Poor eyesight affects millions, and a large percentage of these individuals wear glasses in order to compensate. While some wearers are not confident in their glasses, there are a variety of cute summer styles that are classy and allow the wearer to display their unique sense of fashion.

Standard Black Rimmed Eyeglasses Popular in Hollywood
A growing number of eyeglass wearers are following the Hollywood trend of wearing black rimmed glasses. This style gives the wearer an intelligent and chic look with little investment. The summer style is one that screams sophistication while implying a fun side that is hidden beneath the lenses.

Read more »

It’s not just a fashion statement; it’s a necessity if you live in Jacksonville, Florida. Everyone needs a pair of sunglasses that are fashionable, yes, but also of high quality to reduce ultraviolet rays that affect your eyesight.

Many of us in Jacksonville, Florida, enjoy being outdoors when the weather is good. Whether you’re on the golf course, beach, or cruising around on your bike, it’s important to protect your eyes when you’re outside.

The Dangers of “Cheap” Sunglasses

We all do it. When we’re at a gas station or discount store and see a sunglass sale: “Buy a pair for $1!” We stock up and think to ourselves, sunglasses are sunglasses, they all block the sun. But that’s not necessarily accurate.

Oftentimes, we see our clients come in with injuries sustained from low-quality sunglasses. Two of the most common injuries we treat are from the uneven lens surface and unqualified ultraviolent transmissivity. The first, uneven lens surface, triggers fatigue in the eyes while the second will hide the visible light but allow ultraviolent ray into the sunglasses. As the pupil expands due to the dim light, more ultraviolet ray is absorbed into the eye.

Essentially, sunglasses are an investment. Choose quality over price and you’ll be making an investment for your eyes. Protect them now, or pay a lot more in eye care bills later as you attempt to make up for the poor quality. When you see a sunglass sale in the middle of a gas station or discount store, just say no! Turn to Valuvision instead to find the right sunglasses to match your unique style while protecting your eyes from the harsh Florida sun.

Remember that old pair of glasses your mom or your grandparents used to wear? They looked like cat eyes and you might of thought they were so nerdy. Well those horn-rimmed glasses are making a comeback. These old-school glasses have been around for quite some time, more than a century actually. These glasses became really popular in the 1940s. Superstars like Harold Lloyd and Buddy Holly brought these unique frames to the public eye and they style blew up. A famous duo that shot these frames to the top was the Blues Brothers. How could you forget those sunglasses? Everyone wanted to be “cool” like those two.

The name “horn-rimmed” glasses came from what the frames were made from horn and tortoise shell. Back in the days of Buddy Holly, these frames would have cost a fortune and having a pair proved wealth and social status. When the 1980s came around (along with Top Gun), horn-rimmed glasses disappeared and aviators became the new fashion statement to make with sunglasses. While horn-rimmed glasses were still somewhat in style for eyeglasses, they were not as big as they used to be.

When we come up to the early 90s, horn-rimmed frames started to come back around. Alternative culture fashion picked up on these frames. Punk, indie, emo, hipster and goth really brought these glasses back up to the surface and because these horn-rimmed frames looked “nerdy”, they were often worn by characters on shows and movies to amp up that “nerd” appeal.

What is great is that now-a-days, you can find these glasses on anyone and everyone. From Johnny Depp on the red carpet, to your neighbor down the street. When these glasses began being made in America, they became more affordable for everyone because they were being made out of plastic and special dye, which gave them that authentic look. Regardless of what they are made out of, these glasses are still fun and classy and are meant for just about everyone to wear. You can wear these glasses with your suit and tie, workout clothes, dresses or jeans and a t-shirt. Horn-rimmed glasses add a fresh look to anyone’s attire so don’t be scared of them, embrace them and know that you are not wearing just a trend, you are wearing a classic style.

Who needs three and four pairs of glasses? I suppose you might but if you can spare to not have a couple then you could try and help out someone that has poor vision too but cannot afford frames or lenses.

Something that we take for granted, others could only dream of. Having a new pair of glasses is like buying a car for some people in different countries. In other countries, some people would have to work for three months before they would be able to afford a new pair of basic, ordinary glasses. Glasses get tossed out for all sorts of reasons, out of fashion, old prescriptions, or sometimes we just lose them and have to get a new pair. Instead of throwing out those old spectacles, look up an organization of your choice on the internet that salvages old glasses and send your pair to them, You have no idea how much you are helping someone who cannot see, simply because they cannot afford to.

Did you know that Americans throw away more than four million pairs of eyeglasses every year? By donating your glasses you could be salvaging someone’s job. Perhaps that person cannot be a seamstress because they cannot afford glasses to see. Or perhaps a student is doing poorly in school because he cannot see the chalkboard due to poor vision.  There are so many circumstances that we don’t think about. By donating your old frames or lenses you could actually be changing someone’s life, just like that.

Donate your old sunglasses too. Sunglasses are a luxury to most people, so you can only imagine that if someone cannot afford eyeglasses they certainly cannot afford sunglasses. People would appreciate anything and if there are any frames that you can spare, you would be surprised what a world of difference and change you are giving someone less fortunate. We are all from different backgrounds and headed in different directions but everyone has the right to see where they are going.

Visit any of our Valuvision locations today to donate your old glasses to Operation Baja Vision.

Jacksonville’s Valuvision knows that having the option between a pair of glasses that is comfortable for an evening at home and for a night out on the town has become essential for regular eyeglass wearers. Valuvision offers contemporary brands like Gucci, Prada, Guess, Dior, and Bebe that stay on top of today’s newest fashion accessory trends.  Designers are developing new trends for eyewear glasses that are giving consumers alternative options for daytime and evening looks. Read more »

Coach was founded in aloft in Manhattan during World War II. In 1941, six craftsmen began handcrafting a collection of leather products and accessories using skills handed down by previous generations. Discerning consumers soon began to seek out the quality craftsmanship of the Coach Brand.

Coach has now greatly expanded and emerged as America’s leading Read more »

Prada is a fashion label created by Mario Prada and his brother Martino in 1913. Prada is based out of Italy. Originally Prada only created and sold leather goods and imported English steamer trunks and handbags. While Prada had humble had humble beginnings, Prada designer fashion is now a worldwide brand recognized as a status symbol. Read more »

Valuvision Eye Care is a locally owned and operated chain of Jacksonville vision centers and eye doctors offices. Valuvision is proud to announce that its Regency office now carries one of the best selections of Candies eyewear in Jacksonville, Florida.

Candie’s was founded in 1981 with the now famous sexy, high-heeled wood bottom slide, called the ‘Candie’. By the mid 1980’s, sales of Candie’s slides soared to over 14 million pairs. One out of every four in America owned a pair of Candie’s. And thus the popular brand, clothing line, and pop culture mainstay. Read more »

Valuvision is a locally owned and operated chain of vision centers in Jacksonville Florida and Orange Park Florida. This final installment of the four part series on eyeglasses will cover eyeglasses from a optometrists and optical perspective, as well as some of the newest eyeglass innovations.

Many people use generic reading glasses to aid in the correction of presbyopia and hyperopia or farsightedness(both condition result in blurriness at close distances). Often, these generic reading glasses do not result in proper and accurate vision correction. While the lesser cost of such shelf bought spectacles may be appealing, a proper set of prescription eyeglasses from your optometrist or eye care professional at your local vision center will result in better vision correction and less occurrence of headaches and Read more »

Valuvision Eyecare is a locally owned and operated chain of vision centers. Valuvision has served the Greater Jacksonville and Orange Park areas for almost 40 years. Whether your looking for eye exams, contact lenses, eyeglasses, designer frames, or sunglasses, Valuvision has it all at a vision center near you in Jacksonville Florida. This article is the third in a four part series on the types and function of eyeglasses.

One of the primary functions of glasses is for correcting vision problems in eye such as myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia. Optometrists are primarily concerned with this function of prescription eyeglasses as a means of providing eye care for patients.  Nearsightedness(myopia) is a vision disorder where near objects are scene clearly yet far object are blurry or Read more »