Sofia Vergara came up with the idea to design a line of reading glasses because, well, she couldn't read. "I’m 47 and I’ve been losing my sight,” Vergara tells Bustle. “It started [around age] 42. I couldn’t read — it was a nightmare, and I was very vain and didn’t want to wear glasses because I felt like I looked super old.”
Eventually, with enough nudging from those around her, the Modern Family star decided to face her changing eyesight head-on. “Everybody kept saying, ‘You look like you’re pushing your phone super far away. You’re squinting. You’re pushing down your neck,’” she recalls. “One day I said, ‘Okay, I want to get glasses.’”
But acceptance was just step one. The real challenge came when she started searching for glasses she actually liked and could style with her everyday wardrobe. “I couldn’t find anything that [didn’t] make me feel like a grandma with the tiny little glasses on the tip of my nose,” she shares. When asked if she’s a fan of the tiny sunglasses trend, she answers with an ultra-confident “no.” She gravitates toward bigger, more glamorous styles, like cat-eye, but couldn't find them in the reading glasses category.
Enter Vergara’s recently launched collection with eyewear brand Foster Grant, which features a variety of options for even the most discerning shoppers. “I’m happy because I actually wear them all the time now because I really want to,” she says. “I feel like I look great. They’re sexy, they’re comfortable, and they’re fashionable.”
In addition to reading glasses, the line also includes sunglasses and SunReaders, so you can be equally stylish hanging poolside out in the sun. Glasses are priced starting at $30.95 each.
For every pair of Sofia Vergara x Foster Grant glasses sold in the United States, a pair of reading glasses will be donated through the brand’s Specs for Specs program, which helps people with vision issues in underserved communities.
Vergara’s design inspiration for the collection was largely rooted in her desire to create something that felt fresh and fashion-forward. “I want everything to be bold and part of the outfit,” she explains. “I wanted to avoid the old lady look [and anything] dainty — so you can actually see them, you know? Make them bold, make them beautiful, so it’s like another accessory.”
She focused on silhouettes that worked well on different face shapes, as well as bold hues and vibrant patterns. “I love animal print,” Vergara shares. “I love the cat eye shape. I tried it on everyone, and that’s a shape that goes on everyone and makes everyone look super sexy.”
With many people spending hours upon hours staring at screens, functionality was another crucial design element for this collection. Vergara opted for lightweight materials to make the glasses just as wearable as they are trendy.
“I love materials that are light, so you can be comfortable if you’re sitting working for hours,” she says. “You don’t want to have a mark on your nose. A pair of readers is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. But with my readers, you feel that they’re a luxury.”
Shop a selection of styles from her new reading glasses collection below.
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The blue color combo on these glasses add just enough detail to make them stand out.
With a metal brow and rimless lower lenses, these glasses make you look polished without trying too hard.
Perhaps named for her Modern Family character, you wouldn't be surprised to see Gloria pairing these trendy square-shaped glasses with a leopard print wrap dress.
Reading glasses don't get more stylish than these cat-eye frames replete with gold metal detailing and tortoise print temple tips.
With their glamorous 1920s-style shape, these reading glasses can work with every look from a t-shirt and jeans to a white button-down shirt and a ball skirt...seriously.
