Jewels, schmewels — eyewear was the hottest accessory for this year’s big event

And the best supporting role on the red carpet goes to…all those spectacular specs!

If the 90th Academy Awards® proved one fashion fact, it’s that Hollywood’s brightest stars are finding beauty exists, in many ways, behind a pair of glasses. Eyewear, while practical and essential for overall health and daily life for many, also expresses one’s individual style.

Celebrities aren’t the only ones who can showcase their fashion flair through eyewear, thanks to vision benefits that offer choices in fashion brands, digital member tools and all types of eye care providers. A comprehensive vision benefit can help anyone who wears glasses showcase their own style; be it an attempt at Gary Oldman’s edgy, black-and-silver frames when accepting his Oscar® for the movie Darkest Hour, or Becky in your accounting department, sporting her trendy frames at work.

It starts with an annual eye exam, but that red carpet look this time of year isn’t complete without trendsetting eyeglasses. Let’s see how Hollywood’s finest showed off their specs this year during this year’s big night — the Oscars®.

Who wore them well…

The event’s lineup of eyewear hints at a trend in functional fashion following an impressive display of on-the-nose styles at the 2017 Academy Awards. Then, Vince Vaughn, Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Aniston sported frames that had style-mavens buzzing.

The buzz continued this year, with eyewear highlights from actor Lupita Nyong’o, who made a statement in large butterfly frames; Laura Dern’s bold, neutral-toned readers; Oscar-winner Rita Moreno’s contemporary, autumn-brown specs; and Dave Chappelle’s smokin’ Ray-Ban Wayfarers. (Plus a notable pair of frisky black cat-eye glasses donned by Gary Oldman’s wife, Gisele Schmidt.)

Perhaps not since Marilyn Monroe made cat-eye glasses sexy in the Oscar-nominated How to Marry a Millionaire has eyewear played such a central role in the movies. From Allison Janney’s icy oversized frames in I, Tonya to Denzel Washington’s smashing ‘70s double-bridged specs in Roman J. Israel, Esq., several eyewear appearances deserved their own billing.

And you can wear them well, too

If there were a special Oscar category for best glasses in a movie — to honor frames from designers like Versace, Chanel and Michael Kors — there’s a good chance you could own the same pair.

With a vision network that includes a range of retailers and independent providers offering wide selections of brands, all eyeglass wearers — whether it’s the manager of marketing or a rising IT star — could sport a glamorous Armani, Prada, Ray-Ban or Dolce & Gabbana frame (or many others!).

The key is choice in your vision benefits. Do yours offer broad selection of eye care and eyewear providers, and freedom of choice in frame selection?

So how do you know your benefits offer members the choice and style they want?

3 questions for employers and benefit brokers to ask

A comprehensive vision benefit could make the difference when it comes to attracting the best talent. Nearly 90% of employees surveyed said they would consider the medical, vision and dental benefits when choosing a job, according to the Harvard Business Review.[1] Here are a few key questions to ask when selecting a vision benefits company to make sure your employees can make whatever style statement they want with their eyewear.

1. Ask: What percentage of your members uses in-network providers?

When employees stay in-network it indicates they have the options they want and need. More than 9 in 10 EyeMed members (98%) use their benefits at in-network providers.[2]

2. Ask: What are members' online eyewear shopping options, and are they easy?

The increasingly younger workforce expects to use their in-network benefits online, just like they would in a store. This includes the ability to fill eyewear prescriptions and order frames, lenses and contact lenses. More than 80% of decision makers want the ability for members to get frames and lenses online.[3]

3. Ask: Are there restrictions to the eyewear members can choose?

Eye health is important for overall health, but employees want to look good and feel confident while seeing well. If eyewear selection is limited to a defined group of frames, or the member can’t shop a wide variety of in-network retailers and independent providers who carry different frames, they’ll likely miss out on the most fun part of eyewear—the style factor.

Red carpet or any carpet…vision benefits can play the role of stylist

Looking good and seeing well goes hand in hand, and thankfully today’s benefits mean a growing cast of frame fashion to choose from. Make sure your employees can choose what works best for their vision correction and their fashion vision — instead of being limited. To see how stylish glasses can be, check out the LensCrafters’ myLook tool.

If you’d like to learn more about vision benefits and what you can ask to see the differences that matter, download EyeMed’s whitepaper, Vision From A Better Angle. It’s free!

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1: “The Most Desirable Employee Benefits,” by Kerry Jones, Harvard Business Review, Feb. 15, 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/02/the-most-desirable-employee-benefits
2: EyeMed book of business data, 2016)
3: 2016 Workforce Vision Benefits Survey conducted by EyeMed and Workforce

The hottest red carpet accessory and how vision benefits can help get the look

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