How to Choose the Perfect Eyewear for Your Face Shape

What should you look for in your new eyewear?

To determine the answer, first ask yourself: What do I need my glasses for?

Reading, driving or both
Work or play

Our friendly staff at Midland Optical offer great attention in helping you select and personalize your glasses. When you are trying on frames, we look at these details to create your custom fit:

The frame is the appropriate size and proportion to your face
Your eyes are centered in the frame as much as possible
You have the top of the frame just under (or a pinkie width) down from your eyebrow
The shape will complement your features and facial shape
The colour will complement your skin tones and hair colour
The frame is the appropriate depth for the purpose needed, i.e. progressive lenses

Face Shapes

Faces are as different as people. Midland Optical carries a wide variety of frames in different shapes and colours. Women tend to prefer eyewear that softens their facial features, while men seek eyewear that emphasizes striking features.

Take a look at the five basic face shapes – which is closest to yours?

The Heart-Shaped Face

Characterized by a broad forehead and narrow chin, the heart-shaped face is best served by lenses that add a bit of weight to the lower half of the face. Choose deeper and oval shapes to emphasize the side of the face and balance the narrow chin.

Frames NOT suitable are butterfly shapes that pull down or triangular shapes that give the appearance of a longer chin.

The Narrow-Shaped Face

There are different criteria taken into consideration with a narrow, rectangular face. In this case a deeper lens shapes can achieve positive results as they compensate for the length of the face. The lower part can be oval or rounded.

The Oval-Shaped Face

Considered to be the ideal eyewear face, the upper and lower sections of the face are identical. These faces can usually wear any form or model.

The Square-Shaped Face

A square-shaped face has well-defined temple and jaw features wherein the height and width of the face are roughly the same. Glasses with round and oval lower frames and open upper frames suit this shape best, as well as glasses that are wider than the cheekbones.

Soft lens shapes minimize the dominance of the chin. Flatter lens shapes and delicate temples are ideal for square-shaped faces because they achieve a positive lengthening of the face.

The Round-Shaped Face

Eyewear that give the appearance of lengthening the face work best for faces with soft, round curves. It’s best to avoid round lenses and wear glasses with square lenses which have the effect of making the chin more pronounced.