Vintage Eyewear

Yet another of those reviews where I wish I could give a zero star rating to. Not only is the owner of this business (ESTHER HARRIS) rude and pushy, she’s borderline racist. I was with a group of friends and asked here about tortoise shell glasses. During the course of her showing me her «private stock», she kept rambling about what an expert she was, and how many celebrities she deals with, yada yada yada… She pulled out a few trays of old and cracked tortoise frames that would not survive any optician putting lens installed. When I asked if she had another size that would fit me better, she yelled at me and said «These are vintage, how could I have another size?!?» I was not inquiring about making new ones, but about the possibility that she would have another pair to fit me better. Should have left then… she then goes on and asks where I am from, to which I reply «Hong Kong». She then rambles on and on about how only low quality things come from HK and her frames are all made by French artisans who have been doing this for hundreds of years. «I’d never buy frames made in Asia.» After this, she tried hard to get me interested in a set of her private label horn glasses for around $ 1000. Turns out a friend of mine bought a pair, and thought they were nice enough. He then proceeded to google online the manufacture, and found out they can be had for around $ 300. So what do we have here? A crazy racist ripoff artist.
There’s probably a reason why this business has little to no web presence. They are a bunch of hucksters and try to avoid the bad reviews. I found one embedded in a trip advisor report, and I’m sure there are many other shared bad experiences out there. On a related note, I grabbed on of her cards which spells the business: VINTAG EYEWARE”, yet here on Unilocal its listed as «VINTAGE EYEWEAR».
BEWARE!!!

There’s a lady and a man who run this joint. They’re both crazy in their own ways, but they both can help you with what you want. The guy is really laid back, and loves glasses despite his not actually wearing any. The woman is kind of crazy and really big on the hard sell.
The hard sell can be annoying at times, but the end result is worth it. They have really great glasses, and will cut a really good deal on lenses for you most of the time. Very open to negotiation.
I bought a great pair of frames here from the 1940s, which had never been worn, in perfect condition, for about $ 300 with lenses.
A good strategy, though. The lady will have you try on about a thousand pairs of glasses. Her instincts are usually correct the first time, though. I know about 10 other people who have bought glasses from here, and after trying things on forever, they almost always end up buying the first pair she recommends. So save yourself the trouble. If you like the first pair, probably just go with it.