What's the best frame shape for my face - Part 2

Finding the best frame for you takes some work. 

In the last post, we went through some basic guidelines on frame size relative to your face. Now, let's move on to frame shape. 

You can wear more than one shape.  Really. Even if you believe you can only wear one shape, not every frame in that shape will be right for you.

Many thanks to Carolyn Snell for being our guinea pig for this post. She is living proof that there is not just one shape for you. She is lovely, talented and beautiful!

This is a fabulous shape! Current without being too trendy. Gesse by Jason Wu.

One of our pretty new striped custom frames. Good proportion, color, shape.

Again, Carolyn still looks good in this matte frame which is a more geeky square shape. Btw, it's made in the USA. 

A good rectangular shape. Maybe a tad too dark and heavy. But the shape is good.

The shape is fine, but can you see this is just too much color and contrast? All I see is glasses.

Here's a much bigger geekier cat eye. Cute, but much more of a statement. Christa by Jason Wu. His clothes are awesome, but so are his glasses.

Just so you don't think Carolyn looks good in EVERYTHING, here's a fail!
But really the big problem is the fit. She could probably wear this shape in a smaller size.

What's the best frame shape for my face?

The question we get most often is, "What's the best frame shape for my face?"

And the answer is, "It's complicated."

Optical books give a pat answer for a few different face shapes, but with the huge range of frames available, most everyone can wear many different shapes. But not every frame in a certain shape will look good on you. When women say, "I just can't wear cat eyes," I just don't agree. You may not LIKE cat eyes, but somewhere there's a cat eye frame which will look good on you.

So, what actually makes a frame work for you?

Fit. And proportion. First and foremost a frame needs to fit your facial structure. Does the bridge fit well? Are your eyes pretty well centered in the lenses? Are the temples long enough? And, if you have a prescription that is at either extreme of the bell curve, we need to make sure your prescription will work in the frame. 

Let's take a look at a few fitting fails.

This frame is too wide. Can you see how it sticks out beyond the width of his face? 

And this bridge is too small. You could stick the tip of your pinky between the bridge of the nose and the bridge of the frame? That's not good.

Can you see that this frame is too deep (top to bottom)? Not the right proportion. Takes up too much of his face.

And, finally, one that's looks good. Thanks to Kip for being a good sport. Maybe he can force a smile next time.

We really believe that you need to come in and try on frames to see what works and doesn't. We're critical about what fits and looks good. We welcome you to try on frames just for fun any time.