Elder millennials and Gen-Xers rejoice — you may soon be blindsided (if you haven’t already been) by presbyopia, but at least we are in the golden age of reading glasses. You can still find plenty of super-cheap frames (in price and quality) at the drugstore and on Amazon, which might be preferable if you tend to lose track of your glasses or need them in a pinch, but there are also a dizzying array of more fashionable frames at a wide range of prices, from chunky marbled lucite specs in shockingly bright colors to streamlined wire frames and updated aviators. Upstart brands are offering inexpensive, creative shapes in colors to match every mood, while long-established eyewear brands now sell reader versions of their tried-and-true styles.
To find the best options available, I talked to eight stylish people to find out what frames they rely on to look good while looking at a menu without squinting.
Kim France, who writes the Girls of a Certain Age Substack and co-hosts the podcast Everything Is Fine, is a fan of the newish Brooklyn brand Gabriel + Simone. “Their prices are quite good — mostly under $50 — and the shapes are really nice,” France says. Her favorite pair is the Helen style, a feminine twist on a bold, classic shape.
France also likes the reader version of Ray-Ban’s “eternally cool” Clubmaster.
“As an actor, my ‘costume’ affects my mood. I’ve always felt the most like myself in a cat eye,” says Keri Setaro, who is also a middle-school theater teacher and host of the podcast Momtourage. She loves the Caddis Nepetalactone, a streamlined pair in a transparent soft green. “They make a statement, but it’s a casual statement.”
Journalist and Vogue Business contributing editor Sujata Assomull says her current go-to pair is the Pilot style from Bloobloom with a chic updated aviator shape and six colorways (Assomull opts for the tortoise shade). “It’s really worth investing in a pair that suits you, adds character, and says something about your personality,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be expensive; it just has to be a pair that resonates with you.”
Rebecca Roth Gullo reaches for her classic Caddis Miklos frames — available in nine colors, and almost universally flattering — to focus on her Boston-based bakery, Blackbird Doughnuts. “Thanks to these, I can finally read the menu without pretending to take a dramatic pause,” says Gullo. “Getting older means accepting that squinting is not a business strategy.”
The classic rounded shape and a rainbow of shades to choose from make the Eyebobs TV Party frames a go-to for retired nonprofit founder Caren Page. But she also loves the brand’s splashy Chutzpah’d design and the chunky Square Roots style. “They’re a way for me to stand out, be noticed, and share a little piece of my personality with the world,” says Page.
For those seeking a little eccentric flair, filmmaker Par Parekh recommends this pair of “preposterously fun” and inexpensive nose-clip readers. “These were supposed to be my emergency training-wheel reading glasses — purchased during the holidays when everything was closed. They’ve actually made this whole transition to a magnified life kind of joyous.” Bonus: They can be worn on top of Parekh’s everyday glasses.
Photographer Simon Keogh likes Izipizi’s #D, which have a rounded shape that won’t overwhelm smaller faces. “They’re lightweight, chic, and inexpensive readers,” he says. “Since I’m always losing things, I got three more pairs in different colors so I can scatter them around the house.”
These classic rounded frames make up for a lack of colors to choose from (there’s just four) by offering three width options to better fit your face. Writer Hua Hsu appreciates their functionality. “They’re the cheapest Warby Parkers that fit an Asian face (many of them don’t) that I could find. I don’t think I even looked at them in the mirror at the shop. Maybe the only concession to aesthetics was choosing them in green.”
“These Isabel Marant frames are so chic and unlike any I have seen before,” says Sofie Christensen Egelund, co-owner and concept director of Danish design brand Vipp. She had reading lenses put into the frames. “They are slightly oversize aviators and have a subtle pink tone. I have short hair, so it’s nice to be a little expressive with statement frames.”
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
