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Lookmatic’s Vision Quest

Until recently finding a pair of great looking glasses was about as challenging as finding a great pair of pants. It wasn’t just abou nailing the style but nailing the fit and price. Fortunately a few folks in the eyewear industry decided to bring technology into the picture to develop eyewear you could not only buy online, but customize to spec and get sent right your doorstep no matter where you were. Of the lot, the New York City-based companies Warby Parker and Moscot have made converts out of many with their mid-century modern (read hipster) frames, but if it’s easy, understated frames you’re after, you’ll want to consider Lookmatic.

Offering more than 80 prescription optical and sun frames in ’50s through ’80s updated styles via a slick, interactive website, the company touts variety and affordability as its strengths. Starting from $95, you can in fact select your frame, choose a colorway and then your tint and lens to create a pair of glasses that’s 100% you. To make sure customers know exactly what they’re getting, Lookmatic additionally offers a virtual try-on system to allow customers to sit in front of their computers to try on various styles in real-time. Alternatively, customers can choose up to five pairs of glasses and have them sent to their doorstep to try on in the privacy of their home.

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About the best thing we like about this company, which has quietly collaborated with some of the coolest actors in showbiz including Jason Schwartzmann and Waris Ahluwalia, however, is its authenticity. The founders have been in the eyewear business, working with companies such as Pearle Vision, Sears Optical and Target Optical, for over 50 years, so there’s real passion and know-how behind the product. As the company chief Joe Cole puts it, “Lookmatic offers an opportunity to reshape a paradigm, breaking down barriers to a product that people can’t live without as well as one that offers everyone access to great design.” Indeed, where good eyewear was prohibitively expensive and hard to find back in the day, you can finally, as Lookmatic suggests, “own a new look for every day of the week.”

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Best cheap backpack deals for October 2022
classic backpack

If you're looking for the best cheap backpack deals, you be happy to find there are many choices. The backpack universe includes packs for hiking, biking, commuting, and more. For this overview of the current best cheap backpack deals, we focused primarily on backpacks tech backpacks for commuters or people who work from home, and backpacks for travel.
Today's Best Cheap Backpack Deals

How To Choose A Backpack
Size
Backpack capacity is best determined by the size of the person who will be wearing it, but there are variation based on personal preference and habits. A middle school student who likes to carry their all books to and from school every day will need a larger backpack than a student who rarely brings books home. Student athletes may want a gigantic bag to carry sports clothing and gear, though in that case a second bag is often an option. One factor regarding size is specific to electronics, considered separately just below. Commuters will want to consider how much weight and bulk they want to carry on a daily basis.
Laptop And Electronics Readiness
Computers, Chromebooks, tablets, and other electronics are expensive. Even though most devices can take moderately rough handling, the best solution when choosing a backpack is to pick one with a padded protected area that fits the device. Most laptops will fit in a sleeve designed for the most common 15.6-inch display size, but a few are larger, so be sure to account for screen size (measured diagonally). Because many tech-focused people and some students carry more than one device, there are also backpacks with multiple protected sections. Two additional handy electronics-focused features to look for are an opening for a USB charging port and an easily-accessed zippered compartment for adapters, cables, mice, and other small accessories.
Material
Backpacks are constructed of a variety of materials, including nylon, polyester, canvas, cotton fabric, leather, and more. If you're choosing a backpack for a student, keep in mind the material will need to withstand rough treatment and often be put or stored in areas where they will pick up dirt.
Comfort
Backpacks often have a variety of handles and extra straps, but padded shoulder straps that don't dig in when the backpack is loaded with books can add a lot to its comfort.
Water Resistance
None of the cheap backpacks below are waterproof, but some are constructed of water-resistant material. If anyone will be wearing or carrying the pack in the rain, at least minimal water resistance is a good thing.
Style
Style is another personal preference consideration, but try not to sacrifice function and comfort just for looks.

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Asics’ new running shoes can actually help in the fight against climate change
This running shoe brand's new shoe has the lowest carbon dioxide emission to date
Asics' Gel-Lyte III

In the wake of crises arising from climate change, companies publicly and privately owned are making commitments to ensure the future health of Earth’s air, water, and ecosystems. Not coincidentally, the athletics and outdoors firms that produce products and services to utilize our environment are leading the way. Recently, one of the largest athletic shoe makers in the world publicly joined that march towards sustainability.

Asics dropped plans for releasing its the Gel-Lyte III CM 1.95 sneaker in 2023. Named for its just 1.95-kilogram carbon dioxide emission across the product’s life cycle, these are even lighter than the Adizero x Allbirds 2.94 kilogram low carbon shoes currently on the market. This marks a significant step toward the Japanese shoe company’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

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Amazon Style lacks the human touch: Why that’s a problem for retail’s future
How retailers can include the virtual and personal
A retail employee helps a customer out with an iPhone.

Amazon first opened Amazon Style Glendale (California, outside of L.A.) earlier this year. While the tech-forward brick-and-mortar store sports upgrades to old-school big box stores, some customers have reported being disappointed in the experience, according to The Guardian.

While Amazon Style does have front-of-house employees who can assist shoppers in their search (much the same way traditional retailers do), shoppers can also experience the store via their smartphone by scanning QR codes to send clothes to the fitting room or straight to pick up. Once in the fitting room, shoppers can select looks without having to leave. The store delivers on-the-spot algorithmic service that traditional brick-and-mortar models often can't meet, but retailers in the future will have to incorporate that sort of technology with an even greater human touch — more like a personal shopper experience — to offer that personal touch critical to the sensory experience of seeing, touching, and feeling products.

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