The Framery Glasses: How a Contact Lens Giant Learned to Make Frames

On March 19, 2025, a press release datelined Draper, Utah introduced The Framery at 1-800 Contacts as a new online destination for high-quality frames and lenses. The company behind it had been in vision care for about 30 years, and this was a new storefront for frames. So The Framery glasses are a young line with an old parent, which is an unusual combination in eyewear. I went deeper on a related idea in Glasses That Do the Talking: Cat Eye, Round and Square Optical Frames.

 

What I like is the point of view, stated plainly on the brand's own page: the people building it are designers, glasses wearers and self-described vision geeks who got fed up with confusing options. They say what you pay attention to in glasses should be the glasses, not the logo on the temple, and frames come from partnerships directly with manufacturers and designers. Every pair is assembled in their own Utah lab, lenses cut and triple-checked. No single founder is named anywhere I could find, so this is a brand with a team voice rather than a personality.

 

Start with the cat-eye shapes, since they are the quickest way to change a face. In my fashion dreams, the Brielle in black is the one she wears to every Monday meeting, with a camel coat and a white shirt. The Gemma in black and gold is thinner and lighter, a wire cat-eye for someone who wants the shape without the weight, and the Queens in Gatsby is the heavy, glamorous one for a dark dress. For color, the Padova in berry sorbet and the Narita in grape both sit in the middle of the cat-eye range, and the Arabella in red and gold is my pick for a gray knit.

 

Practical tip: look at the lens width in each listing before you fall for a color. The Narita runs 55 mm wide but shallower, the Mystic is deeper, and that changes how it sits on a cheekbone.

Round frames are the easiest place to see how wide the brand's range runs. The Framery lists shapes from aviator and cat eye to geometric, oval, rectangle and round, in metal, plastic and combinations, so a round is never just one thing. Here it splits into soft acetate and fine nickel wire.

 

In my fashion dreams, she is walking to a Sunday market in a cream fisherman sweater and the Colette in lilac blush, a heavy-profile round that frames the whole eye. The Colette in blueberry is the deeper, more serious cousin for a navy coat. The Daphne in crystal and in wheat are thin-profile acetate rounds, close to invisible in crystal and warm in wheat, good with a tweed blazer. The Harper in baby blues and sparkling rose is the playful pair, and I would wear the rose one with a gray turtleneck and nothing else going on.

 

The Derby in kyanite and in fools gold is nickel wire, with a smaller fit at 131.4 mm across. It is the one for a narrower face, or for a bookish, slightly Left Bank look with corduroy trousers.

 

Fitting-room test, or the at-home equivalent: the brand offers virtual try-on, so check that your brows are still visible over the top of the rim. If the frame hides them, go a size down.

 

What I would skip: a heavy round in a bright color if your coat and scarf already carry a lot of pattern. Let one of the two be quiet.

One thing the brand makes clear is that fit tools are part of the point, since its page promises tools that take the mystery out of finding the right size. Square frames are where that matters most, because corners show every mismatch.

 

The Aria in onyx belongs on a woman in a black wool coat and a pair of loafers, a heavy square with no apology. The Carmel in coffee tortoise is a thin acetate square, easier and warmer, and the Paloma in berry stripe is for someone who wants a touch of pattern at the temple. The Lena in azure and the Celeste in rosewater are both in ultem, in colors that read as soft rather than loud, which suits a gray October.

 

Then the wire squares. The Anita in brown and gold, the Hazel in blue gold and the Kate in taupe and gold are stainless steel, thin-profile and quiet. I would pair the Kate with a camel overcoat and a tucked white tee, and the Hazel with a navy knit.

 

Test: hold your head level and look at a clock across the room. If the top edge of a square frame cuts across the pupil, the lens depth is wrong for you. Check the lens height in the listing, which runs from about 38 to 42 mm here.

 

What I would skip: a thin gold square if your hair is wild and curly. It disappears. Choose the Aria instead.

Oversized frames from The Framery are all in the large fit, with frame widths from about 139 to 143 mm, so this is for those who want presence and also for those who need the room. Read the numbers before you commit. Lens height is the tell, and these run from 45 mm up to nearly 53.

 

Picture her crossing a hotel lobby in a long camel coat wearing the Carmela in gold, a large wire square that says editor without saying much else. The Poppi in black is its acetate counterpart, a tall, thin-profile square that works with a ponytail and a leather jacket. The Susan in black and gold is a large cat-eye, the glamorous one, and the Florida in brown crystal is a heavy-profile square that looks like an old library.

 

For color, the Stella in purple and gold, the Isabella in mint and the Brea in spilled wine are all cat-eye in tr90. The Neenah in tangerine is thin steel in a color that brightens an olive coat or a charcoal one.

 

Test: smile in the mirror. If the bottom edge of the frame sits on your cheeks when you smile, it is too deep for you. Try the Neenah or the Brea, whose lenses are shallower.

 

What I would skip: a large frame in a bold color on the same day as a statement earring. Pick one loud thing.

Tortoise and clear frames are the safe option that never feels safe, and the brand has leaned into it with named tortoise shades like latte, bramble and ocean on frames such as the Piper. The Piper in ocean tortoise is a square acetate frame with teal threaded through brown, a medium fit at 132 mm across, and it is the one I would put on a person who says she only wears neutrals.

 

I can see her in a gray wool dress and the Draper in matte ash tortoise, a cat-eye that is muted and softly cool. The Erin in pebble tortoise is the heavier version, for a face that can carry it. The Adele in iris tortoise is a rectangular, thin-profile frame, and the same Adele is a best seller on the brand's own page, offered in nine colors, so if you want to see the range this is the frame to browse.

 

Clear is its own mood. The Spencer in crystal is a rectangle, the Vienna in blush ice is the softer one, and the Chantel in ice is a heavy cat-eye in a large fit. The Nadine in linen is an oval in ultem, pale and barely there, for a white shirt and a cream scarf.

 

Check: look at the temples, because that is where tortoise pattern shifts. A frame that is quiet at the front can be loud at the side.

 

What I would skip: crystal frames if your skin is very pale and your hair is blonde. Go for the Draper instead.

In order, then. First, decide the shape that makes sense with your cheekbones: round to soften, square to sharpen, cat-eye to lift. Second, read the lens width and the fit size, which this brand lists on every listing, and go with the measurement, not the color name.

 

Third, choose the material for how you live. Wire for a quiet day, acetate when you want presence, and ultem or tr90 for the others. For my own daydream, I would start with the Brielle in black and add the Piper in ocean tortoise for weekends.

 

It all started with a press release from Draper, Utah, and a team of self-declared vision geeks. That is a good enough origin for the glasses I would carry through October.