Naked Eye

I had a great experience at Naked Eye. I was searching for a place with updated styles to match the current trends and this is it. George (the owner) brings that confident approach and makes you feel at ease from the very time you enter his store. His personal knowledge and experience showed through when he selected frames to try, all with a certain uniqueness I couldn’t find elsewhere; so refreshing. After I narrowed my search to three, I purchased frames that were priced in the middle, with no pressure to up-​sell. Key!
Another thing I really liked is that I have a prescription but it’s outdated and I know full well it’s unchanged since last seeing my prior doc, so rather than incur another charge for a script George was able to read my lens using a machine to extract the prescription (including astigmatism) for my new lenses. Sweet savings! Another kicker is that I purchased the anti-​glare which is offered in two price ranges so I opted for the basic. Unless your in film or TV you wont need the higher option. I’ve older frames with the higher option and can tell you from experience there’s no noticeable difference to justify the higher cost.
All in all, this is a great boutique in a cool neighborhood. If you’ve tried others like I have and left disappointed then stop in and visit George and his staff.

I bought my current frames here about 2 years ago and I found George and his staff to be very helpful in selecting them. There was an issue with my prescription, my opthamologist screwed up big time, and George happily absorbed the cost of re-​cutting the lenses. It’s time for new frames and I will definitely be returning here.

I’ll start my unorganized review with how i remember first stumbling upon Naked Eye. I have been looking for good frames at different places for a while now… didn’t even know where to start — so i looked online and saw that the Moscot (also on Orchard Street) got good reviews… went to Moscot’s… nice place. …good frames. …didn’t get anything — but they had a good selection. so i leave Moscot, walk down Orchard and see another glasses place (Naked Eye). it’s easy to miss Naked Eye if you’re not looking for it. …so i try to open the door — it was locked. some random guy walks up to me and goes, «George is in the back, just knock on the window.» he knocks on the window for me and i get buzzed in. you walk in the store and it’s boutique-​y. clean, small, modern, etc.
this man approached and introduced himself as, «George» …hip looking asian guy with a cool voice (you’ll see) and he def some optics swagger aka George is a pimp!
instead of having a boutique attitude George was friendly and attentive to what you’re looking for. like other reviews say, he’ll tell you (honestly) what doesn’t look good. …and he’ll find what does (they have a pretty impressive selection) they have a great selection of frames you just don’t find at places like Cohen’s and LensCrafters. yes, it’s more expensive than those places but what you deem expensive is relative. even at cheaper places, you can’t get frames for less than $ 250. at Naked Eye the frames i looked at were like $ 300+ — $ 400. it’s more expensive but they have a better selection. no matter what you decide, it’s worth checking out.

There are enough reviews about the glasses… but I want to review the DOCTOR!
After getting a very inexpensive eye exam elsewhere I felt that my astigmatism correction was too strong and i took my glasses back and was re-​checked. I told the doc that my non-​astigmatism old prescription seemed better than the new ones. I was dismissively told that my new glasses were correct.
After meeting George at my old job my employer went for an exam and glasses. She has incredibly difficult vision to correct and said it was the best exam she’d ever had. So I figured I’d shell out for a proper eye exam.
The doctor at Naked Eye confirmed that my astigmatism correction was just too strong and my new glasses don’t give me headaches!

As with many «designer» frames these days, they are always going to be priced more than your local Lenscrafters. So before you step in here, I’m going to give you a warning: Some frames are going to cost you at least $ 500.
That being said, George, the owner is a very helpful guy. I found his honesty refreshing. If you try a pair of frames that look awful on you, he’ll tell you and then recommend ones that actually look good. He carries many hard to find brands, even in New York City, as well as some vintage sunglasses.
As a bonus don’t forget to grab a bit to eat at the tiny French bristo next door, where George has his lunch every day.

Really liked the selection of frames and especially, Caitlin was extra nice and helpful. The shop was beautiful.

After reading rave Unilocal reviews, I went to the shop and happily bought a super-​expensive pair of gorgeous glasses ($ 610, to be exact).
The store is neat, and the people nice and ubercool.
What was not so cool?
Being assured my glasses would be ready by Thursday, yet, when I called on Thursday before I left to go pick them up, finding out they werent ready. A promise to ship them out to me next week was nice, but not what I was looking for.
When you pay $ 610 for a pair of glasses, you expect top notch service. They shouldn’t have been late, and if they were, I should have received a phone call about it as soon as they knew.

I was looking for an independent eyeglasses shop with stylish frames and found Naked Eye via Unilocal on my iPhone. Naked Eye had terrific reviews so i checked them out. Previously i had always just bought my frames at chain stores, but i decided i finally wanted to go for something more stylish this time and i wanted to give my business to a local independent small business.
Service: Very good! Nicola helped me try on a ton of different frames, gave me feedback on each, and helped me take several pictures on my iphone so i could show the various frames to friends later on. Never pressured me into anything, just helped me see possibilities.
Selection: Excellent. Wide range of styles to fit various tastes and faces. Usually when i go to one of the chains i can’t find anything that i really like. Here there were a lot of styles to choose from. I ended up struggling to choose between a SALT frame and Bevel frame.
I ended up selecting the Bevel frames along with a progressive lens prescription. I just bought it on Sunday so haven’t picked it up yet.
The naked eye website is currently entirely flash-​based so if you’re checking it from your iPhone you’re out of luck, but i mentioned this to the owner and he said they will look into creating a non-​flash version of the site.

I spent the better part of a week reviewing various lens at 7 different shops around LES, SOHO and the village. I the best experience with a better selection for my taste with George and Naked Eye. The process was very comfortable, very helpful (I didn’t have to waste my time with reviewing styles that were obvious not fit for my face where some other shops were trying to push) and I was happy with the results. I’ll be back and recommended.

This is my favorite glasses/​sunglasses shop in nyc. I bought a lot of dita frames here and will purchase some cutler and gross. I used to get the prescription for the glasses filled out at another place but i found out they are cheaper and better so ill be doing it here from now on. George is very knowledgeable and patient. He also remembers you and your face shape and will call you if he thinks he got something in you may like!

I will soon get a pair of Cutler and Gross sunglasses from here, maybe another addition/​addiction to new regular specs as well. The place is quaint, and everyone is always in a good mood and will give you an opinion, just as much as you should get when investing on what will be on your face for quite some time. Give me a few months so I can save.

Got another pair today and I am so psyched! I am fan of Cutler and Gross glasses and Nakedeye has a great selection. I keep thinking of these other frames I saw there today. crazy French flourescent glasses. gotta get them later. George the owner that everyone raves about is still there and he is super nice. =) He always has funky glasses on his face.

I ran to the Naked Eye after a very questionable experience at another optical shop. George Lee, the owner, is the most enthusiastic dude I have ever met when it comes to glasses — he will tell you all sorts of details about the frames and the glasses that you would never think to ask, all with the excitement of someone who’s doing a job they are absolutely stoked to be doing. I think it’s because he’s the first optician I’ve met who actually wears glasses. Anyway — George has a wonderful selection of frames from all over the world, and the styles run the gamut — if you want something boring and standard, he’s got it, if you want something super edgy and out there, he’s got that too.
After I chose a pair of frames that were the exact style I was looking for (check out the Dita «Royce» online:
) George had my glasses ready in 3 days. He did a lot to make them work for me – called my original optician for my prescription, measured my face, offered the top quality anti-​glare frames. When I came in, the frames fit perfectly, looked fabulous, and needed no adjustment. None. George answered every question I had and told me everything I needed to know about my glasses — where to get them repaired, what kinds of soaps to wash them with, what kinds of conditions my anti-​glare frames might experience wear under, etc.
I know I’m gonna be happy with my glasses for a while. But when it’s time to get a new pair, I’ll definitely be going back to the Naked Eye. Definitely the best glasses buying experience I’ve had.

George is fantastic. Great selection, very knowledgeable. He helped me try on a load of styles and gave me some great insight. The lenses were ready in about a week or so, and are my first pair of transitional lenses. The frames were around 260, the lenses (with the transitional qualities built in) were about 300 something? Not exactly
, but they’re really, really nice — a Japanese company called «Bevel».
I’d definitely go back to George again. He’s fantastic.
UPDATE! About 6 months after I got my glasses I noticed these odd little white spots developing on one of the lenses. Took it back to George — no receipt — and he looked at it and determined (with much dismay) that the anti-​reflective coating was coming off. He sent them away (and I stumbled home half blind) and had them repaired in a week with no charge, no questions, and was totally awesome about it. Great customer service!

Back when I was still a NY’er, I used to go to those shady opticians on 32^nd street for cheapie glasses. But when I decided to invest in a pair of solid (read «fashionable») sunglasses, I decided to try naked eye on the recommendation of a friend. I have been a loyalist ever since. The owner guy (george) really takes personal attention to new level and he has all the cool stylish up and coming designer stuff that u cant find at your neighborhood Sunglasses Hut. Not the cheapest, but definitely an awesome selection and impeccable service.
And if you ask nicely, george might even offer you yummy asian candies that he stashes in the back: d

I bought two pair of glasses from here about 3 years ago, at the onset of the big blizzard we had. My glasses broke in half that day and so I needed to find a new pair. I walked around the L.E.S looking for a good place and ran into Naked Eye. The owner was there, he was super nice and offered me a Blizzard discount. It was such a great discount that I left with two pair of glasses — probably one of the best investments I’ve ever made and yet, one of the hardest choices.
I was having a difficult time deciding and wasn’t sure if I liked how one pair of glasses looked. The owner assured me that they looked awesome on me. I was thinking «this guy just wants to sell me an expensive pair of glasses». Against my better judgement I went with his advice and bought the glasses. It ended up being the right choice. I still, to this day, get complements whenever I wear the glasses.