Now that it's autumn, and our fancies turn to school, education and bookishness in general, it's time to put on our thinking caps (and nerdy glasses) and get serious. I need glasses, and wear them most days, but I often feel my style choices are limited by one set of frames (none of them go with the variety of outfits I like to wear — boho some days, yoga-sporty others). So a few weeks ago I had a radical idea — what if I put together a glasses wardrobe? A few different frames so that I could forego contact lenses unless I was working out, and just wear my specs? I keep my glasses for years, and with a rotating set of, say, three, they would last three times as long, plus I would look for eco-friendly versions (the Ecologist outlines what's so toxic about regular glasses' manufacturing here).

 

Here are some of my pics for what I think could be the start of my wardrobe of frames (and my first start): 

 

 

My Amy Sacks frames are plastic on the front, but renewable bamboo on the arms, not only making them a bit lighter overall, but the feeling of wood sitting on my ears and sliding back and forth on my head as I take them off and put them on is softer, and warmer. Amy Sacks carries a number of bamboo-based frames (some are all bamboo, others are bamboo/plastic combos). 

 

 

 

 

Warby Parker's glasses frames come in shapes that are either super hip, or totally classic. They are all very reasonably priced ($95 each with lenses, and just a bit more for the superthin lenses) and for every pair bought, a pair is given to a person in need. More than 85,000 pairs have been distributed thus far, and with more than 1 billion people in need, there's plenty more to give.