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This is how you protect your precious specs.

No one wants broken glasses — especially if you're someone who needs them full-time to see. But mistakes happen: you leave them sitting on the floor, and they get stepped on; you drop them into the bottom of a bag and they get crushed by your laptop; they fall out of your pocket onto rock hard pavement, scratching both the frame and the lenses.

No matter the catastrophe, most are largely avoidable if you put your glasses in a protective case when you're not wearing them. Beyond regular maintenance — like cleaning the lenses, tightening of the screws, toying with the nosepiece (if you have one) — having a safe place to store them is the most surefire way to prevent irreversible damage. Ideally the case is hard enough to prevent its contents (your glasses) from being crushed. Or, maybe it's leather, because you like the way it ages. Either way, a case is one part of glasses (whether optical or sun) ownership you can't overlook.

The days of dumping them in the bottom of your bag are over.

This is the best you can do — by far. Ettinger's dressed calf leather case is curved so it's easier to carry, and it comes with a snap closure to keep everything (glasses, a microfiber cloth) inside. Plus, the inside's line with pig suede, which prevents scratches or smudges.

Smythson's leather glasses case comes with a suede liner and a magnetic closure so your specs don't slip out. You can pick from six different colors and even add a five character personalization to the outside. The leather's stiff enough to protect even the daintiest frames, but the overall case is slim enough to be slipped into a jacket pocket.

This is the kind of case an optometrist gifts you when you get new glasses: unbranded in a plain, corporate kind of color with a complimentary cloth. There's nothing wrong with this option. In fact, it's probably most people's go-to, because it's cheap, reliable and super familiar.

If you need glasses to see and a separate pair to protect your eyes from the sun, a single case doesn't quite cut it. Or, what if you own a few pairs because you like having the assortment? Storing half dozen different individual cases will look cluttered, no matter how cool each one is. Instead, opt for Garrett Leight's Collector's Case, which zips shut and comfortably stores four pairs.

If you're often on the go and don't like carrying a bag, the best case for you is one that will fit in your pocket. Leatherology's Soft Eyeglass Case is just that. It's truthfully more of a sleeve than a case, because it doesn't open and close. You simply slide your glasses into one end and back out when you want to wear them.

Moore and Giles makes some of the finest leather goods in the US — chairs, couches, bags, aprons and so much more. Plus, they wholesale to a bunch of the finest furniture companies. As such, you should trust their eyeglass case, which is made from that same leather, equipped with a pin popper closure and lined with suede.

Want to flex a little bit? Try stowing your glasses inside Garrett Leight's Rose Gold-colored metal case, which hinges open like a fancy, luxury car. There's no safer place for your specs.

Soft cases don't offer the same level of protection as a hard case, but, to be honest, they're a little more practical. Case in point? Graf Lantz's Merino Wool Sleeve. It's soft, has a snap closure and comes in a few different colors.

Pigeon Tree Crafting's natural leather case has a complex strap closure that can be a little bit cumbersome. But it's worth dealing with to watch this leather wear in. The inside is leather too, not a different or fabric liner, but it still protects your frames just the same.

Made by Florida leathersmith Jason Gregory, under the name MAKR, this Leather Tab Eyewear Case comes with a double layer reinforced bottom and a snap closure.

Available in black or ecru, Ace and Tate's modern, minimal Hard Case slides apart like a lipstick container. There's no inner liner but the case comes with a soft pouch for putting the glasses in before you put them inside the case.