Glasses for your face shape: how to choose frames

The glasses that suit your face shape do three things. They contrast with the face’s main lines, they are about as wide as the face at eye level, and their top line sits along the brows. That’s the whole method, and every “glasses for a round face” rule is one of those three applied to one shape. This guide explains the frame geometry behind them, then goes through every shape. If you don’t know yours yet, the face shape detector measures it in about 30 seconds.

Frame geometry in one minute

Frames are described with the boxing system, set out in the international standard ISO 8624. Each lens is measured as the box that just contains it: its width (A) and its height (B). The bridge is the gap between the two lenses, and the temples are the arms that run back to the ears.

Three of those numbers are printed inside one temple arm, for example 52□18-145: lens width, bridge and temple length in millimetres. Lens widths run from about 40 to 60 mm, bridges from about 14 to 24 mm and temples from about 135 to 150 mm. Find the numbers on a pair that fits you and you have the most useful filter for buying frames online; a difference of 2 mm in lens width is already visible on the face.

Beyond size, frames differ in four ways that matter for face shape: the outline (angular, rounded or somewhere between), the depth (how tall the lenses are against their width), the top line (whether the upper rim is heavy, straight or swept up at the outer corners) and the visual weight (rim thickness, colour and contrast with your skin and hair).

The three rules behind every recommendation

1. Contrast the outline

A frame repeats or interrupts the lines of the face. Round frames on a round face repeat its curves and make it read rounder; angular frames break them up. On a square face, it works the other way. Contrast is the oldest rule in eyewear styling and still the most reliable.

2. Match the width

The frame front should be about as wide as the face at the temples, the widest part at eye level. A frame that is too narrow makes the face look wider by comparison; one that is too wide overhangs and tends to slide down. Width is where most poor fits go wrong, before shape comes into it.

3. Place the weight

The eye goes to the heaviest part of a frame. A strong top rim adds width to the upper face, which helps a narrow forehead and works against a wide one. A heavier lower rim or a deep lens adds length. The top rim should follow the brows, not sit far below them or cut across them.

Frames for each face shape

Oval

An oval face has no dominant line to balance, so most frames work. Soft rectangles and gentle ovals are the safe start; the main things to get right are width and the top line. Very small frames can look lost on the face, and very oversized ones are a fashion choice rather than a correction. Pick frames whose width matches your temples and you can choose the shape on taste.

Round

A round face is about as long as it is wide, with soft curves and the cheekbones widest. Angular frames that are wider than they are tall work best: rectangles, wayfarer-style trapezoids and geometric shapes. The straight lines contrast with the curves, and the horizontal shape adds a line across the face. A frame as wide as the face, or a touch wider, keeps the cheeks from reading as the widest point.

Go easy on: small round frames, which repeat the curves, and frames narrower than the face.

Square

A square face has a strong jaw, straight sides and a forehead nearly as wide as the jaw. Round and oval frames soften those lines, and thinner rims or metal frames keep the frame from competing with the jaw. Frames sitting slightly higher on the face draw attention up and away from the jaw corners.

Go easy on: heavy, boxy frames with sharp corners, which double up on the angles.

Oblong

An oblong face is clearly longer than wide. The goal is to break up the length: deep frames with tall lenses cover more of the face vertically, and frames with strong or decorative sides, or a contrasting colour at the temples, add width. Wide, slightly bold frames help for the same reason.

Go easy on: narrow, shallow frames, which leave more of the length on show and add nothing across.

Heart

A heart face is widest at the forehead and narrows to a small chin. Frames that are light at the top and wider at the bottom balance it: rimless or semi-rimless styles, thin metal, aviators and rounded shapes with a softer lower edge. Lighter colours keep the upper face from gaining more weight.

Go easy on: heavy browline frames and decorated top rims, which widen the part of the face that is already widest.

Diamond

A diamond face has wide cheekbones with a narrow forehead and jaw. Frames with a strong top line add width where the face is narrow at the brow: browline styles, cat-eye shapes and ovals with a heavier upper rim. Frames about as wide as the cheekbones keep the cheekbones from standing out further.

Go easy on: narrow frames, which make the cheekbones look wider by contrast.

Triangle

A triangle face, with the jaw wider than the forehead, needs the reverse of heart: weight at the top. Browline and cat-eye frames, frames with colour or detail along the upper rim, and frames at least as wide as the jaw. The detector has no triangle class and usually reports these faces as square or round; if your jaw is clearly your widest line, follow this advice instead.

Fit beats shape

A well-chosen shape that fits badly looks worse than a plain frame that fits well. An optician checks these when fitting, and you can check them in a mirror:

• Eyes in the lenses. Looking straight ahead, each pupil should sit near the horizontal centre of its lens or slightly toward the nose. Pupils near the outer edge mean the frame is too wide for your eye spacing.
• Bridge. The frame should rest on the nose without pinching or leaving a gap, and stay put when you look down. Frames with adjustable nose pads help on a low or narrow bridge.
• Brows. The top rim should follow the brow line, with the brows visible just above it or along it.
• Temples. The arms should run straight back and bend just behind the ear, without pressing into the side of the head.

Prescriptions add constraints. Large lenses on a strong short-sighted prescription have thick edges and more weight, so smaller lenses often look and feel better. Varifocal (progressive) lenses need enough depth below the pupil, so very shallow frames can rule them out. Ask the optician before you fall for a frame.

Colour and visual weight

Thick dark rims are the loudest version of any shape; thin metal, clear acetate and rimless frames are the quietest. The rules above matter more with heavy frames and less with light ones, which is why rimless frames suit nearly every face shape. Colour follows the same logic: frames that contrast strongly with your skin and hair draw more attention to their own shape. The eyes matter too. Hooded eyes, with a fold of skin over the lid, are often better served by a thin or lighter top rim that doesn’t sit on the fold; the hooded eyes guide covers the check, and the eye shape detector estimates your eye shape alongside the measurements behind it.

Do glasses change how you come across?

A little, and not only in the way people expect. In a series of experiments, Leder and colleagues found that glasses lowered ratings of attractiveness but raised ratings of intelligence and trustworthiness, and that the effect depended on the frame: rimless glasses raised trustworthiness without the drop in attractiveness. The practical takeaway is modest. Heavier frames change a first impression more than light ones, in both directions.

Sunglasses

The same three rules apply, with one difference: sunglasses are usually bigger and darker, so their shape carries more weight. Oversized frames suit long and oval faces more easily than round ones. Aviators, which are wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, flatter heart and oval faces and can look heavy on a triangle face.

Before you buy

Measure first, then shop. Your face shape tells you the outline to look for; the numbers inside a pair that fits tell you the size. If you want the measurements underneath the shape, the facial ratios calculator shows your face widths and eye spacing on your own face, and the face shapes chart shows where your face sits between the shapes. The Full Face Report ($14.99, once) adds glasses, hair and beard advice for your measured shape. For the hair side of the same question, see hairstyles for your face shape.