Frame Selection
Frame Measurements
An eyeglass frame has four essential frame sizes (i.e., eye, vertical, bridge and temple see illustration) as follows:
- Eye Size: The eye size is the horizontal width in millimeters of the lens.
- Vertical Size (B): The vertical size (B) is the vertical height of an eyeglass’s lens.
- Bridge Size: The bridge size is the measurement of the distance in millimeters between the two lenses.
- Temple Size: The temple size is measured along the length of the temple, from one end to the other, including the bend.
Frame Selection Guidelines
Matching Eyeglass Frames to Face Shapes
According to The Vision Council there are seven basic face shapes: round, oval, oblong, base-down triangle, base-up triangle, diamond and square. Follow these guidelines:
- Round Face: A round face has curved lines with the width and length in the same proportions and no angles. To make a round face appear narrower and longer, select angular narrow eyeglass frames to lengthen the face, a clear bridge that widens the eyes, and frames that are wider than they are deep, such as a rectangular shape.
- Oval Face: An oval face with a rounded chin and forehead is believed to be the ideal shape because of its balanced proportions. To keep the oval’s natural balance, look for eyeglass frames that are as wide as (or wider than) the broadest part of the face, or walnut-shaped frames that are not too deep or too narrow.
- Oblong Face: An oblong face is longer than it is wide and has a long straight cheek line and sometimes a longish nose. To make an oblong face appear shorter and more balanced, select frames that have more depth than width, decorative or contrasting temples that add width to the face, or a low bridge to shorten the nose.
- Base-Down Triangle Face: A base-down triangular face has a narrow forehead and widens at the cheek and chin areas. To add width and emphasize the narrow upper third of the face, select frames that are heavily accented with color and detailing on the top half or cat-eye shapes.
- Base-Up Triangle Face: This face has a very wide top third and small bottom third. To minimize the width of the top of the face, select frames that are wider at the bottom, very light colors and materials and rimless frame styles (which have a light, airy effect because the lenses are simply held in place by a few screws, with no surrounding frame material).
- Diamond Face: Diamond-shaped faces are narrow at the eye line and jawline and have broad cheekbones that may be high and dramatic. This is the rarest face shape. To highlight the eyes and soften the cheekbones, try frames that have detailing or distinctive brow lines, or try rimless frames or oval and cat-eye shapes.
- Square Face: A square face has a strong jawline and a broad forehead, plus the width and length are in the same proportions. To make a square face look longer and soften the angles, select narrow frame styles, frames that have more width than depth, and narrow ovals. Avoid square framed styles. However, if your face shape is more rectangular than large, square frames could help your face to appear shorter.
Matching Eyeglass Frames to Face Colors
The Vision Council’s three keys to color analysis are:
- All people have either cool (blue-based) or warm (yellow-based) coloring.
- Everyone looks best in his or her own color base.
- Eyewear color should complement personal coloring.
Matching Eyeglass Frames to Skin Undertones
The main factors that determine the best color palette are the colors of the skin, eyes, and hair, as follows:
- Skin: Skin tone is the prime element in determining coloring. All complexions fall into one of two color bases – blue (cool) or yellow (warm). A cool complexion has blue or pink undertones, and a warm complexion has a “peaches and cream” or yellow cast. Olive skin is considered cool because it is a mixture of blue and yellow.
- Eyes: Eye colors usually are a secondary element in determining coloring because of the many variations of eye color. For example, blue eyes can range from a cool almost-violet to a pale blue gray, which is warm. Brown eyes can vary from a light cider shade (warm) through a medium brown to a cool almost black.
- Hair: Hair colors also are considered warm or cool. Strawberry blond, platinum, blue-black, white, auburn, salt-and-pepper and ash brown are cool. Warm hair colors include golden blond, brownish black, brown gold, “carrot”, and “dirty” gray.
Based on your analysis:
- Frame colors best for warm coloring are camel, khaki, gold, copper, peach, orange, coral, off-white, fire-engine red, warm blue and blond tortoise.
- Frame colors best for cool coloring are black, silver, rose-brown, blue-gray, plum, magenta, pink, jade, blue and demi-amber (darker) tortoise.
More Eyeglass Frame Selection Tips
Some additional tips in selecting your eyewear frame:
- Select a frame that makes your face look oval.
- The top part of the frame should follow the shape of the eyebrow.
- If you have a long nose, then a frame with a low bridge will help to shorten the appearance of it.
- If you have fair hair, then consider transparent or softer color frames.
- If you have dark hair, then you can consider darker colored and more spectacular frames.
- Focus on comfort and the both the bridge and the arms should be neither too tight nor too loose.
- Plastic eyeglass frames are lightweight, versatile, and cost-effective.
- Metal eyeglass frames are durable and, depending on the metal, can be extremely light.
- If you need high prescription eyeglasses, then choose a small frame.