Styed by Helen: IOLLA Sunglasses

Yay for sunshine! The last few days have been lovely and bright and it's certainly been putting me in a happy mood. I've been eating my lunch al fresco, making more colourful wardrobe choices and generally feeling jolly. It's amazing what a bit of vitamin D can do! Through all of this nice wather I've been sporting these new IOLLA sunnies. Like Kimberley, I've often opted for the combination of contact lenses and cheap high street sunglasses over prescription lenses, and mostly for the same reasons; prescription ones can be expensive, there's so much variety on the high street and I live in Scotland, how much sun am I going to see anyway?! But, having invested in them before, I should really know that prescription sunglasses make summer so much easier.

The real problem I've had with sunglasses is finding the right shape for my face. You'd think that being a regular glasses wearer would make this easier but there's something about dark lenses that call for something different. They need to be bigger than my everyday spectacles but not so big that I look like I have bug eyes. It's a very fine line. I do love the shape of my vintage cat eyes but have to admit that they're a little too small to look right as sun specs (not that that will stop me wearing them).

So, when we were offered that chance to pick from IOLLA's fab new range of frames, I knew exactly what I was looking for - the perfect size of sunglasses. After having such a great experience visiting their Glasgow-based shop back when they opened, I was super excited to see their new range. There are so many great frames, in a variety of finishes and there's the added sunglasses options. So much to choose from and all for the standard price of £65 including lenses! Since I'd already experienced their in store hospitality I decided to try ordering online. This has always been something I've shied away from (half the fun of picking new glasses is trying them all on, right?!) but I decided to give it a go...



After looking through all of the frames I opted for the Murray's in caramel tortoise with brown gradient lenses. Being slightly larger than my clear Bell frames I figured they'd be a suitable sunglasses size for me. Once that difficult decision was done, the online ordering was easy peasy. I just uploaded a photo of my prescription, measured my PD (pupillary distance) using the straightforward instructions and I was sorted. A few days later and they were at my door. I tried them on and felt like Cinderella, they were the perfect fit! Not too big, not too small, oh so comfortable and the colour goes great with my hair. I've been popping them on at the slightest sign of sun!

Shirt | H&M
Skirt | H&M
Shoes | Charity shop
Necklace | Beth Lamont
Sunglasses | c/o IOLLA
Denim Jacket | Charity shop
Shining pin | Punky Pins
Unicorn pin | Lucky Dip Club





So, what have I learned from my experience of buying glasses online?

1.) Do some research.
Making decisions based on a photo online can always be a bit tricky. I tried to combat this by making sure I had as much info to hand as possible. Getting my ruler out and comparing the sizes of the glasses I already own to those on the website gave me a better idea of how they would look IRL. Also flicking through #seewithIOLLA on Instagram meant I could see how the glasses look on other people. Stalking the internet looking for people with a similar face shape to you may sound creepy but it was super useful.

2.) Have your prescription to hand.
The one thing that made my online shopping experience a little tricky was nothing to do with IOLLA and all to do with my filing system (or lack of). Having to hunt for my prescription details did slow things down. Probably a more general life lesson rather than being specific to buying glasses online but I really must learn to keep my important documents in one easy to find place rather than in random piles around my room.

3.) If in doubt, take the trip.
I felt pretty confident that I'd picked the right glasses based on all my research but if I wasn't I know I could have made the trip to Glasgow to try them on in person. That's what's good about IOLLA, you can shop online with them but they also have a bricks and mortar shop to visit. Too far from Glasgow but still want to purchase? Just go out and try on glasses - any glasses and as many as possible. This will give you a better idea of what shapes, sizes and colours suit you so you can make a more informed decision.



Which frames would you pick from IOLLA's new range? And how do you feel about buying glasses online?