Sunglasses

Forget fashion! If you’re in the market for a new pair of specs, whether these be sunglasses, reading glasses or everyday glasses, then you should always start with you. You need to find the perfect pair to complement what nature has already provided.

Obviously, your personal taste needs to come into play when choosing your next pair of glasses, but sometimes it’s tricky trying to decide which pair suit you. After all, glasses that look stylish on one person can look a mess on another.

A great place to start is the shape of your face. Of course, we all look totally unique, but face shapes can be sorted into four main categories:

1. Square shaped
2. Round shaped
3. Heart-shaped
4. Oval shaped

Once you have ascertained which of these four shapes your face falls into, you can take the guesswork out of what kind of glasses are going to look best on you. Of course, this is all just a rule of thumb and everyone’s face is unique, so use this merely as a guide as opposed to a rule.

Square Shaped Face

With a strong jawline and straight, vertical lines running from your temples to your jaw, you have bold, angular features that often benefit from round, oval and aviator glasses to soften hard angles. You will need frames that are comparative to the width of your face to add balance and draw the eye away from the angles. Ladies with a square-shaped face should definitely give cat-eye frames a whirl, as these can complement your face and look bang on trend at the same time.

Round Shaped Face

With a round face, you need a shape that will work with your soft curves and bring some definition to your gentle angles. Round faces tend to have foreheads and cheeks with a similar width and a rounded chin. You may also have full cheeks that will look best with bold, angular glasses. To make your face look longer and thinner, consider selecting rectangular frames that will help sharpen contours. Make sure that the bottom is just above your cheekbones and the glasses won’t move every time you smile. It is also worth considering angular and geometric frames (such as the aviator style which narrow near the bottom) to add more distinct lines and create balance.

Heart-Shaped Face

If your face is widest at the brow but narrows down through the chin with high cheekbones, then you have what’s known as a heart-shaped face. If this is you, then consider yourself lucky as not only do heart-shaped faces have a cheerful and sunny appearance, but this is also one of the most adaptable of all the face shapes. That being said, winged out frames that sit slightly wider than the forehead will help to create balance and for those with a slightly narrow chin, you may want to choose glasses that are bottom-heavy.

Oval Shaped Face

If you have a narrower forehead and slightly narrow chin, then the latest fashion will work really well for you. To really make the most of your features, select a frame that is as wide as the widest part of your face and go for shapes that are square, rectangle or geometric.