Glasses for your face shape: how to choose the right frame

First rule: contrast of shape

The frame should be opposite to the dominant line of your face. Soft, round faces suit frames with clear angles; sharp, angular faces suit slightly rounded frames. When the frame repeats the same shape as the face, the features are visually doubled and the face looks wider or longer than it actually is.

Second rule: frame width

The frame shouldn't be narrower than the widest point of your face (usually the cheekbones), nor should it extend past your temples by more than a couple of millimetres. If the temples of the frame "hang" beyond your face, the glasses will keep slipping; if they're too narrow, your face looks squeezed.

Third rule: eye height in the lens

Your eyes should sit in the upper third of the lens, not in the centre. This is a detail opticians rarely point out, yet it has the biggest impact on whether glasses look expensive or awkward.

By face shape

Round face

Look for rectangular, square and "wayfarer" frames with a flat top line. They add structure and optically elongate the face. Avoid small round frames and thick rounded edges.

Oval face

The most flexible shape — almost everything works, as long as the frame is at least as wide as the cheekbones. Let style guide the decision: "cat eye" for a softer look, geometric shapes for something more modern.

Square face

Oval and slightly rounded frames, thinner materials and the "cat eye" shape soften a strong jawline. Avoid heavy rectangular frames that repeat the angles.

Heart-shaped face

The goal is to visually balance a wide forehead with a narrower jaw: no emphasis at the top, with emphasis at the bottom of the frame. "Aviator", oval and rimless-top frames work beautifully.

Elongated face

Taller frames (a larger vertical lens) and a thicker frame with detail on the temples visually shorten the face. Narrow, small frames have the opposite effect.

Frame colour and skin undertone

Shape solves proportions, colour solves complexion. Warm undertones look better in tortoiseshell, gold, caramel and warm brown shades; cool undertones in black, silver, grey, burgundy and blue. If you're not sure which you are, start with the what colours suit me guide and the piece on your personal colour palette.

The three most common mistakes

1. Buying a frame because it's trendy, not because of your face width — the fastest way to end up with glasses you keep taking off.
2. Ignoring your eyebrows: the eyebrow shouldn't be cut off by the top line of the frame. If it is, the frame is sitting too high.
3. Forgetting about makeup: bolder frames call for a more discreet eye. More on that in the piece on makeup for glasses.

A practical test at the optician's: photograph yourself in each frame from the front, without smiling, in daylight. Decide later, calmly — in the mirror you get used to a frame within 30 seconds and lose your objectivity.