Oh Say Can You See
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States who discovered that he could buy glasses in Paris and not only
could he get the frames, he could get the lenses made in Paris as well,
with only a 24 hour wait. Back home he had stylish new glasses that
reminded him of Paris every time he put them on to read.
I
looked into this and found that glasses shops in Paris often sell
frames to Americans who take them home to get lenses put in. Having
lenses made in Paris isn’t done as often but is no problem. A simple
prescription can be finished in 24 hours, but 3 to 4 days is required
for more complex requirements such as bifocals. As in the States, none
of this is very inexpensive.
My sister, Dianne, came to visit me
in Paris, bringing along her sister-in-law, Lynn. As we were walking
down a little street near my apartment, we passed an optometrist and I
told them about my friend. We decided to pop in for a look at the
different frames, as well as to see what sunglasses were for sale.
Almost
immediately my sister found some sunglasses that she couldn’t live
without, a pair of Gucci’s. They probably weren’t that much cheaper
than if she’d bought them in the States, but with the VAT tax refunded
(12%) they seemed like a deal to her.
Lynn wears glasses all of
the time but she settled on a pair of cute sunglasses by a French
designer. Even though she had to have her prescription glasses to walk
down the street, she decided to get them anyway.
About this time
the manager of the store spotted us. Being an astute man, he knew born
shoppers when he saw them and approached us just as we were getting
ready to leave. “Would you like to see some really fabulous frames I
just received today? They are designer glasses, sold only in France and
we are one of four stores in Paris selling them.” Of course we said
yes. He pulled out a box of frames in colors ranging from coral to
rust, and held one up. I thought that they were rather bizarre looking,
like something Picasso might have dreamed up. Lynn loved them. She
tried them on and decided she must have a pair. Because her lenses were
not simple prescriptions, they wouldn’t be ready for three days. I was
a little shocked that she decided to get them as they were very
expensive, about 500 Euros; with the lenses done, another 200 Euros was
added to the price. She would get the VAT back, but still. I heard
later that when she wore the glasses to her work at a bank, she got
comments all of the time on how much everyone liked them.
We
went to visit the countryside before she picked up her glasses but she
and my sister did have their sunglasses. While in Provence, with the
sun blindingly bright, Lynn wore her new sun glasses even though she
couldn’t see that well. Going up the stairs of a chateau, she tripped
and fell. Did she worry about hurting herself? No, the sunglasses had
fallen on the ground and her first comment wasn’t, “My knee!” it was,
“My sunglasses!” (This is why I always buy glasses costing no more than
10 to 15 Euros. I don’t feel so devastated if I lose or break them.)
About
six months later my sister called me, laughing. “Remember those
designer glasses that Lynn bought?” Of course I did. Who could forget?
“She called me last night and said, “Turn on the TV to the Oscars!”
Dianne did and there was Robin Williams presenting an Oscar while
wearing Lynn’s frames. Yes, Lynn and Robin Williams had the same taste
in glasses. How often in life do you get to say that sentence?
Most opticians can put your prescription lenses in your glasses. Two shops that are nice to deal with are:
Geraldine Carfield
10, rue de Buci, 75006
Telephone: 01 43 26 28 25
Caroline Joo
2, rue des Archives, 75004
or 50, rue de Rivoli, 75001
Telephone: 01 48 87 30 95
Linda Mathieu, formerly from Austin, Texas, is a professional journalist and photographer. Owner of
Paris Photo Tours,she delights in taking tourists around Paris, showing them her favorite
views and photo ops. She is currently at work on a book of her
photography with a light-hearted look at Paris.