These are my first pair of full time glasses.
Until you reach your 40s, you may have had good eyesight and never visited the optician. Your only experience of glasses are the shades you sometimes wear on a sunny day. This was the case for me.
Then you notice difficulty with small print. This happens to many people in their 40s and it happened to me. So my introduction was a pair of +1.00 reading glasses. Just wore them now and again for small print. And I thought that was that.
Your eyesight changes. Reading glasses become a complete necessity. And then you to start struggle with reading the credits at the end of television shows. And in my case, a few years later, the optician recommended progressive (varifocal/bi-focal) lenses for both distance and reading. I was going to be wearing glasses full time.
I went full time with the metal framed glasses shown in this post. They were for my distance vision, which now needed correcting. Up to a point, they mostly corrected my reading vision, too. But my eyesight changed again and I decided to switch to varifocals. I've been wearing varifocals for over 4 years. And wearing glasses full time for 6 years.
If you've never worn glasses and think you now need a pair for reading, then get your eyes tested. Your new prescription will help you choose the right over-the-counter reading glasses. After that, you may find your eyesight worsens and the opticians eventually recommends progressive (varifocal/bi-focal) lenses. I remember putting on my progressive lenses for the first in the opticians. And I walked out the shop with them on ! Wearing them all day long got me easily adjusted in a few days.
Along with the sly bald head, glasses are an integral part of my appearance. Just as well, nowadays, I really cannot tolerate my vision without my glasses.
For those new to wearing glasses, consider buying frames where you can subsequently change the lenses. Just had my 2-yearly eye test. Distance vision unchanged but my reading vision has got worse yet again. So I'll get new lenses for my Ray-Bans. Cheaper than new glasses.
Thought I'd turn my experience into some advice for others !