Finding my Frames at Specsavers Opticians Wythenshawe, Manchester

Finding a perfect pair of glasses frames is no easy task. With such a wide selection of services, brands and frames to choose from, visiting an optician in the first place can often seem daunting and I have to be honest, I am guilty of pushing my eye tests to the bottom of my ‘to-do’ lists. So, when it was time for my latest eye test, I decided to keep things local and pop into Specsavers Options Wythenshawe, Manchester, which is just round the corner from me.

Having previously been to the Specsavers in Manchester Arndale which is a very large store, the Wythenshawe Specsavers on the Presinct high street street seems a lot more compact, but inside is quite like a Tardis as they manage to fit so many frames inside! The whole front half of the shop is a showcase of the Women’s, Men’s and Kid’s glasses and sunglasses they have and seems to be a selection of their best buys, including Specsavers own brand frames and their range of designer glasses frames including Love Moschino, Balmain and their new Karen Millen collection.

Of course, the first step in finding your perfect frames is to have an eye test, and when I was greeted by the lovely manager at the Wythenshawe store, Vicky, she took all my personal details and medical background to give the foundation for this. Before seeing an optician, I undertook a series of pre-tests including a peripheral vision test (where I had to focus on a black dot and click a remote every time I saw a flash of light in the corner of my eyes) and a pressure test (where a quick puff of air was blown in my eye to check the blood pressure behind the eye). I also had a photograph taken of each eye to check everything was looking healthy, which thankfully it was!

After this, I was taken to see the Optician, Dara, who was very welcoming and down to earth, who helped me understand all the tests she was doing on my eyes and why, which was really interesting and helpful! She was super knowledgeable and explained how all my pre-tests showed I had healthy eyes and then took me through the tests to my vision to determine my prescription. I’m lucky that I have healthy eyes and only need a minor prescription for close work – I really only wear my glasses for work where I am constantly sat at my computer screen tapping away (just like I am now!).

Armed with my prescription, it was time to choose my frames and so I went back onto the shop floor to sit down at a desk with Vicky. Vicky was very helpful and showed me the Specsavers Frame Styler – a new piece of technology on an iPad that took a video of my face moving from left to right and analysed the shape of it to suggest frames that would suit my face shape. It is exclusive to Specsavers and very handy if you aren’t sure on what shape frame would suit you! It even suggests frames in different categories, depending on whether you want your glasses to be subtle, a talking point or really shout from your face! Turns out I have a square shape face and the frames the Specsavers Frame Styler suggested were strong and angular to compliment that. Luckily for me I prefer bold frames and always like to choose something that stands out from the crowd!

Taking the advice of the Frame Styler and my personal preference of bold frames, Vicky helped me choose my favourite frames from the store. We picked out a couple at a time, trying them on and decided which we liked best compared to the ones before – it was a pretty efficient process to be honest and was helped by the store staff being super lovely and honest about what suited me and more importantly, what didn’t! I tried on ones from most brands before shortlisting three pairs from Balmain, Love Moschino and Karen Millen.

And dun dun dun.. The winner was a pair of New In frames from Karen Millen. I chose Karen Millen 105, an angular frame with a bold leopard print pattern across them and a diamonte chezron on the sides of the frames. They’re definitely not for the faint hearted but I absolutely love them and they suit me down to a tee! They cost £125, but Specsavers often have special offers on so I would look out for them if you fancy them yourselves.

Over all, I would definitely recommend Specsavers in Wythenshaw, Manchester, if you fancy updating your frames. Although the store is smaller than Manchester Arndale in the city centre (as you would expect), it was a bustling little branch full of customers, with lots of frames to choose from and friendly staff to help you make the decision.

If you’re in Manchester but not super close to Wythenshaw, Specsavers also have branches in Fallowfield and Swinton that could be perfect for you.