Updated: Oct 12, 2020
Do you see your glasses as a fashion accessory or a fashion disadvantage?
Would you like to move from contacts to glasses? Are you unsure about what type of glasses you should wear?
Your glasses are essential to you and you have to wear them every single day. Therefore, a special attention should be given to the choice of your glasses'. If you are not sure about how to pick the right glasses, this article is for you!
8 principles to take into consideration when choosing your next glasses
The shape of your face is the most important criteria when it comes to picking the glasses that best suit you.
There are seven basic face shapes, find yours! If you don’t know what your morphology (shape) is, read the chapter ‘note’ after point 8 to help you find it.
‘Oval’
Your cheekbones are larger than your forehead and your chin. If you have an oval face, you have balanced proportions and luckily everything suits you. You can wear every shape of glasses. You will then want to decide depending on the style and type of glasses. Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.
‘Round’
The round face has no/soft angle(s) and curved lines. The length and width of the face have roughly the same proportion. If you want to create balanced proportions; you will need to extend and refine your face with angular frames. Try to stay away from round glasses that will highlight the roundness of your shape. The width of your glasses can be slightly larger than your face shape. Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.
‘Pear’
The Pear shape is a triangular face with a lower base. It is characterised by a narrow forehead and board jawline. To create balanced proportions, add some width on the top of the face. To do so, choose larger, rectangular framed glasses with bright colours and patterns to put attention on the top of your face. Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.
‘Heart’
This is another type of the triangular face, with the wider part being the forehead and the chin being narrower. This shape favours discreet and thin frames. The colours must be natural, pastel to minimise the attention on your forehead. Rounded glasses with a larger bottom are the best choice for this face shape. Avoid geometrical and imposing glasses as well as glasses that are larger on the top and finer on the bottom. You can choose a frame that is slightly finer than the face’s width. Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.
‘Diamond’
The diamond shape is rare. It is characterised with narrow forehead and chin but wide cheekbones. Favour small frames and geometrical or oval shapes to minimise the horizontal distance between your temples. The cat’s eye or butterfly glass frames will fit you perfectly. Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.
‘Square’
Square face has a wide hairline and jawline that can be softened with round or oval glasses. But be careful to choose glasses that are a smaller width than your face. You can also choose geometrical shapes to emphasise your personality, but you should stay away from square glasses. Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.
‘Oblong’
Jump to step 2 to affine your choice.Oblong face is a very long shape with a narrow bone structure. To make your face shorter and with more harmony, choose rims with patterns or contrasting colours, as it will add more width. Moreover, big oval frames such as cat’s eye and butterfly frames will help as well. Stay away from rectangular frames, as they will make your face look straight.
Other criteria
In addition to the shape of your face, pay attention to the width of your nose and the distance between your nose and your eyes. This is important for you to consider in order to avoid any inconveniences such as your glasses being unstable, physically painful (if they are too small for your nose) or they can create visual discomfort (if they are too high or too low).
Your eyebrows are also to be considered: make sure that the top of the frame of your glasses is just under or above your eyebrows. You do not want the frame of your glasses to ‘cut’ the line of your eyebrows. Eyebrows are an important part of your personality, as they help to promote your facial expressions and emotions. Don’t hide them! If you have rounded eyebrows, choose glasses that will follow their line. The same if you have straight eyebrows, choose rectangular glasses, for example.
The spacing between your eyes is also important. If your eyes are more spread out, favour glasses with a large bridge and a dark colour. It will create the illusion that your eyes are closer. However, if your eyes are close, you should choose a narrow bridge and bright colours, avoiding wide frames.
Your hairstyle is also an important factor when choosing your glasses. The goal is to create harmony between them.
If you have a fringe
Try to not harden your face by choosing thin and discreet frames. However, be careful, as the top of your glasses must not be imposing or too big. This will create the impression of an overloaded face. If your fringe is very straight you might want to avoid choosing square or rectangular glasses.
If you have short hair
If you have very short hair you should choose round glasses. Also, dare to wear geometric ones! It will be a perfect fit with your hairstyle. These type of glasses will help to ‘dress up’ your face and give you more character. Keep the right proportions to fit with your haircut and create a good balance.
If you have long hair
If you have long hair, you can choose rectangular framed glasses to create a contrast with your hairstyle. It will also help to frame and bring character to your face. With long hair you might prefer larger glasses rather than long ones to create balanced proportions.
If you have a bob or medium-length hair
We recommend you choose round glasses. These frames will help to reduce the strict effect of your hairstyle. Avoid square or rectangular glasses if you don’t want to look too serious or unapproachable.
If you have blond hair
If you have blond hair, you should choose colours that will highlight your light hair. For example, dark colours (deep red, deep green, deep purple…) or go straight to black. Light frames and pastels might not be the best match.
If you have brown hair
We recommend the use of neutral colours, avoiding black glasses. If you have chestnut hair you can choose warm colours such as red, orange, brown or plum.
If you have red hair
Assume your hairstyle and get green glasses! These are two complementary colours and the result can be really beautiful. You can have a softer image by choosing brown coloured frames. But do not get red glasses! It will overload your face with too much red.
Have a look at your prescription. You will have a lot of information regarding your ophthalmic lenses: their shape, weight, thickness… Ask your optometrist for more details concerning your prescription. It can have an impact on the glasses you choose.
If you have presbyopia, choose a frame high enough to put progressive lens on.
For people with strong myopia, rimmed frames are preferred, rather than pierced or nylon wire frames, which leave the thickness of glasses visible.
You have the choice between choosing frames that contrast with your eye colours or fits with them.
For blue eyes
You can create an original contrast by choosing orange rims! Or you can create
harmony with blue or silver glasses.
For green eyes
Colours such as grey, silver, khaki and chocolate will emphasise your eyes. You can also play with contrast by choosing red glasses.
For brown eyes
You are the lucky one! All colours suit you! You can try pink, crimson, green or golden colours. Fish scale patterns are also a beautiful match to your eye colour. However, black might not be the best option to bring out the color of your eyes.
Plastic
Plastic gives a certain thickness to the frames, and in some cases it provides a retro style to your glasses.
Metal
You find metal materials in more discreet and thin frames. The principle advantage of this material is that it gives flexibility and lightness to your glasses. You can choose between titanium or aluminium. Furthermore, they are permeable and there is a wide range of color palette to chose from. However, be aware that some metal glasses may give an ‘old-fashion' impression.
Others
If you want to me more original, you can also find glasses made of wood or even leather!
6) Your skin colour
Usually, it is better to choose glasses that contrast with your skin colour.
For light skin
We recommend you choose colours such as black, magenta, mauve… Those colours fit perfectly with your skin tone and it will result in a healthy-glow effect.
For matte or dark skin
Dark or bright colours fit you better. Darker skins can be highlighted by gold, silver or clear frames. Furthermore, bright colours and rims with patterns are a very beautiful option for dark skin.
You have to adapt your glasses to your lifestyle, so you can live peacefully with them.
Your are an active person, an athlete
You should choose glasses with lots of stability. They should be strong enough to not break easily if they fall down. Maybe think about using an attachment system.
You work in the fashion industry
Tune your glasses with your own style to create a unique style, which is really important in your industry. Make it a fashion accessory!
Do you use it all day or occasionally?
If you wear your glasses all day they should be light to stay comfortable. If you need glasses just to read or to watch screens, it can be a good idea to choose glasses with a frame that has a nose pad, so it will not get stuck in your hair when you put them on your forehead.
All in all, your glasses must show your personality! They are part of your style just like your shoes are. Your glasses have to match with the image you want to give to others. Here are some tips:
Business & Professional
Frames with neutral colours and designs fit perfectly with the professional world. We recommend you choose colours such as brown, black, beige, grey, gold and silver. If you want patterns on your frame, choose scale pattern or thin stripes; It will help you portray a more professional and serious image.
Fashion & creative
Modern shapes and original colours can help you show all the sides of your personality. If you have an eccentric personality and love colours, do not hesitate to wear bright colours such as orange, blue or red. Assume your style and dare to be original!
Extravert or introvert? Soft or strong temper?
Rectangular glasses will emphasise your dynamic and strong personality. On the other hand, round frames will give you a soft and kind image. You can also show your strong personality by choosing wide frames and black ones.
Note:
How do I know the shape of my face?
We have some tips for you! There are two ways to learn what the shape of your face is.
OBSERVATION
1- Tie your hair back to clear your face and observe yourself in front of a mirror.
2- Look for the widest part of your face. Pay attention especially to your forehead, cheekbone and chin. Is your face wider at the top? Bottom? Middle? Or the same everywhere?
3- Look at your jaw. Pay attention to its shape and width. Is it sharp? Angular? Rounded? Does your face become narrow between you jaw and your chin? Or is it the same size?
4- Look at the length of your face. You can find equal or different lengths and widths. Try to determine the length between the top of your forehead and your chin. Which one is bigger, forehead or chin? Are they the same size?
5- Draw your face. On paper or directly on your mirror and see what shape it is. Compare it to the different face types.
If it’s hard for you to determine just by looking at yourself in a mirror, you can also measure some key points on your face to help you determine what type of face you have. For this technique you need a flexible tape measure.
MEASURE
1- Clear your face and tie your hair back.
2- Measure the width of your forehead. Put the tape horizontally on your forehead and write the measurement.
3- Measure your cheekbone. Find where your cheekbone stands out, usually it’s just under the exterior corner of your eyes. If your nose distorts the result, place the tape in front of your face and align it with your cheekbones.
4- Measure your chin. Put the endpoint of your tape at the beginning of your jaw, under your ears, to the peak of your chin. Then multiply your result by two to have the measurement of the bottom of your face.
5- Find the length of your face. Measure the distance between the top of your forehead and the end of your chin. If your nose distorts the result, place the tape in front of your face and align it with your forehead and your chin.
Refer back to topic 1, your face’s shape, to determine your face type.
Are you still unsure? Do you prefer professional advice? Ask us for a special shopping trip to pick your future glasses!
We can also do a colour consultation to help you pick the perfect colour for your
next glasses!
Finally, how to do your make-up if you wear glasses? It is never an easy task to pick the right make-up when wearing glasses; our professional make-up artist can help you with an individual make-up lesson!
Maud Vanhoutte
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