—
Of the simple pleasures in life, our ability to see and take in the mundane but beautiful visions of the world is perhaps the most understated. Those with the fate of impaired vision know all too well the strain it causes on living a fulfilled life. This shouldn’t limit your ability to look good, feel confident, and rise to any occasion. However, spending hard-earned cash on multiple pairs of different framed glasses isn’t necessarily your fate. In an ideal world, you’d know precisely the frame that suits you best, make a one time purchase, and feel comfortable every day.
Percentage of those prescribed glasses or contact lenses in the UK according to age: (Statista)
More than half of women wear glasses and 42% of men do too. Across age groups, a higher percentage of people are currently prescribed glasses than those who aren’t. Computer screens have been found to be a leading cause of vision complaints in the workforce, and the ubiquity of mobile phone use has contributed to these statistics. The need to understand which glasses frames suit you best has never been more apparent to such a large and growing number of people.
Designers and glasses manufacturers are also aware of the growing market and are increasingly rolling out broader ranges of frames to suit all faces, lifestyles and preferences. With so many options available, let’s take a look at the key considerations to keep in mind to find the perfect pair.
What’s your purpose?
Think about your personal needs. Vision impairment aside – what do you need from the glasses that frame your face? From comfort to public perception, each wearer should reflect on how they want to feel in glasses. A study from the College of Optometrists found that 43% of people in the UK think that glasses make a person look more intelligent and 36% admitted to believing glasses made people look more professional.
For those looking to hone in on their professionalism, or want to conform to the idea of looking more intelligent; exploring different glasses frames is a good place to start. The sentiment behind seeming more intelligent probably derives from the need to apply excessive pressure on the eyes when reading books, looking at screens, and spending long hours focusing.
The key here is to avoid small frames, or worse – frameless glasses. In fact, the more bold and obvious a frame, the easier you’ll fall into the 40% of people who would consider wearing glasses solely for the purpose of looking more intelligent and getting ahead at work. Shallow as it seems, you might as well reap the benefits of visual impairment where you can. Bold frames on face and book in hand – if you want to look more intelligent, consider the following types of glasses frames.
What’s your face shape?
You’ve probably heard it all before – glasses should frame your face, and each frame can complement different face shapes to varying degrees. Whether you have a round, oval, square, or heart-shaped face; you’ll notice an immediate difference in appearance and comfort simply by understanding the best frame for you.
On average, people change their eyeglasses approximately every 3 years. You may have noticed a change in your face shape or size when it’s time to change glasses. So, you want to make sure you get the right frame that will help accentuate your unique facial contours.
Identify your face shape as one of the five main categories. Needless to say, no one’s face is the perfect ‘oval’ or necessarily a ‘love heart’ shape. However, finding your place on the spectrum of shapes will guide you to the perfect frame. The main shapes are:
- Square
- Round
- Oval
- Heart
- Triangular
Most faces are a combination of these shapes that form, for example, rounded chins, angular features, tall foreheads, and tapered jaws. Simply identify the shape that looks ‘most like yours’. The idea is to find a frame shape that essentially brings a natural balance to your face.
Square shaped faces typically have bold, angular features that can be offset by rounded and thinner frames that are slightly wider on the side to form a harmonious and natural curve on square-shaped faces. The general rule of thumb here is to opt for the opposite shape glasses – such as round or oval-shaped frames.
Round shaped faces tend to be relatively short, with a wide forehead, full cheeks, and rounded jawline. Unlike angular faces, rounder faces are best complemented when glasses frames actually accentuate the soft features. So, go for rounder, oval and curved frames rather than sharp, square, or angular.
Oval-shaped faces belong to the lucky ones who can typically enjoy most shapes, sizes and colors of frames. The general rule here is to opt for styles that are a little wider than the widest part of your face. Check out here to see how to properly measure glasses frames.
Heart-shaped faces can be identified when the widest part of the face is at the forehead, gently getting narrower down toward the chin with soft, curved features, a relatively small chin and high cheekbones. Offset the natural wideness at the top of your face with frames that are actually wider than your forehead. Modern frames with an exaggerated browline – like a cat-eye or clubmaster-inspired frames work particularly well.
Triangular faces will tend to be widest at the jaw, narrowing toward the forehead. If some width is desired at the top of the face, it’s best to go for strong brow lines that emphasize your eyes.
The main thing to remember is that glasses frames should be considered an accessory – which has the capacity to improve vision but also re-shapes your face. At the very least, your frames should help to enhance your natural sculptedness or provide additional contour and depth. Be sure to take a good look at the shape of your face before settling for your frames. The wrong shape, too high or low a bridge, and too wide or narrow arms can have the inverse effect of improving your face structure.
What the right frame can do for your style
Choosing the right spectacle frames for you comes down to more than just your face shape. After all, a creative, out-of-the-box, mold breaker personality might wish to go against these general face-shape rules. From a stylistic design point of view, glasses as an accessory can elevate a person’s overall style.
No doubt, individual styles can range dramatically from one to another. For the purpose of inclusivity, the following factors can play important roles in complementing your spectacles to your physical appearance – skin tone, eye color, and hair color.
Regardless of the color of your skin, tones can be categorized into ‘cool’ or warm’ colors. A cool complexion will have clear blue or pink undertones, whilst a warm complexion will have peachy, yellow, and golden undertones. If you cannot decide between the two – you are probably ‘neutral’.
Another way to determine your coloring is to look at your eye color. For example, brown eyes can range from warm light shades of cider-orange to cool medium-brown or deeper almost-black tones. Of the many variations in eye color, some are complemented or offset by other colors.
Whilst changeable, hair color is an important consideration when it comes to choosing the right color spectacle frames for you. They can also be considered either warm or cool. Cooler hair colors of strawberry blonde, platinum, auburn, and ash brown can be complemented or enhanced with fellow cool colors. Warm hair colors include golden hues and brown-black.
Having determined your undertone, it’s easier to understand which spectacle frame colors will suit you best. Whilst this is by no means a definitive rule – theories of design uphold the sentiment that some colors work best with others.
People with warm undertones are likely to look best with spectacle frames in the colors of brown, caramel, khaki, gold, peach, copper, coral, orange, off-white, warm blue, and deep red. For cool undertones, opt for frames in the hues of silver, rose gold, blue-grey, plum, dark-turquoise, and demi-amber.
Understanding which glasses frames suit you best – in a nutshell
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you are part of the 64% of the population who wear glasses. With that in mind, there have been an increasing number of styles, sizes, shapes, structures, and colors of frames brought to the market.
The key considerations to bear in mind when choosing the right frames for you are incredibly personal and individual. However, these guidelines should set you on the right path to finding the right glasses that will enhance your face shape, complement your coloring and give you comfort and confidence every day – all without breaking the bank by buying multiple frames.
—
This content is brought to you by Dmytro Spilka.
Photo: Shutterstock