The Brownie and Madam Optical

Awesome service and product. I’ve always been very stressed out buying glasses, trying to figure out what looks good on me, annoyed by the high prices for plastic frames that should be exponentially cheaper then they often are. The representative came by, she was really helpful (she’s was super stylish herself), we quickly chose a pair I was happy with, and they were delivered quickly and easily. She checked in several times to see how I was doing with them. Great experience!

Alpa was so easy to work with, friendly, and encouraging. She provided numerous frame styles and color options to find what works best with your face and hair.
All I needed to do was provide her with a current Rx and she took a photo of me with the frames for proper fitting. I received the glasses in the mail two weeks later and they are perfect!
I couldn’t have asked for better quality and service! Thank you, Alpa.

My shopping experience with the Brownie and Madam Optical Company was delightful from start to finish. The store is lovely, cozy, and bright. Dr. Alpa Shroff, who was wonderfully warm and friendly, walked me through their selection of glasses, and helped me find the right pairs to complement my face and fit my style (I bought two). After years of wearing glasses that I now realize were far too big, it was awesome to find a few pairs that fit perfectly. Once ordered, it was a short time before they arrived at my office — in delightful little boxes, well-​packaged, and inside two different, and equally stylish, cases. I’ve been wearing them every day, and getting a ton of compliments from friends and co-​workers. I would absolutely recommend Brownie and Madam to anyone. The attention to detail and the care put into this business is unparalleled!

Dr shroff is exceptional in everything she does !!! She is honest and trustworthy this company she has built from the ground up is amazing. I purchased sun wear not to long ago for my mother in law price was right quality was superb and delivery was fast !!! I know the owner personally because we were colleagues In the past she is a great soul that truly cares about people and about your eyes. Believe me when I say u are in good hands with brownieandmadam you will not be disappointed at all!!!

I read about The Brownie and Madam Optical Company in a business magazine; they discussed what the company went through in redesigning their packaging. When I received my glasses in the mail, I could see the craftsmanship and time that was taken to merry the entire experience.
I originally spoke with Alpa in regards to income opportunity and ended up ordering a pair of glasses for myself. (They offer both prescription glasses and sunglasses!) The husband and wife duo went through every pair of frames with me until I decided on the final one. She even offered her own personal pair for me to try on for size.
Everything came on time (in the mail) with quick follow-​up and proper documentation needed for reimbursement via VSP. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and how they made my glasses experience much different than going into the office or ordering online.

The first and probably the only Unilocal review I will ever write, but I’m doing so because I had such a wonderful experience with the Brownie and Madam Optical Co, particularly with the fabulous founder herself, Miss Alpa Shroff.
I have a very strong prescription (–10.00 on both eyes), and I’ve never enjoyed wearing my glasses since they get too heavy on my face after a few hours and give me headaches. Further, because of the thick lens and my not so prominent nose bridge (read: eyelashes constantly smacking into the lens and getting the lens all gnarly), I’ve always had trouble finding frames that are both cute and comfortable. Until now!
Let’s talk first about setting up the appointment. Within a few hours of submitting an appointment request online, Alpa got back to me, and a day or so after that, I had an appointment set conveniently near my workplace on the following Friday. Easy peasy. (If you haven’t already, check out their website, it’s delightfully whimsical).
The actual appointment. I am very particular about what I want, and Alpa spent a good hour patiently listening to my very specific needs, answering all of my questions and recommending frames (funky, chic, trendy, etc, all of which she designs herself!) and colors. I never felt pressured to purchase anything. But I did, because I found the perfect cat-​eye frame in the perfect matte olive-​green color. :) All for a very affordable flat fee, including high index lens.
**Communication was amazing. Alpa emailed me every week with updates on my order. Prior to purchasing the glasses, I told Alpa that I would be going overseas in two weeks, following my appointment. She informed me that she’d work hard with the lab to get the glasses to me prior to my trip. However, when the trip day rolled around, Alpa emailed me and told me that the glasses did not pass her QA test, and that they had to be re-​done. I told her this was no big deal; I actually appreciate the fact that she inspects all glasses before sending them out to her customers. She apologized for the delay, but she didn’t stop there! She sent me a $ 50 Amazon gift card to make up for the delay. Super unexpected, but super appreciated. WHO DOES THAT ANYMORE (OR EVER)? Sooooo awesome.
When I returned to the states, I sent Alpa another email asking about the status of my glasses. BTW, she responds really quickly and provides very thorough responses. A week later, et voila, my brand spanking new glasses in an adorable cloth case, with equally cute lens cleaning cloth. Fast forward a week later, Alpa emails me asking about how the glasses are fitting, and if I need adjustments. Nope, because they are perfect!
TL;DR: Fabulous eyeglasses, absolutely fantastic customer service. Highly recommended to anyone looking for affordable, chic eyeglasses or sunglasses via a very personalized, professional service.

The short story: Brownie & Madam is building a brand based on «old-​fashioned,» impeccably good service using beautiful, modern, affordable eyewear, and it works!
The longer story: If you’re someone who has to wear glasses, then it’s likely that you’ve always felt that impaired vision was a triple whammy: not only do you have to wear glasses, but they are absurdly expensive, and difficult to shop for.
Because of this, when I find a pair I like, I tend to keep them for years past their fashion expiration date, despite the fact that I have vision insurance (which really only pays a small fraction of the absurdly expensive cost of new glasses). However, the time finally came this fall when I succumbed and bought a new pair of glasses. But even with insurance my single vision glasses (at a higher end shop) were nearly $ 400.
This winter I had extra FSA money to burn, so I decided I would go ahead and buy myself some new prescription sunglasses… and go for progressive lenses at the same time. I headed to a lower end shop, found some «brand name» frames, and was ready to purchase until I saw the total price: $ 850.
Enter Brownie & Madam. A business that believes glasses can be beautiful AND not break the bank? I’m in! Every single step of the process was seamless. Alpa accommodated my schedule and met me at a café near my house. We talked at length about whether progressives would really meet my needs. The price tag was appealing ($ 400 — less than half of my other estimate), but Alpa made me reconsider whether I would really be satisfied with them. In the end, I opted for single vision sunglasses ($ 200) that came standard with all the «add-​ons» that other places charge a fortune for.
My glasses arrived less than a week later in beautiful packaging (almost felt like a present to myself as I unwrapped it!). Because Alpa had taken all the fitting measurements during our initial meeting, the glasses fit perfectly straight out of the box. I received further emails checking in to see how my glasses were working out, and another reminding me of the «Tune Up» option should I ever need it in the future.
I can’t imagine going anywhere else for my next pair of glasses.

I had needed a new pair of glasses for several years but I hate going to try them on. The lighting is bad, I can’t tell what looks good on me, just don’t enjoy the process so I’ve been wearing my contact lenses almost exclusively. Enter Brownie & Madam: great customer service, I met with Alpa on my schedule, at my house, and got her opinion and my daughter’s opinion on the spot, then skyped my mom in Canada to ask her option on the final 3 pairs. The glasses and sunglasses were on my doorstep within a week and I am very impressed with the quality. This company has a great idea, a great story, excellent customer service and executes beautifully plus he products are high quality and reasonably priced.

On the cusp of permanent banishment to glasses, I plotted to find a suitable pair, you know, in a year when I could afford the prices I was seeing and when I could bear to wear glasses out in public.
Enter Brownie and Madam Optical Co.
Imagine a get-​together of ladies trying on funky/​trendy/​classy/​stylish/​beautiful frames and getting instant feedback on which frame would work on your face, in what setting, and with what outfit. Then throw in appetizers, wine, laughter, a cheaper-​than-​Costco price, and an insanely easy ordering (and measuring) process — ordering glasses was, dare I say, fun!
The glasses arrived addressed to Madam [Me] with a really cute case and cloth. I received multiple emails updating me on the status of my order. And, the cherry on top, Alpa was very accessible and personable each step of the way, including taking into account insurance claims and purchase dates etc. I haven’t even mentioned the upgrades that come with the $ 150 flat price. All things considered, I won’t be able to go back to the ‘traditional’ way of buying glasses. This was far too easy, economical, and helpful. Not to mention, I’m actually wearing glasses by choice now!!!
If you need a new pair of glasses, check. ‘em. out! It’s a revolution for the bespectacled!

Do you guys remember that song «Stay» by Lisa Loeb and the Nine Stories? Because I do. I was nine when that song came out, and I was obsessed: partially because it is the sort of melodramatic earworm that is the bread and butter of any preadolescent girl’s playlist; partially because of its association with Reality Bites, which starred Ethan Hawke, who made my 4^th-​grade-​heart go all aflutter; but mostly because of the music video, which starred Lisa Loeb’s glasses.
THOSE. GLASSES.
I spent the next two decades of my life doing everything in my power to wreck my vision so I could wear glasses, too. And no behavior was off limits: I stared at the sun. I read voraciously in poor lighting conditions. I wore friends’ and boyfriends’ glasses, hoping to whatever deity was fashionable that year that my eyes would adjust to their prescription, and I would never look back (at least, not without assistive lenses). But when I finally managed to (kind of, sort of, just barely) wreck my vision enough to necessitate corrective eyewear, I learned a very important lesson: Shopping for glasses is a PAIN.
Unless, of course, you’re buying from Brownie and Madam.
Even putting aside the awesomely stylish aesthetic of the whole enterprise, from the website, to the glasses accoutrement (the case that you get for your frames is out-​of-​this-​world adorable), to the frames themselves, all of my interactions with Brownie and Madam have gone smoothly, and quickly, and affordably. They (in my case, Alpa, the founder) meet with you personally and help you try on wares so you can find frames that look as cute on you as those cat-​eye frames looked on Ms. Loeb.
Alpa is not only helpful as a glasses stylist (she helped me pick out my frames, Daisy in Hopscotch), but she is amazing when it comes to customer satisfaction and follow up. I couldn’t afford the glasses when I first tried them on (let me be clear: these glasses are a huge bargain for the quality and comfort they offer; I’m just a student who can’t always afford to eat, so sadly, getting new frames is sometimes delayed in favor of, y’know, basic living expenses), but Alpa would occasionally check in with me (never, ever pushy, though) to see if I was ready. And after my order, she would follow up to personally ask me if I received the glasses and make sure I was satisfied. I’ve never gotten such great customer service, even when I’ve spent a lot more money. On that note! Tune ups and adjustments are free. Forever!
I’ve rambled enough, I think, for you to get the idea. I have found my glasses people! And if you try them, I think you’ll be equally loyal.

I have been a progressive lens wearer for about 7 years and these by far are my favorite. The frame is extremely comfy and the prescription is super sharp.
The last 3 years my glasses WITH (VSP) insurance had cost more then $ 400! My glasses with Brownie and Madam cost $ 300.00 which included frame, progressive lenses, coatings and warranty. My rep also gave me an itimized receipt so I can submit for reimbursement.
My glasses were at my door in a week. I absolutely love my glasses!

Quality fashion forward glasses at a very affordable price. I have the «Sadie» sunglasses and I love wearing them everyday! The ordering process was so much fun because it was a relaxed and pressure free environment. I received my glasses only 2 days after ordering them. Even the packaging was fashionable! I recommend brownie and madam glasses to everyone I meet. I will definitely be ordering another pair soon.