For the glasses wearer out there, you know the drill. It’s four eyes on the playground, ‘Hey dork’ in the cafeteria, Specky through grammar school, it never stops.
Eventually you enter the corporate world and have an opportunity to turn those big optical circles into refined wire lines that exude intelligence, but you spend hundreds yearly in designer eyewear…and just because it says Dolce & Gabbana doesn’t mean it looks good. There’s the yearly office visit, the condescending tone of an indifferent receptionist while you try on frame after frame, the frustration of having to chose just one pair.
Tortoise & Blonde is revolutionizing that with their affordable, luxurious, and most importantly, stylish eyewear company. They are of the mindset that you should not be restricted to the same pair of glasses day after day. What a concept! Their motto is ‘One today, another tomorrow’. It’s sensible indulgence that works. They don’t scrimp on quality or craftsmanship—instead they realize the importance of understanding what their customer wants from a fashion, fitting and sale-ability standpoint.
The plastic frames that come in men’s, women’s and unisex styles are classic in theory, but contemporary in construction and execution…and they start at $97 (that’s lenses, frames, and shipping). As the product of an optical family three generations deep in evolving their business these guys gather inspiration from every day people, in every day places, doing every day things.
The team is a dynamic father son duo composed of Dr. Steven Weisfeld, who’s been in the business for 30+ years, and his son, Evan Weisfeld who left the finance world when he saw a niche that needed filling— high quality eyewear brand that’s affordable for even struggling college students.
Tortoise & Blonde is primarily internet based, so as long as your prescription is up to date, there’s no need for an office visit and no waiting three weeks for a new pair of glasses. Don’t worry, there’s a virtual try-on room that helps you pick out the right frames for your face. (It actually works, too). Their turnaround time is pretty impressive, processing and shipping in 24 hours.
Since everything is in-house Tortoise & Blonde is able to go above and beyond with their customer service and product quality. The frames are manufactured in the same factories that today’s best eyewear brands are made in, then fabricated and dispensed under the watchful eye of their in-house Optometric team.
One today, another tomorrow. It makes sense.
*Tried & Tested. Alister & Paine practices old-school journalistic integrity. We only write from experience–never press releases. If we haven’t tried it and loved it you won’t find it in our magazine.
