Enjoy optical clarity for close-up tasks wearing authentic designer reading glasses. Browse thousands of styles, find your favorite classic or contemporary silhouettes, and simply choose "Readers" when adding them to your cart.
Explore our collection of popular reading eyeglasses from top designers and find universally flattering rectangles, chic cat-eyes, classic aviator- and wayfarer-style frames, and sophisticated semi-rimless and rimless silhouettes. Enjoy clear vision wearing readers by celebrated makers, in styles for men and women.
Browse our collection of genuine designer readers to discover fresh takes on classic styles. Ray-Ban, Persol, Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and other favorite makers fulfill your designer fashion wishes with bold, stylish reading glasses in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit any fashion aesthetic. Handsome, masculine frames and flirty, feminine styles from the world’s most recognized designers keep your wardrobe up to date with the latest looks.
Choose readers in chunky, over-the-top frames styles in an array of vibrant colors, or discover a variety of readers to satisfy more refined tastes in eyewear. Browse classic rectangular, square, round, and oval readers, in unassuming metal or plastic frames; discover readers perfect for your morning meeting or daily crossword. These styles command attention with subdued colors in high-quality frames.
We are an authorized dealer of readers frames from top brands and labels—the designer readers we sell are 100% authentic, guaranteed.
The lenses in reading glasses simply magnify small text or objects to bring them into better focus. Eyeglasses work a bit differently. Read about how glasses work.
When trying to determine the lens magnification strength in your readers (also called the lens power, or the diopter), consider your typical reading distance. If you need readers for working on your computer, think about the distance between your face and the screen. A distance of 15 to 20 inches may call for a different power than a distance of 25 to 30 inches. But maybe you need magnification only for reading newspapers or magazines, which you typically hold fairly close to your face. And it may sound funny, but a taller person with longer arms may need less powerful lenses since they can hold things farther from their face.
A simple way to find the correct power for your reading glasses is to print one of the many available online reading eye charts, and then follow the instructions to determine the right magnification. You’ll hold the printed page at a distance of roughly 14 inches, or the distance you’d typically hold a book or newspaper, and look for the smallest line of text you can read clearly without wearing any reading glasses at all. The next smallest line of text (that is too difficult to read without glasses) will indicate the strength you need for your readers.
You can also use your age to get a ballpark number. Presbyopia—the farsightedness most people begin to experience in their 40s—is typically corrected with reading glasses. You’ll probably need a diopter of only +1.00 to +1.25 in your 40s. Then add a half unit for every decade you age.
Choosing one of the readily available diopters for reading glasses (between +1.00 and +3.00) works for most people who don’t already wear prescription lenses.
The highest power in conventional (non-prescription) reading glasses available at FramesDirect is +3.00, and the lowest is +1.00. Consult one of our trained opticians if you need help determining the best magnification power for your readers.
Yes. Reading glasses magnify print or objects for clearer vision at a distance shorter than 18 inches. Computer glasses are treated with a coating made to protect your eyes from the harmful blue light digital screens emit—they’re available as readers, conventional prescription eyeglasses, or with no correction (plano).
While reading glasses work best at a shorter distance, you may require them for computer use if you need vision correction at greater than the distance you would typically hold a book or magazine from your face. So the magnification strength you’ll need will most likely be different from the one in the glasses you wear for reading printed material and for other up-close tasks. You might want to explore multifocal progressive (no-line) eyeglasses, with different optical powers in separate zones in the lenses, instead of conventional reading glasses, for computer work. Talk to your eye doctor about the best options for correcting your vision to see better at intermediate distances.
If you routinely spend time on a computer or other type of digital device, consider wearing computer glasses, even if your vision does not require correction. Overexposure to the blue light emitted from digital screens can cause retina damage, and may even lead to macular degeneration. Computer glasses filter as much as 50 percent of blue light from digital devices. FramesDirect offers blue light-deflecting BlueReflect™ technology in single vision and progressive lenses, and in non-prescription (plano) lenses, to protect your eyes and keep them feeling fresh even after long hours of work or play at your computer.
Yes, you can wear reading glasses all day, but we recommend you follow your eye doctor's advice on when to wear your readers. Contrary to what you may have heard, wearing reading glasses will not cause your vision to deteriorate. If you find your readers are less effective as time wears on, the most likely explanation is your presbyopia is simply worsening, which is a natural result of aging. You’ll probably need a higher magnification in your readers as you get older.
Yes, and in fact, you may need a prescription for your reading glasses. It’s always worthwhile to ask your eye doctor about reading glasses during your regular checkup. Many people need different powers in the left and right lens or correction for astigmatism. Or perhaps the optics in the ready-made readers are not centered correctly for your eyes (in accordance with your pupil measurement). Buying prescription reading glasses online at FramesDirect is simple; follow the instructions in our ‘How to Buy’ section below.
Single vision glasses are simply prescription eyeglasses customized for your eyes; they can correct for near- or farsightedness, but can also be made in the reading magnification you need, centered according to your pupillary distance, or PD. The nearsighted contact lens wearer with presbyopia—the loss of near focusing that occurs in most people starting around age 40—may prefer single-vision reading glasses to wear in tandem with their contact lenses.
If you wear prescription glasses to correct for distance vision but also need readers, consider bifocals or progressive lenses instead of basic readers. Bifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers separated by a minuscule line in the lens; the lens region above the line corrects for distance vision and the one below it for near vision. Progressive eyeglasses are similar to bifocals, but offer a smoother transition between the optical powers in each zone, with no line. Many eye doctors recommend progressive eyeglasses for the reduced eye strain that results from their more finely tuned vision correction. FramesDirect offers many options in progressive-ready eyeglass frames.
Browse our designer reading glasses to find thousands of fashionable readers for men and women; refine your options by gender, brand, frame material, shape, color, and other variables. Once you’ve found the reading glasses you love, select your preferred color and size, and choose 'Select Lenses.' When you’re prompted to choose a lens type, select the 'Readers' tile, and then select the magnification you need. After you choose any additional lens options you desire, you’ll be all set to check out.
Purchasing prescription reading glasses is similar to purchasing conventional eyeglasses. Browse the options on this page, or hover your cursor over 'Men' or 'Women' at the top of the page, and in the drop-down box, select 'Reading Glasses.' Once you’ve selected the color and size you need in your favorite frames, choose 'Select Lenses.' For prescription readers, you can choose Single Vision, Progressive No Line, or Bifocals, depending on your vision needs and your prescription. From this point, you’ll follow the prompts as you would for purchasing any prescription eyeglasses.
Still need help? Contact our customer service team staffed by trained opticians, each of them dedicated to helping you find the right pair of designer reading glasses. We can suggest the frames that best match your face shape and lifestyle, assist you in entering your prescription information, or help you determine the correct size and magnification for your non-prescription readers. Order online at FramesDirect.com with confidence.
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