Most optical shops feature large selections of eyeglass frames for sale. Sometimes, it can be challenging to select the right pair to buy. In addition to quality and price, here are three physical considerations to help you make the best choice:
1) Face shape – Faces come in all different shapes, including diamond, heart-shaped, oblong, oval, round, square, and triangle. Decide what part of the face you want to emphasize and what features you want to downplay. For example, a heart-shaped face typically is wider at the top and narrows as it goes down. It’s generally optimal to reduce the width at the top of the face by choosing frames that are wider at the bottom. For a square face, to create the illusion of more length, choose glasses with narrower frames. Or choose glasses that are rounded to deemphasize the squareness and flatter the face. A person with a round face might consider cat-eye-shaped glasses that make the face appear more angular.
2) Face size – Just as faces come in all shapes, they also come in all sizes. In general, it’s good to choose glasses that are proportional to face size. It’s a good rule for people with larger head sizes and facial features to pick glasses that are thick and cover the face from side to side. For smaller faces, unless you are trying to make a statement by wearing larger style glasses, go for a narrow fit so that the glasses sit properly on the face without sliding down. These types of glasses offer smaller frames and lenses and are comfortable and stylish for people with smaller faces to wear.
3) Skin tone and hair color – Some people like to match the frame colors to their skin tone and hair color. Warm skin has yellow or green undertones, whereas cool skin has pink or blue undertones. Warm tones generally pair well with shades of beige, brown, gold, and green. Cooler-toned skin often goes well with black, blue, gray, pink, and purple. Hair, like skin, can also be classified as warm or cool. Warm colors tend to have gold or red undertones, whereas cool colors are ashier. Similar rules apply.
These basic guidelines are simply designed to help you make the best choice when buying glasses. However, because there are so many similar styles for sale and because tastes vary, it may remain a difficult task to decide what glasses are most suitable. For this reason, bring along a close family member or friend with good taste. In addition to asking their opinion, model the glasses and have them take your photo wearing each pair. Then, look at the photos to help determine which one is your favorite. Or count on the professionals’ expertise at the optometrist’s office, whose job it is to prescribe and fit people for glasses.