Choosing the right set of eyeglass frames is more important than you might think. Not only do your frames say a lot about who you are, more importantly their goal is to soften strong features and highlight others. Growing up, you might have thought that all glasses cramped your style, but nowadays, glasses are very fashion forward and work to bring out your best facial qualities. But before you select the top trending frames, the first thing you need to know is the shape of your face, and from there all the magic begins.

As seen in the diagram above, there are many different face shapes, and facial features that eye glasses help to soften or accentuate.

An oval face is defined by balanced features with a chin slightly narrower than the forehead. This face shape can wear the widest variety of glasses, but the best frames would probably be square, rectangle or frames with an angle that would contrast the curves of your face. Although this face shape can wear the most diverse amount of frames, something to keep in mind when selecting frames are ones that are too small or too large. Those frames can throw off the natural balance of an oval shaped face.

A round face is defined by a circular shape where the width and length are almost equal, generally characterized by full cheeks, with a soft chin line and forehead. Choosing circular glasses would make the roundness of the face stand out even more, so it is best to contrast these features by selecting a pair of frames with strong angular shapes to create balance. The two rules of thumb are:

  1. The more angular your features the rounder your glasses should be.
  2. The more curved your features are, the more angled your frames should be.

That being said, square and rectangular shaped faces would be complimented by rounder or oval frames. Since a rectangular face is longer than it is wide, oversized glasses that are wider than your face will help even out the length. You should avoid wearing frames that are too small or too short, which might exaggerate the length of your face. Sometimes with a round or square face, people choose frames that sit a little higher their nose to make their face appear longer.

As you can see, there is more to selecting eyeglass frames than seeing your favorite celebrity wearing them and going out and getting them, because we all have different shaped faces. Hopefully these tips help and the next pair of frames you get will accentuate your best features.

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