The eyes have it!
Susan Price of Burgettstown wears reading glasses when she reads on her Kindle. She obtained her glasses through Dr. Richard Feldstein in Washington, who sells prescription and non-prescription reading glasses.
Gloria Thomas, owner of G’s Consign and ReDesign on McClelland Road in North Strabane Township, poses with some of the reading sunglasses she sells in her shop.
Eyebobs eyewear offers trendy options for men and women over 40 who rely on reading glasses.
Eyebobs eyewear, available online and at Soho in Sewickley, offers fashionable and colorful options for reading glasses.
Eyebobs eyewear come in a variety of shapes and colors.
“I knew what was happening. I knew I had to give in and get reading glasses. That was nine years ago, and I’ve worn them ever since,” said Nungesser, owner of Soho Boutique in Sewickley, which carries eyebobs reading glasses, a hip readers company whose motto is, “We believe that your style should be sharp, even if your vision isn’t.”
Like millions of other baby boomers, Nungesser has presbyopia, farsightedness that accompanies aging.
Dr. Richard Feldstein, a Washington optometrist, explained that after age 40, the lens of the eye stiffens, making it more difficult to focus on close objects.
“It’s inevitable. It’s one of those little indignities of growing older. Men have longer arms than women and can hold objects farther away, so I’ll see men at 45 and 46, and women when they’re 40 or 42,” he joked.
Presbyopia has become big business for the eyewear industry. In 2012, reading glasses sales totaled $766 million, according to Shawn Shafer, program manager at The Vision Council. That’s about 46.2 million reading glasses sold. About 28 million adults wear reading glasses, Shafer said.
For 40-somethings and over determined to grow older fashionably, companies like eyebobs provide an alternative to drugstore readers.
The Minnesota-based company was started in 2001 by businesswoman Julie Allinson, 55, who didn’t want to buy cheap drugstore cheaters but didn’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for a pair from the eye store.
“I went to an optical store because I wanted something hip that made a statement and I was going to walk out of there with a $600 pair,” recalled Allinson. “So a friend of mine who’s an optometrist and I went to Walgreens for readers and he said, ‘Here you go.’ I looked at them and said, “Do people wear these things?’ I asked him what’s between drugstore reading glasses and readers that cost 600 bucks and he said,’Nothing.’ In short order I started eyebobs.”
Nungesser of Soho Boutique has at least five pairs of eyebobs – worn by celebrities including Katie Couric and chef Andrew Zimmerman – scattered throughout her house and keeps her favorite pair, the whimsically named Co-Conpirators, at work.
“If I have to wear readers, I want to look good,” she said.
The reading glasses market includes cheap readers sold in drugstores and other outlets for about $10 and high-end readers available in optician offices, department stores, boutiques and online.
Sun readers, for baby boomers who enjoy reading on the beach or poolside, are an increasingly popular choice, said Feldstein.
At G’s Consign and ReDesign in Canonsburg, owner Georgia Thomas said sales of her Envision sun readers have soared over the past two years.
“I have people who call and ask if I’ve gotten new sun readers in. Women love that they look cool and they’re functional,” said Thomas.
Feldstein cautions that reading glasses are not a substitute for a yearly eye exam, and advises people to visit the eye doctor before purchasing a pair.
If eyes are not symmetrical – one might be more farsighted than the other – generic readers can cause eye strain.
And, said Feldstein, you get what you pay for.
“You’re better off buying a higher-quality pair of reading glasses with a better quality optical lens like Eyebobs or the glasses you get at an optometrist’s. Cheap store-bought ones can create prisms and distortions,” he said. “The other advantage is that with a better lens or prescription reading lenses, you can get UV protection. Computers, cell phones and other devices emit UV and a good lens cuts the glare, lets you see clearly and gives UV protection.”
Susan Price of Burgettstown started using reading glasses in 1997 after she retired as a home economics teacher at Burgettstown High School and has purchased her reading glasses from Feldstein for years.
These days, her favorite pair is a purple wire rimmed set, but she has others she uses on occasion.
Price said she refuses to buy drugstore readers for a couple of reasons.
“You only get one pair of eyes and they should be taken care of properly,” said Price. “And I wanted something stylish. I’m old, but I don’t want to look old.”