Picking the Right Sunglasses for Your Face (and why the face shape method doesn't work)

 

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We often discuss the importance of nose pad height for comfort, but today, let’s focus on finding the right style for your face! And no, I'm not going to tell you to figure out what face shape you have.

Most eyewear guides will tell you to find your face shape to figure out which style of sunglasses looks good on you. But let's be real, most of us don't perfectly fit into one face shape.

Instead, we like to look at...

• Face Width
• Face Length
• Facial Contour
• Brow Line

There are no hard and fast rules in sunglasses, but for a pair that's versatile and easy to wear for many occasions, go for balance, symmetry, and proportion. Here's how.

Face Width: 

 

 

Starting off with face width—if your sunglasses are too wide or too narrow, they will hurt your temples or slip off your face, no matter how tall we make the nose pads.

To find a pair for comfort and style, choose a pair that is around the same width as your temples or slightly wider, depending on your preference.

To determine the right width:

1. Use a ruler (easier than a measuring tape) to measure the width of your temple in millimeters.
2. Compare this measurement with the frame width of the sunglasses. This measurement may not be printed on the frames but is often available on the brand’s website. We provide the frame width on the website for every pair we offer. :)
3. If the frame width isn’t available, you can find a series of three numbers inside the frames, typically formatted as XX-XX-XXX. The first number represents lens width, the second number is bridge width, and the third number is temple length.
4. Multiply the first number by two, then add the second number to estimate the frame width. Compare this estimate to the measurement of your temples to see if it’s a good match.

Face Length: 

 

Look at the length of your face and pay special attention to the cheeks (the distance from the bottom of your eyes to the top of your mouth). Generally, the longer the face you have, the longer lenses you want for a more balanced look. The shorter the face and cheeks, the shorter you want the lenses.

Find a pair where the bottom of the lenses hits around the 1/3 to 1/2 mark. Shorter cheeks? Stay around the 1/3 mark. Longer cheeks? Go to the halfway mark.

Facial Contours:

 

Facial contours refer to how sharp or soft your facial features are, which depend on your bone structure, muscle tone, and fat distribution, etc.

So if you take a step back in the mirror and look at the lines on your face, your lines might be round, soft, and curved or angular, hard and straight. Most people have a mix of both, but you can generally tell which way you lean. Here, we want contrast. 

Rounder features? Avoid very round frames. Sharper features? Avoid very angular frames.

Brow Line:

 

Let those brows show! And the key is to have the top of the frames roughly follow your eyebrow shape. 

Have downwardly sloped brows? Go for frames that slope down at the end. Straight brows? Go for flatter top frames. Rounded and arched brows? Go for sunglasses with rounder and deeper top frames. 

Conclusion:

Again, these are not hard and fast rules. In fact, celebrities break these rules all the time. But if you want an easy-to-grab pair that works for many occasions, you want to consider these guidelines because they will help you achieve balance, symmetry, and proportion.

In summary, you want to look for sunglasses that cover the below red area (we call it the "safe zone") of the face, go against your facial contour, and follow your brow line.