A Guide to Fitting Frame Styles With Face Types
Picking out a new pair of frames can present a maddening challenge for many of us. If you’re someone who is either indecisive when it comes to picking out eyeglass frames, or a person who picks something out only to find that you’ve got buyer’s remorse almost immediately after picking up your new glasses, this is the post for you.
Choosing new eyeglass frames doesn’t have to be so hard. We’ll go over all the best types of frames for all of the different face types, what else you need to consider when picking out eyeglass frames, how to pick out frames that you’ll love for years to come, and how to make sure that your prescription is right once you’ve picked up your new glasses.
Figuring Out Your Face Type
You may have heard that there are several different types of basic face shapes. In fact, there are five, to be exact. There are square faces, oval faces, round faces, diamond-shaped faces, heart-shaped faces. There are also triangular and even oblong faces, but these are simply a combination of two of the general types.
In order to figure out which type of face you have, all you need is a mirror. Look at yourself in the mirror with your hair pulled back, and begin by evaluating the contours of your head.
Choosing Frames by Face Type
Square faces are about as wide as they are long, with a strong jaw and a broad forehead. For square faces, narrow eyeglass frames with less depth than width and round eyeglasses tend to be best.
An oval face also has balanced proportions; it’s just slightly less square than a square face. Oval faces look best with frames that are just as wide or wider than the face’s widest point.
For those with round faces, you’ll look your best with either square or rectangular frames. Diamond-shaped faces – those that are broad in the cheeks with a narrow jaw and forehead – look best with frame styles that are wider than the cheekbones or that sweep up at the corners.
Next, heart-shaped faces, with their wide brows and narrow jaws, tend to look best with frames that feature low temples and curved edges.
A triangular face features a narrow forehead and wide jaw. For people with this face shape, eyeglass frames that sweep upward or feature accents on the brow half of the frame are recommended.
For those with an oblong face (which is longer than it is wide, with a straight cheek line from brow to jaw), frames with decorative temples that are deeper than they are wide, are generally the best bet.
Other Considerations for Eyeglass Frame Styles
Skin-tone, eye color, lifestyle, and your general activity level should also be considered when selecting eyeglass frames. For those with warm skin tones – with a bronze, yellow, or golden cast – brown eyeglass frames, light tortoise, gold, hone, olive, and beige tend to be best.
For those with cool skin tones (characterized by pink or blue undertones), black, silver, gray, purple, blue, and dark tortoise colored frames all work well.
How to Tell If You Have the Wrong Eyeglass Prescription
In closing, let us give you a quick rundown on how to tell if you’ve somehow ended up with the wrong prescription when it comes time to pick up your shiny new frames. Aside from fuzziness and blurred images, the two most obvious signs, other signs that you’ve got the wrong prescription include eye strain, nausea, dizziness, and even vertigo. Remember to contact your eye doctor immediately if you believe you’ve been given an incorrect prescription.