Let’s face it: for women who don’t have 20/20 vision, one of the most exciting—and sometimes stressful—times of the year is choosing a new pair of glasses.
For many people, vision insurance covers one new pair of frames each year. Choosing a new pair of glasses is all fun and games, but it’s also an important decision. After all, you’ll be wearing them for the next year or more.
While you’re taking your time browsing the different frame options, it’s easy to get sidetracked and try on the most outlandish and far-out frames. Albeit fun, it’s important to consider your face shape, undertones, and the overall shape and color of the frames as you test out each pair.
Feeling overwhelmed? Fear not. To help make the process easier, we spoke with LC Cunningham, style expert at Alternate View, to learn the secrets behind finding the perfect new pair of frames. Consider this your go-to guide for eyewear styling.
Face Shape and Eyewear Frame
A general rule of thumb is to choose an eyeglass frame that contrasts your face shape and adds structure to it.
Round Faces: If your cheekbones are the widest part of your face and you have a rounded jawline, rectangular or square frames are the most flattering choice. The sharp, defined edges create contrast with the softer curves of the face, helping to add structure and create the appearance of a slimmer, more balanced shape.
Oval Faces: Ladies, if you have a face that is longer than it is wide and have a slightly tapered jawline and chin, you’re in luck — almost any frame style works for you. Oval faces are naturally balanced, making them one of the most versatile face shapes for eyewear. Avoid frames that are significantly wider or narrower than the widest part of your face, as they can throw off your natural balance.
Square Faces: Similar to round face shapes, those with square faces should choose frames that contrast a wide, straight hairline and a strong, angular jawline. When browsing at your local optometrist or eyewear boutique, look for frames with soft curves—such as round, oval, or cat-eye styles. These softer shapes help balance and complement more angular facial features.
Heart Faces: Heart shaped faces can be described as faces that have wide foreheads and prominent cheekbones, but then have delicate, pointed chins, thus resembling the shape of a heart. When shopping for new eyewear frames, you’ll want to look for oval or cat-eye frames. Those shapes generally compliment wider foreheads, and soften sharper jawlines.
Diamond Faces: If you have a diamond face shape, congratulations! You have one of the rarest face shapes. Diamond-shaped faces are characterized by high cheekbones, a narrower forehead, and a narrow jawline. Oval, rimless, and cat-eye frames often work best because they highlight the eyes, soften angular features, and complement the natural structure of the face.
Skin Tone and Frame Color
Don’t forget to consider the frame color just as much as the frame shape. The color of the frame can help brighten your complexion and enhance your natural features.
Fair Tones: Fair skin tones are often described as porcelain, pale or ivory. If that sounds like you, you’ll want to choose eyewear with colors such as soft pastels, light browns, tortoiseshell and frames with subtle gold compliments. You’ll want to avoid heavy colored frames, such as jet black or neon, as those colors can easily overpower light skin tones.
Olive Tones: Olive skin tones tend to have a natural warmth and glow. If that’s you, you’ll want to gravitate toward Earthy hues and warm metallics. When shopping for frames, also consider deep browns, olive greens, burgundy, or navy shades. It’s best to avoid bright oranges and yellow.
Warm Tones: If your skin has yellow, peachy and golden undertones, you have a warm skin tone. If that describes you, you’ll want to look for firmware that has warm metallics, such as gold bronze or champagne, as well as earthy tones, including tortoiseshell and caramel browns. Rich colors such as olive green, coral, and a warm brick red will also contrast your warm color palette. You’ll want to avoid silver, white and icy blues as those can wash out warm complexions.
Cool Tones: Cool-toned skin has undertones of pink, red or blue. For ladies with cool toned skin, you’ll want to look for frames that have cool metallic colors, such as silver or platinum, as well as jewel tones, including sapphire blue, emerald green and deep purple colors. Soft pastel colors also compliment cool toned skin best — think light pink, mauve, or icy blue. Navy, charcoal and transparent frames also look best with your skintone.
LC’s Hot Take
When all is said and done, Cunningham says there is one styling rule that matters most:
“Styling is individual to you.”
While face-shape guidelines and color analysis can be helpful starting points, they aren’t hard-and-fast rules. In her more than 30 years of styling experience, Cunningham says some of the best results have come from clients choosing frames that weren’t the obvious choice.
“You can wear whatever you want to wear,” she said. “You can do what you want to do. Be yourself.”
For Cunningham, personal style is ultimately about confidence.
“When people come in, I can usually get a sense of who they are right away,” she said. “But the most important thing is that they feel like themselves when they put on a pair of glasses.”
So while styling guidelines can help narrow your options, don’t be afraid to choose the frame that makes you smile when you look in the mirror. Sometimes the perfect pair is the one you never expected to pick.
About Samantha Kupiainen
Samantha Kupiainen is a regular Indy Maven contributor. Her credentials for writing this piece? She’s a fellow four-eyed always on the hunt for her next great pair of frames.
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