doubleice Archives

Reading glasses men and women.

Long sightedness comes to us all at some times in our lives.

Reading glasses men and women have been around a long time.

It might surprise you to learn that they have a fascinating history going back over 2000 years.

The first reading glasses owe much to the clergy in the middle ages. They spent their days in monasteries writing manuscripts and as now in those days eyesight would deteriorate around the age of 45.

Spectacles were an Italian invention ( wouldn’t you know! ) by a monk called Salvino degli Armati- no not Armani!.

These were rivet spectacles which must have been so uncomfortable unlike the modern reading glasses for men and women that our German designer I Need You have brought us today.

Another interesting fact is that Eskimo`s produced the first sunglasses.

In prehistoric times it is said that an Eskimo blinded by the glare of the sun on the snow carved an aperture in a piece of bone and strapped it over his eyes. A eureka moment if ever there was one and sunglasses were invented.

They are a long way from the modern sunglasses and sun reading glasses offered by us in our IZIPIZI range of men’s and women’s reading glasses.

The modern age has seen the birth of branded eyewear. We have a number of Brands that we sell. Here are some of them.:

European reading glasses always seem to have the edge and that is why we decided to seek them out on our travels and bring them back to the UK.

Browse our European branded eyewear and we are sure you will find something to suit you.

So if you are looking for reading glasses men women look no further.

Fashion Reading Glasses

Fashion Reading Glasses should be a marriage of style and quality. As reading glasses are a necessity the designs often tend to be dull and boring.

We believe in making a luxury item out of a necessity and stamping them with modernity. Giorgio Armani famously said ” The difference between style and fashion is quality”.

Eye Eye Design believe that IZIPIZI Doubleice and Sempre Art have achieved this with their collection of fashion reading glasses. But what is the history behind fashion reading glasses….read on

History of Reading Glasses

The first reading glasses were invented by a monk called Salvino degli Armati in the middle ages.

These were rivet spectacles and must have been purgatory to wear.

The monks spent many hours a day writing and reading lengthy manuscripts, much like our modern day computer users.

The first sunglasses go back to the prehistoric times.

It is said that an Eskimo blinded by the sun`s reflection on the ice carved an aperture in a piece of bone and strapped it over his eyes.

Fashion reading glasses did not truly come to the fore until the 1960s.

“Fashion eye wear”was largely undefined and its creators could and would try anything.

In this era optical companies threw caution to the wind and designed amazing pieces.

Mass market brands such as Foster Grant, Opti-Ray and Samco set the tone for fashion reading glasses.

The market grew bigger than ever.

Foster Grant retained the Geer DuBois advertising agency to devise a campaign.

Ad Age magazine would cite this as one of the best of the 20th Century.

The ads featured popular celebrities such as Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Julie Christie, Raquel Welch and others.

Moving forward into the early 2000’s off the shelf reading glasses became uninteresting affairs especially in the United Kingdom.

Where we began

In 2013 My wife Judith and I were on holiday in Siena in Italy and Judith purchased a pair of velvet fashion reading glasses.

No one was selling fashion reading glasses like these in the United Kingdom.

Our next task was to trace the supplier in Milan and to start a fashion reading glasses company.

Sunnyreaders Ltd was formed later that year.

We established our 2 websites Funkyreaders.co.uk and eyeeyedesign.com.

Our brands of fashion reading glasses are now sold across the world.

Ciao for now

Martin and Judith