“After repeatedly losing my glasses and being forced to pay astronomical prices for uninspired frames, I decided to do something about it,” said Andy Hunt. When Hunt arrived at the Wharton School of Business campus in Philadelphia, he quickly met three similarly minded, equally entrepreneurial classmates—Neil Blumenthal, David Gilboa, and Jeff Raider, all of whom who had suffered the same frustrations. The four decided to remedy this nearsighted conundrum by founding Warby Parker, a line of boutique vintage-inspired frames and lenses for savvy urbanites at a revolutionary (read: low) price point. Their debut collection comprises 27 styles (available in ten different colors like tortoise and amber), handcrafted from cellulose acetate and christened with WASP/collegiate monikers like Huxley, Fillmore, and Wiloughby. One particularly handsome whiskey-tortoise monocle—cheekily named the Colonel—is also in the mix. The founders didn’t enter into the eyewear business blindly. Blumenthal had spent the previous five years with the non-profit foundation VisionSpring, which provided low-cost eyeglasses in developing countries and won him the distinction of developing the first line of reading glasses for populations living on less than $4 a day. Relying on Blumenthal’s insight, the founders discovered they could dramatically lower prices by cutting out cost-inflating middlemen like optical shops and licensing companies and selling the glasses exclusively online, where you can upload your photo and virtually try on different pairs before committing to a style. As a result, all Warby Parker eyeglasses, which include anti-reflective prescription lenses, are available for less than $100, and better yet, these frames have a social conscience. For every pair bought, one pair will be donated to one of the world’s 500 million visually impaired, impoverished people through nonprofits such as restoringvision.org. The Warby Parker mission is crystal clear: Look sharp, pay less, do good. In this cultural moment of muddled messages, we can’t lose sight of the importance of clarity of vision. warbyparker.com —Genevieve Bahrenburg (http://www.vogue.com/)
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