Glasses for your face shape: frame width, shape and bridge

What glasses suit my face shape?

The common rule is contrast: frames with angles suit a soft, round face, and frames with curves suit an angular, square one. It works because the frame is a strong line drawn across the middle of the face, and a line that repeats the face's outline exaggerates it. But width matters more than shape. A frame should be about as wide as the widest part of your face at the temples, with your eyes sitting roughly in the centre of each lens. A frame that is too narrow makes any face look wider; one that is too wide makes it look smaller. Get the width right first, then choose the shape.

Frames by face shape

Starting points to try on, not rules.

Round

Rectangular or square frames, or a strong browline, to add angles. Avoid small round frames, which repeat the curve.

Square

Round, oval or softly rounded rectangular frames to soften a strong jaw. Avoid very boxy, heavy frames.

Oval

Most shapes. Keep the frame about as wide as the face; very large frames can overwhelm it.

Oblong

Deeper frames with some height, or a strong browline, to shorten the face. Avoid narrow, shallow frames.

Heart

Frames wider at the bottom, light rimless or thin-rimmed styles, or rounded shapes. Avoid heavy top-heavy frames that add width at the brow.

Diamond

Oval or rimless frames, or browline styles, that add width at the forehead and soften the cheekbones.

Triangle

Frames with weight at the top — browline or semi-rimless styles — to balance a wider jaw.

How should glasses fit?

Four checks matter more than shape. The frame front is about as wide as your face at the temples, with no gap and no pressure at the sides. Your eyes sit near the centre of each lens, not toward the inner edges. The top of the frame sits close to your brow line, neither hiding the brows completely nor leaving a large gap above. And the bridge rests on your nose without sliding, with the frame staying in place when you look down. If a frame slides, the bridge is too wide; if it leaves marks, it is too narrow. An optician can adjust the arms and nose pads, but not the width of the front.

How heavy should the frame be?

Match the frame's visual weight to the strength of your features. Thick, dark acetate frames suit stronger brows, darker hair and more contrast between hair and skin. Thin metal or light-coloured frames suit finer features and softer colouring, and are less likely to dominate the face. Frame colour works like clothing colour near the face: a frame that matches your hair colour reads as part of you, and one that contrasts with it becomes a statement.

What should I bring to an optician?

Your current prescription, a note of how you will use the glasses (screens all day, driving, sport), and photographs of two or three frames you liked, with the measurements printed on the inside of the arm if you can find them — lens width, bridge width and arm length, in millimetres. Ask about lens thickness for your prescription, since a strong prescription in a large frame produces thick edges. And try frames on in daylight, with your hair styled as you usually wear it, because a fringe or a beard changes what a frame needs to balance.