Warby Parker

Warby Parker was founded in 2010 by Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt, and Jeff Raider, four students at the Wharton School who built the brand on a critique of the luxury eyewear market’s pricing structure. The argument they made was that the major eyewear conglomerate, Luxottica, controlled enough of the supply chain from frame manufacturing through retail that the prices for prescription glasses had been inflated beyond what the materials and production costs justified. By selling directly to consumers, designing their own frames, and eliminating the wholesale and traditional retail margin layers, Warby Parker could offer prescription glasses at a fraction of traditional optical pricing.

The initial launch price of $95 for a pair of prescription glasses was the price point that demonstrated the argument. At a time when the average American pair of prescription glasses cost several hundred dollars, the Warby Parker price was a significant enough discount to produce the viral attention that the brand’s launch received. The home try-on program, which ships five frames to the customer’s home for five days without requiring a credit card, addressed the remaining friction of buying glasses without trying them in person.

The Georgetown store at 3223 M Street NW is on the upper M Street commercial block, near Mejuri and in the section of M Street that carries lifestyle and accessories brands. The physical store allows the full frame selection to be browsed and tried on, which is the service that the home try-on program approximates but the physical visit addresses more comprehensively. The staff handle prescription consultations, including the Prescription Check service that the brand offers as an in-store exam alternative in some locations.

The frame design at Warby Parker is done in-house, which gives the brand aesthetic control and the ability to produce designs that reflect a coherent point of view: frames that are classic in their basic references but contemporary in proportion and color, avoiding the most trend-dependent styles in favor of designs that will work across multiple years.

Hours run from 10am Monday through Saturday and 11am Sunday, with Friday and Saturday closing at 8pm. The Warby Parker Prescription Check service, available at select stores, uses technology to provide a remote vision examination that can renew a prescription without the in-office optometrist visit for qualifying prescriptions. For Georgetown customers who need a prescription renewal and want to handle the frames and the prescription in a single visit, the M Street store provides the one-stop approach. The home try-on program remains available for customers who prefer to assess frames at home before committing. Five frames ship free, arrive in a reusable case, and return free of charge within five days. The Georgetown M Street store at 3223 is open from 10am Monday through Saturday and 11am Sunday.