax income, woo).
posted by fedward at 6:47 PM on March 3, 2016

I got mine at a local optician. I have a strong rx and bifocals. They are Perry Ellis PE 308-1. They are tall enough for the bifocals and seem to fit my face. I am a woman in my early 40s.
posted by veerat at 6:48 PM on March 3, 2016

Oh, FWIW I got prescription sunglass lenses put into an old pair of Ray-Ban Clubmasters last year. Progressives and everything. They look great, and I've seen people put clear prescription lenses in the same frames. The gold rim gives a strong line so it's not just a thick lens edge hanging out. When I was a stubborn teenager I used to wear semi-rimless glasses, and I wasn't fooling anyone. Now I've learned.

NB: I couldn't get the same lenses as my regular glasses, so they're Shamir … Autograph 3? Same basic thing as the Seiko lenses (free-form, 1.67), just tinted. They're not the same, but they're equally good. Let your optician be your guide.
posted by fedward at 7:03 PM on March 3, 2016

My prescription is almost as bad as yours, though I don't need progressives yet (though I'm predicting in the next couple of years. I've had much better luck with plastic frames. My latest are these, which I think will be able to take progressives when it's time.
posted by kbuxton at 7:10 PM on March 3, 2016

Response by poster: Yeah, I have the freeform lenses. Varilux Physio, I can't remember if it's the regular or enhanced series. The cost is insane--my last pair of lenses was, I think, $800--I reused the frame. Despite Silhouette's reputation the frame is a fraction of the cost of the lens.

My optician has no problem doing drill mounts on strong prescriptions as long as you know what you're going to get. What I do like about my current pair is that they're very easy on the nose and ears. This is a big deal for me. (I do have contact lenses, but since I moved into progressives I actually prefer my glasses if I'll be switching between distance and close work, so I wear them a lot.)
posted by anonymonkey at 7:10 PM on March 3, 2016

Have you tried multifocul contacts? My optometrist introduced me to AirOptix and they are life changing. My eyes are -8 and -10, and with the multifocals I can read and see.

I only wear my glasses for about 5 minutes a day, but my old pair of glasses was over 20 years old, so I got a new pair last year with progressives. I ended up with a pair of Tom Ford frames that were small enough for my prescription - I think they were 49 or so. I feel like Colin Firth when I wear them.
posted by mogget at 7:38 PM on March 3, 2016

I also came in to recommend multi-focal contacts, if you can tolerate them. Regarding glasses, I went to bright red (well. they have some black engraving across the top) Clark Kent-ish frames because my fitter recommended that strong edges would mitigate the visual distraction (to others) of my weird prescription, which causes my lenses to, I guess, bend light strangely and create odd reflections. They would look at my whole face, she said. It seems to be working; I get compliments.
posted by carmicha at 8:43 PM on March 3, 2016

I have a stronger prescription but not multifocal (yet) and I have two pairs of larger plastic Furla frames. I love them and get complimented on them both every time I wear them. Both were purchased at Costco.
posted by notjustthefish at 8:54 PM on March 3, 2016

Best answer: I'm female, 20's, currently in a -7.5ish script although no progressives. I currently wear a rectangular plastic frame from Prodesign Denmark that's 50 across the lens and that works well with minimal peripheral distortion. The plastic frame hides my lens thickness, and importantly, Prodesign makes all of their plastic frames with optional nose pads.
posted by serelliya at 11:54 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I can't do multifocals because of my astigmatism. There is one brand of toric multifocals (Proclear) but my optometrist doesn't recommend them and I've heard bad things about them--they're expensive and tear easily. (And, alas, I am not a good candidate for LASIK.)

According to the lens thickness calculator, going from a 47 to a 51 would take my edge thickness from 5.4mm to 6.8mm, so I probably want to stay under 50. I need to talk to the optician about whether going up just a little would help with the peripheral distortion.

I know my optician stocks the Prodesign so that's definitely one for me to look at.
posted by anonymonkey at 9:03 AM on March 4, 2016

I've been considering Swissflex brand of glasses. If you're used to sillhouettes, that might be a good substitute since they are insanely light weight.
posted by Neekee at 7:24 PM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: A final update in case it helps anyone finding this thread: I went with a heavier plastic Prodesign frame--1739, in a 51-18-135. The bigger size is a definite adjustment and I think it's my max, though I do need a bigger frame in plastic than I do in rimless. The nose pads are a great feature and make these more comfortable than earlier plastic pairs I've worn.

As a tip to anyone looking: If you have a small face, Kliik has some nice designs. I was at the top end of their size range but nearly bought one of their pairs--chose the Prodesign because I liked the look. If my face were any smaller, I really think I would have bought one of their pairs as they did the best job in the small sizes.

I will say that I still highly recommend Silhouette for people who want the absolute lightest possible glasses. I'm adjusting well to these, but I have my old Silhouettes as backups and I'm still amazed at how light and comfortable they are.
posted by anonymonkey at 8:03 AM on April 25, 2016