A few months ago, I was sitting across the table from my friend Jon at a cozy (that is, rather dimly lit) restaurant in the West Village, squinting at a menu I held inches from my eyes. Jon whipped out a pair of chic horn-rimmed reading glasses and carried on without effort. When I complemented his choice of eyewear, he answered, “They’re just one of the little consolation prizes for growing older.”
I have needed reading glasses for a couple of years now. First it was just small-print spreadsheets, then the newspaper, and now almost anything in print and not in optimal reading light. Until recently, I had made do with flimsy wire-rimmed drugstore affairs. (“Look, it’s Santa Claus, the Early Years!” — someone once said this to me at a meeting.) They were handy and inexpensive, but they were also, shall we say, a missed opportunity in the personal style department. I had done a little shopping for a better looking pair, but prices north of $300 kept me from buying, particularly given my propensity to lose the things.
Fortunately, Jon is a generous as well as stylish man. He gave me his source: Eyebobs, a great brand of fun, fashionable, affordable reading glasses. The pairs I ordered online at www.eyebobs.com, the Mr. Digler and the Scored, were each just $65, including a good hard case. The selection is large, magnifications are available in quarter-power increments, and the glasses are sturdy and comfortable as well as stylish. They feel as well as look like a lot more than $65.
I think my next pair might be the Butch.
Or maybe the Huge Hefner Sunreader for the beach.
Now I need to remember to ask Jon about the other consolation prizes. . . .
