Review: David Kind Eyewear Brings a Personal Touch to E-Commerce

David Kind set out to bring luxury eyewear direct to consumers and in doing so, took e-commerce to a new level of personal attention. The Los Angeles-based eyewear company launched in early 2014, as a sort of up-market response to the likes of Warby Parker who let you pick up trendy glasses online for $95, lenses and all. For a bump to $295 you get the help of a stylist and frames made to the same high standards as those you'd find sitting on the shelf at that hip boutique in TriBeCa. (More on the quality later.)

"We saw the market looking ready for a brand like ours," said founder Dave Barton, a veteran employee of high-end eyewear brands including Oliver Peoples. "Quality, value, more transparent, and the whole process simplified. We took everything we expected to be in a high quality frame and lens, packaged it up in a very simple way, and are selling it directly to the customer. We thought the Internet was ready to have a grown up brand in the space."