Embrace Your Face: Pick Glasses That Flatter You

We've come a long way from the days of "men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses" – thanks to fashion designers from Armani to Vera Wang and many in between, designer glasses have become another way to show your style. And just like you want to choose clothes that flatter your figure, it's important to choose glasses that flatter your face. So once your eye exam is finished and it's time to sort through all those options for frames, knowing and understanding your facial shape will put you on the path to glasses that will get you compliments everywhere you go!

Round Face

Round faces have generally soft lines – your cheekbones are your widest feature, and your forehead and jaw are proportional. Your face is about as long as it is wide – you probably have fuller cheeks and a gently rounded chin.

Balancing out your softer features, you look good in glasses with sharper angles. Rectangular frames and frames that are slightly wider at the top than the bottom are both good shapes; try to find a shape that sits right above your cheekbones.

Square Face

Square faces have a strong jaw and wide forehead – no part of the face seems much wider than any other. Your face is also close in length and width, although some "square" faces are longer and more rectangular.

Your face is best balanced with rounded frames – ovals are a good choice. To lengthen your face, choose a frame only slightly wider than your cheekbones – if your face is more rectangular already, then you can wear rounder frames. Choosing glasses that are wider than your face helps break up the straight lines of your face.

Heart-Shaped Face

Heart-shaped faces are widest at the forehead, narrowing slightly through the cheekbones. Your cheekbones are probably high, and your cheeks taper gently to a small chin.

Since your face is widest at the top, avoid cat-eye glasses and other shapes with wide tops. Instead, look for frames that draw attention downwards – shapes that are wide at the bottom or have detailing along the lower edge. If you don't like that look, rimless or narrow-framed glasses are also a good choice.

Oval Face

Oval faces are longer than they are wide; your cheekbones narrow gently towards your slightly narrower forehead and jaw.

You have the widest range of frames that complement your facial shape. You can choose which features to highlight – wider frames will round your face slightly, while cat-eye glasses or glasses with thick or embellished top frames will draw attention to the top of your face. Slightly angular frames balance well with more rounded features; if your face is sharper and more diamond-shaped, rounded frames are a good contrast. Talk to experts like Eyes on Second for more information.


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