If you read me regularly you will know that I have TERRIBLE eyesight.

I don’t mean poor observation, I mean terrible vision. I am profoundly shortsighted which means without my glasses or contact lenses I can see about 2 foot in front of my face.

My eyesight never used to be that bad.

When I started my first job after college, I didn’t need glasses at all. I spent 8 hours a day on a PC booking holidays around the World. I loved it.

Around 18 months after I started the job, I could barely see the screen. Going for my yearly check I was told that I needed glasses for working on the computer.

Specsavers attempt at Vintage

I dutifully wore them when I was at work (although I hated them)

Yet my eyesight got worse and worse.

By the time I had our twins, I was extremely short sighted. I hated waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to focus on anything more than a couple of feet; not being able to see who was crying for a feed. Not being able to see the bottles on the cabinet.

I started wearing Contact Lenses.

A better look

Back then, you had a choice of Soft or Hard Lenses. I only ever wore Soft Lenses; however they came with cleaners, neutralisers, protein tablets. Complicated to say the least.

As the years passed, the contacts got better. They became Monthly lenses. You wore them every day (taking them out at night) and binned them after 30 days. Then came the weekly lenses which you wore throughout the day, took out at night and then threw away after a week.

Then came the dailies. You got 30 pairs at once and wore them for one day only.

Eventually came the Monthly wear contacts. My Favourite.

Praise the lord for Contact Lenses!

You put in a pair of lenses and could eat, sleep, drive, dance, make love, read, skateboard, climb Mount Everest…… well okay, you get the picture.

You did everything in them and after 30 days of wear, threw them away and put in a new set.

You could take them out and store them in a pot with the correct liquids and wear glasses if you wanted a bit of a change.

BUT I never wanted a bit of a change.

Why, you might ask?

Well, for one thing I hated the blurry vision around the side of the glasses; over the top of the glasses, and also the bottoms. I hated driving in glasses as I felt that I didn’t have good enough sight to drive safely, especially at night. Th glare from oncoming lights at night made me panic.

The second reason?

Pure and simple vanity.

By this point I was really into the Vintage Look.

Specsavers do a great job and if you are a regular reader will know they saved my dads life. However, their Vintage style glasses were sadly lacking. I didn’t like many of their choices, if any.

So I went with the high fashion choices, even though they didn’t represent what I wanted to be.

Then came a bit of a breakthrough.

I found Retropeepers Glasses.

Set up by the lovely Caroline and Lauretta, I found a treasure trove of both repro and original vintage glasses. Round, Cats Eye, Square, Coloured, Sunglasses, Ready Readers; you name it, they had it all!

The first pair I tried was a graduated green Betty.

Graduated Green Betty

With my personal prescription it came to less than £50. MUCH less than the high street opticians.

And you know what?

I bloody loved them.

Beautiful Betty

I wore them to France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia to name a few places. They were more well travelled than some people.

Then I tried the red glitter Zsa-Zsa. A little more expensive, but with my prescription they were still a bargain at £59!

Red is currently Sold Out

The lovely Caroline and Lauretta were amazing at recommending Glasses that would suit my face shape and style. I couldn’t wait to wear them.

Zsa-Zsa fabulousness

By this point I was only wearing my contacts and glasses supplied by Retropeepers. No-one else had a vintage selection that whet my appetite.

Caroline sent me a lovely email asking if I would consider being an Ambassador for the brand; well, as I only wear their glasses exclusively it was a no-brainer. I love everything they offer; promote on my social media and wear probably 15-20 days per month.

I honestly have never wore my contact lenses as little as I do now.

Caroline enrolled me on the Ambassador programme and I had another look at what was on offer. This led to my latest pair of glasses, the Marilyn in Graduated Aqua.

Graduated Aqua Marilyn

I love the design of these glasses; the cut out sections, the diamante, and the colour that fades as it goes down.

They are solid, comfortable and very hardwearing. With non-scratch lenses and my prescription, the glasses cost £55.

Beautiful AND a Bargain.

This range comes in a choice of three colours; purple, aqua and wine red. You can also get them in sunglasses with a couple of colours.

More Marilyns

Not as much of a choice as the Betty’s which come in six colours and four different sunglasses, however they are sturdier, more comfortable and a little bit more detailed.

Bettys on Parade

So far, I have worn my glasses for 3 solid weeks. I simply don’t want to take them off and I have received lots of compliments.

The Marilyn

As a Retropeepers Ambassador, I am proud to promote their range; after all I don’t wear anything other than their brand. I literally believe in it that much.

I also can’t wait to see what they come out with next. No doubt it will be Va-Va Vintage and set my heart a racing again.

Marilyn on a night out….

If you would like to have a look at what Retropeepers have to offer, click here and it will take you to their main site where they have everything from Mens and Womens, to Ready Readers and Sunglasses for sale.

Retropeepers

You won’t be disappointed, that’s for sure.

Till next time

SPSG xxx