5 best designer eyewear stores for elevating your everyday style

The best designer eyewear stores are FramesDirect, Designer Frames Outlet, GlassesUSA, EZContacts, and CoolFrames. We picked them based on designer brand selection, prescription lens options, warranty and return policies, and everyday pricing.

If you're finally ready to retire the pair you grabbed in a hurry years ago, those four things matter more than you'd think. A bigger catalog helps you find the exact shape you want, and a solid return window lets you send it back if it doesn't feel right. Lens options and warranties cover the rest, since even a gorgeous frame still has to fit your prescription, your face, and your budget.

Your Glasses Are the Accessory You Wear Every Day

You put your glasses on before you walk out the door, and people see them all day. That pretty much makes them fashion accessories you'll wear from morning until bedtime.

Nearly everyone needs some kind of eyewear. In the Vision Council's second-quarter 2024 survey, 83% of respondents used some form of vision correction, including glasses, prescription sunglasses, reading glasses, and contact lenses.

Shopping online has clear perks. A good store can show you thousands of frames in one sitting, and many offer virtual try-on tools that let you test pairs from home. Authorized sellers typically pass along the manufacturer's warranty, which usually covers defects for a year.

Best for Selection: FramesDirect

FramesDirect is the best designer eyewear store for selection, with more than 100,000 products from hundreds of designer brands. You'll find Ray-Ban, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Persol, and Burberry in one place, and the site covers luxury sunglasses just as thoroughly as everyday eyeglasses. That range is handy if you already know the shape you want and you'd like to see every color before you pick one.

Two doctors started the company in 1996, and EssilorLuxottica, a large lens and frame maker, owns it now. The store says it's an authorized dealer, and it actually promises to match the price if you find the same style and color for less on another website. A virtual mirror tool lets you try frames on from home.

If you want a huge catalog with a price match behind it, FramesDirect is worth a long scroll.

Best for Discounted Designer Frames: Designer Frames Outlet

Designer Frames Outlet is the best designer eyewear store for discounted designer frames, with Prada, Versace, Tom Ford, Burberry, and Coach in the catalog and separate collections of eyeglasses and sunglasses under $100. If you like statement eyewear and want to pay less than boutique prices, you can browse designer glasses frames here.

Two friends started the business in 2009 and sold frames online as a hobby. They opened a store in Lacey, Washington, in 2010, and in 2017 they focused on the website and built a lab that cuts prescription lenses on-site.

Every frame comes with a one-year manufacturer warranty, and the store says that warranty confirms the frame is authentic. A two-year extension costs $24.95 and covers just the frame. You get 30 days after delivery to start a return, and orders over $100 ship free.

If you want recognizable designer names at outlet-style prices, Designer Frames Outlet gives you plenty to look through.

Best for Everyday Budget Wear: GlassesUSA

GlassesUSA is the best designer eyewear store for everyday budget wear, since it sells designer labels in the same place as its own lower-priced house brands. You can pick up designer shades from Ray-Ban, Oakley, or Persol, and then add an inexpensive pair of everyday frames from house lines like Muse and Ottoto. A backup pair is pretty easy to justify when sale glasses start at $19.

Standard shipping is free in the United States and Canada with no minimum order, and the site lists a 60-day return or exchange window and a one-year warranty. It accepts vision insurance, health savings accounts, and flexible spending accounts.

Two physical stores in Boston and Orlando actually offer eye exams. Reviewers mostly praise the selection and prices, and some mention slow delivery, so check the estimated ship date before you buy.

If you want one store for a good pair and a spare, GlassesUSA covers both.

Best for Prescription Lenses: EZContacts

EZContacts is the best designer eyewear store for prescription lenses, with Varilux, Crizal, and Transitions options on frames from Oakley, Ray-Ban, Kate Spade, and Nike. The company says that an authorized Essilor lab makes its lenses, and staff checks each prescription before work starts and again before the order ships.

You can buy optical frames, prescription sunglasses, reading glasses, and contact lenses in one checkout. Reviews.io shows a 4.0 rating across about 22,700 reviews, and custom lenses need a little production time, so order well before you need the pair.

These lens options are available through EZContacts:

• Polarized lenses that cut glare on bright days
• Tinted or gradient lenses for prescription sunglasses
• Transitions lenses that darken when you step outside
• Varilux lenses for seeing near and far without separate pairs
• Crizal coatings that reduce reflections on the lens surface

Best for Authorized-Retailer Confidence: CoolFrames

CoolFrames is the best designer eyewear store for authorized-retailer confidence, since it states that it's an authorized seller of every brand it carries. A family has owned and run the company independently since 1997, and it says that its eyeglasses, sunglasses, lenses, and goggles are all 100% authentic. Each one carries a standard one-year manufacturer warranty.

The catalog includes Oakley, Coach, Silhouette, Mykita, and Ted Baker, so you'll see a few less common names next to the famous ones. Prescription lenses come from Essilor, and a partner listing mentions free domestic shipping on designer sunglasses and prescription eyeglasses. Trustpilot shows a fairly solid 4.0 rating across more than 4,600 reviews.

If a written authenticity promise and a manufacturer warranty matter most to you, CoolFrames is a fair place to start.

Finding Designer Eyewear Stores That Match Your Style

Each of these designer eyewear stores brings something a little different, so you've got solid options whatever your style or budget looks like. Start with the criteria that matter most to you, and you'll probably land on a pair you'll actually want to wear every day.

If you'd like more guides like this one, explore the other articles on our website.