Exciting news! As of May 2, the thoughtfully-curated, civically-minded store, Need Supply Co., will be the site of our newest showroom. We’re thrilled to set up shop in Richmond, Virginia, and we couldn’t imagine a better home. In the words of our co-founder and co-CEO Neil Blumenthal, “Need Supply Co. has a powerful point of view and a strong commitment to community. It’s a perfect match.”

In its 17 years, Need Supply Co. has gone from carrying vintage pieces to an expertly-edited selection of contemporary designers and independent labels.

We’ll be celebrating the launch with a party tomorrow—complete with snacks from Goatacado and a Mister Softee ice cream truck. Join us!

Not in Richmond? Visit one of our other retail locations.

Our newest collection has us spending fluorescent-lit days dreaming of champagne-fueled nights.

The hors d’oeuvre are served on silver trays, jazz plays softly from across the lawn, and fireflies spangle the evening sky. The hems are short, and the shaves are clean. That’s right, men—NO SCRUFF!

When we snap out of our daydreams, there tends to be a little extra shuffle in our step…

Porter sunglasses in Whiskey Tortoise. Shop the entire 1922 Collection here.

The 1922 Collection is for the night owls and good-time kids. 1922 was a very good year—maybe not for the legal liquor industry, but for most everything else. James Joyce published Ulysses; T.S. Eliot published The Wasteland. Eugene O’Neill won a Pulitzer. Louis Armstrong moved to Chicago, and the dances were a hoot. 

Porter sunglasses in Gimlet Tortoise

Our latest limited edition frames feature dramatic details in our signature custom acetate and stainless steel. They go as well with pearls as they do with your best Tin Pan Alley moves. So hop in the jalopy, and let’s go for a drive. Living well is the best revenge.

Duke eyeglasses in Gold

Joplin sunglasses in Silver

Featured above: Porter sunglasses in Whiskey Tortoise, Porter eyeglasses in Gimlet Tortoise. Shop the entire 1922 Collection here.

The ingredients for a perfect dinner party are simple: good people, good food, good wine. That’s it!

We did our best to follow these guidelines last week, when we hosted a candlelit dinner at our new flagship store to toast Warby Parker’s first official foray into retail. Co-founders Neil and Dave gathered thirty close friends to clink glasses, dig in to market-fresh food from The Fat Radish and celebrate the adventures to come.

Among the lovely guests: Liya Kebede, Karlie Kloss, Jessica Stam, Ivanka Trump, and Kate Spade, who shimmied to music as Alexa Chung and Tennessee Thomas hit the decks in matching black-and-white tea dresses.

The night’s special guest was New York City scholar and poet Timothy “Speed” Levitch, who starred in cult classic film The Cruise and regaled guests with tales of old Soho. It turns out that our new store follows a long history of merchants on Greene Street. We can only hope that our frames do the place proud.

To cap off the celebration, we threw a mega-cocktail party the following night—with Leo Fitzpatrick deejaying, Charlotte Ronson trying on glasses, and Mickey Drexler touring the premises. The night wound down as any party should: with a giant cake and some inappropriate dancing to A$AP Rocky. Cheers!

Photos by Kevin Tachman

Employee stories from our first annual trip to Guatemala—where, each year, team members will go on their third Warby Parker anniversary to see our non-profit partners in action and for a well-deserved break:

“Cliff jumping, ah. Never thought I’d do it. We all piled into a passenger boat with the intention of spending the day at a secluded beach. We were envisioning palm trees, white sand, that sort of thing. We got there, and it was just a five-foot-wide stretch of earth; I don’t even know what to call the terrain. So we switched gears, and headed to a tiny island, where rumor was we could jump into the ocean from 30 feet up. We climbed up a dirt path, led by two little kids, through alleys, past a yoga retreat, up a rocky trail. And there it was: a tiny platform built into the side of the mountain, 30-feet up. It felt a lot higher than that. We each jumped twice. I’ll never forget that view, or all the obstacles on the way to seeing it.” 

— Royce, Marketing Supervisor

Photos: Tim Riley (top), Joshua Cogan (all others)

When we opened the doors to our flagship store this past weekend, a line quickly spanned half the block. Some (incredibly patient) customers waited up to two hours, which filled us with immense gratitude and overflowing apologies. (We tried to make it up to them in the form of cake balls and chocolates shaped like glasses).

Among those waiting was our very own co-CEO Neil, who didn’t cut the line. Listen, just because you run the company doesn’t mean you get special treatment!

By the end of the weekend, more than 4,000 people had come through the store to check out the train-station-style exam board, 18-foot walls, and photo booth.

Have you stopped by yet? We’re at 121 Greene Street between Houston and Prince in New York. Come say hello!

Photos by Helga Traxler