How do you buy glasses when you can’t see without your glasses?

I’m 53 years old, and have worn glasses for 49 of those years. I’ve had big glasses, small glasses, wire frames, plastic frames, monovision lenses, progressive lenses, Transitions, no tint at all, and I’ve had the same problem with all of them. How do I know how they look on me, until I buy them so I can actually see them on me?? And once I buy them to see them on me, it’s too late to decide if I like the way they look on me. Ok, in all fairness, I’m sure there are places that have a guarantee–some way to fix the problem if you end up with something you hate. Luckily, I’ve been able to live with my decisions so far. But this time, when I went to look at glasses, I took a friend from work. I asked someone whose taste I trust, and who I knew wouldn’t steer me wrong. When I tell you that the frames we chose are purple and lime green, will you wonder if we lost our marbles? Seriously, purple and lime green. Odd as that sounds, they are perfect on me! They are one of the first frames I tried on, and every pair after that just didn’t measure up. I thought maybe it was just because I couldn’t really see all how I looked, that maybe they were hideous on me, and I couldn’t tell. But my friend agreed. There wasn’t another pair there that looked as good. I tried to stay away from the ones that made me look bookish, and accountant-like. Not sure why, because I LOVE books, and I work in accounting. ;D I guess I wanted something a bit different–something that says, “Here’s a woman who is not afraid to take a risk!” Of course, owning and riding a motorcycle point to a certain amount of risk tolerance anyway…

To be honest, the purple doesn’t SCREAM purple, it’s a very dark shade. And the lime green is only on the inside of the frame, so not very visible unless you are looking from a certain direction. But I will enjoy having glasses that are purple and lime green. And I will always invite a friend with me when I am looking for new glasses. I might not have made this choice if I was by myself. I might have been too afraid. And then I would not have had the opportunity to buy purple and lime green glasses! Can’t wait to get them!