At first glance, my husband does not appear to be an eyeglasses tyrant.

In fact he usually keeps a low profile when it comes to issues of style and design. He dresses in the distracted, slightly rumpled style favored by many men of his generation: khaki pants (often flecked with small bleach stains) and a "dress" shirt purchased from Lands' End in 1988. He never has his hair cut before it becomes wild and starts growling at passersby. And he can toss his windbreaker onto a newly reupholstered couch for days without noticing the wild-animal print fabric. Then suddenly he will ask with suspicion, "Is there something different about this room?"

But when it comes to eye fashion, he strides into an optical store as confidently as Anna Wintour, glances imperiously at a wall display of 500 frames, points his finger, and without hesitation says, "Those."

His picks are inspired. He somehow even knew that bright pink plastic frames would flatter my 14-year-old daughter. But like any artist, he is always trying to push himself toward new, more experimental work.

As a result, in the 1990s I wore a pair of flamboyant tortoiseshell frames that made the trademark bull's-eye look of Carrie Donovan, the fashion editor, seem understated.

So last week, after a visit to the optometrist, I decided it was time to assert my individuality by sneaking around. I quietly went online, where the selection of eyeglasses is much greater than at a typical store. Comparison shopping for the best price is easier, too.

I started at FramesDirect.com, which sells more than 400 brands; Peepers.com, which specializes in sunglasses; and VintageIwear.com, for original cat's-eyes and retro styles in never-worn condition.

I know it sounds like a wacky idea from the get-go. After all, you're thinking, wouldn't I need to try on the glasses and then look in a mirror?

But for me, the look-in-mirror process has always been a Catch-22. In a store I have to take off my own glasses to try on a new pair of frames. And without my glasses, I can't see myself in a mirror. So I've never known how a new pair of frames actually looked on me until they arrived with the lenses in them.

I found a solution at Eyeglasses.com. There I could upload a digital image of myself and superimpose various frames on the picture to see how they looked on my face. With a couple of clicks, I was able to center the frames directly over my pupils.

I also was able to search the site by style of frames (I tried on dozens of pairs of cat's-eyes) and material (plastic, metal or combination). This kept me entertained for at least an hour; the site sells 15,000 products.

But after a while I realized that none of the frames looked quite right on me. They all looked too small for my face, in fact. What was I doing wrong?

Luckily, the site offered a "Live Chat" customer-service feature. I explained the problem to a helpful representative named Marci, who suggested I look inside my own frames to see the size of the lens, the bridge and the temple. Then I could limit my online search to similar-size frames.

She also pointed me toward a section that offers advice based on the shape of your face. For my round face, for example, the site advised, "Look for angular, narrow frames that will lengthen the face."

I still couldn't decide. If I ordered a pair and then hated them, the site would give me a full refund.

Order frames in bulk

"People often order four pairs, pick the one they like, send them all back and say, `Put lenses in the pair I like and give me a refund for the rest,"' said James Hilford, the chief marketing officer for Eyeglasses.com.

I still couldn't decide.

Then I started thinking about how getting the right lenses can be tricky, too. In fact, there are so many variables involved that a spokesman for the Opticians Association of America suggested buying frames online, then taking them to a bricks-and-mortar store to have the lenses made.

Providing an accurate, up-to-date prescription is just the first step. You also have to have an accurate PD measurement, the distance between your pupils. It enables the lensmaker to center the lens correctly for your eyes.

Don't even consider trying to take your own PD. I squinted into a mirror while holding a ruler three times, and got three drastically different measurements.

Then there is the issue of the lens type: single, progressive, bifocal, reading glasses. Eyeglasses.com will install single-vision lenses, but for multifocal lenses, the site recommends that you see an optician.

Next you must decide on materials (Plastic? Polycarbonate? High-index?) and coatings (Ultraviolet? Anti-reflective?). Have I mentioned tint?

None of this was making it easy to decide on frames. Maybe a vintage style? At Allyn Scura Eyewear (allynscura.com), more than 50,000 frames from the late 19th Century to the 1970s are for sale, but the site does not carry lenses. Frames are categorized by color. I was enamored with two reasonably priced ($70 and $75) green plastic cat's-eye styles.

If only the site would let me upload a digital photo to try them on. Without that feature, I was reluctant to buy, because the lens sizes and bridge measurements were so different from the pair I currently wear.

When in doubt, phone

When I phoned the site for advice, I learned why the measurements were so different. A helpful co-owner, Scott Iseyama, told me that the vintage frames were designed to hold heavier glass lenses. So they were sized differently from modern frames that usually have plastic lenses.

In vintage pairs, the frames tended to be bigger in relation to the size of the lenses. For example, my current eyeglasses have a bridge measurement of 18; a vintage pair sized correctly might have a bridge measurement of 20 to 22. My advice? Call Scott before ordering.

My plan is to order several pairs that seem as though they might fit; there is a full-refund policy for merchandise returned within 14 days of purchase. Then I'll try them on in front of a mirror. And keep whichever pair my husband likes.

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