Springtime weather may be easy-breezy but finding the perfect pair of shades for your face shape is no day at the beach. The key to flattering glasses is picking the right frame—one that sells you from the get-go, accentuating both your look and your lifestyle. With our simple guide, scoring that perfect pair is easy and stress-free—simply remember your ABCs!
A: Assess Your Face
Face Shape – Determine your face shape and flattering glasses will follow, it’s as simple as that. Look in the mirror or at a photograph and compare with the graphics below. There are six main face shapes; find the one you most imitate:
Heart-shaped Face: Wide forehead and cheekbones; tapered jaw line and narrow chin.
A heart-shaped face has a wide forehead that descends to a narrow chin. To minimize your temple width and draw the eye down to the bottom of your face, a wide square or round lens helps to draw attention upward and balance out an angular jawline. Wide arms can also make the forehead look narrower and accentuate the cheekbones.
Oval: Balanced symmetry between forehead, cheekbones and jaw.
An oval face is considered to be the ideal shape because of its balanced proportions. If you have an oval face, you’re in luck – pretty much any shape will look good on you. It’s best to pick frames that are at least as wide as the widest part of your face. Frames that are softly angular and are as wide as (or wider than) the broadest part of the face work particularly well by emphasizing cheekbones and keeping the oval’s natural balance and symmetry.
Square: Broad forehead; square jawline.
A square face is equally as wide as it is long, with angular lines. Lengthen your face with frames that are wider (↔) than they are deep (↕). The best shapes for you are any variety of round, oval or cat-eye frames to offset the planes of an angular profile.
Round: Full cheekbones; narrow forehead and jaw.
A round face has curved lines with the width and length in the same proportions. To make a round face appear thinner and longer, try angular frames to lengthen the face, a clear bridge that widens the eyes, and frames that are wider than they are deep – such as a rectangular shape or cat-eye. Try a clear bridge to widen your eyes; DO NOT wear round frames. Wide wraparound shades in square or rectangular shapes will also make your face appear smaller.
B: Bring out & Balance your Features
You know your basic face shape, now let’s turn our attention to types of frames. The purpose of a good frame is to emphasize your facial strengths while deemphasizing your facial weaknesses. Frame types and frame sizes help you achieve this balance.
- Full-rim frames – Fully enveloping, these frames help emphasize the eyes.
- Semi-Rimless frames – These rims only frame the top of your glasses, emphasizing the upper portion of your face (wonder worker for diamond and face-down triangle face shapes).
- Rimless frames – Seeming to float on your face, these magical frames achieve a “barely there” look with your glasses and deemphasize your forehead (works especially well with heart face shapes).
C: Consider Your Coloring, Style, and Preferences
Coloring: Want to maximize your overall look? Consider your coloring (warm or yellow- and peach-based tones or cool or blue- and pink-based tones ). Stick with shades that best compliment your coloring to really make your eyes and skin sparkle.