Whether you have been wearing glasses for a long time or are preparing for your first pair, deciding on your new glasses can be a stressful situation. You don’t want to be unhappy with the glasses frames you selected. The eyeglass frame style you decide on will be a big reason for how happy you are with your new pair. 

When buying eyeglasses, it’s not just about correcting your vision, but also about loving the way you look and making a statement about who you are. Whether you want a more business-professional look, something with an artistic flair, or something more simple and unassuming, you’ll have countless options to choose from.

Choosing the right eyeglass frames comes down to your needs and preferences. We’ll go over how to determine what kind of glasses you should get, and also take a look at some classic styles and who they might be right for.

How to Choose the Correct Frames for Your Face

Choosing the right eyeglass frames comes down to your needs and preferences. First, we’ll talk about what elements of your face might impact your decision.

Face Shape

Understanding your face shape is one of the most crucial factors in determining what style of frames to buy. Most people either have a round face, a square face, an oval face, a heart-shaped face, or a diamond face. Your face shape is determined by your cheekbones, forehead width, and jawline length. One rule of thumb is to try to choose a frame shape that is opposite to your face shape — so if you have a round face, try to choose square glasses and vice versa.

Skin Tone

Choosing glasses frames is like picking out clothes. You would typically buy clothing that looks best with your skin tone, and that same line of thinking applies to glasses. While there’s no exact answer to this, there are some general guidelines. If you have a warmer skin tone, you’re better off with olive, honey, beige, and light tortoise colors. If you have a cooler skin tone, you should look at frames that are black, silver, pink, purple, or gray. At the end of the day, your personal style preference is the most important part. All that matters is that you’re happy with your choice of prescription glasses.

Popular Eyeglass Frame Styles

From cat-eye frames to round spectacles, here are some of today’s most popular eyeglass frame styles.

Cat-eye Frames

Made popular by icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, cat-eye glasses have upward-sweeping corners and can be a great pick for many spectacle wearers. This timeless type of frame can work with many face shapes, so they can be a great option for nearly anybody. Cat-eye frames can slim down wider faces, emphasize the eyebrow line on those with diamond-shaped faces, and pull the eyes upward for those with triangular-shaped faces. They also look great on those with balanced, oval faces. Cat-eye frames are an extremely youthful style and can serve as an instant facelift for those who wish to look a little younger. These frames make a bold statement and may not be best suited for everybody. Look elsewhere if you are looking for something more simple.

Rimless Frames

If you want your glasses to blend into your face more, and look as if you're not wearing glasses, the rimless style might be your best option. Without the rims to punctuate and call attention to the lenses, rimless glasses tend to blend in with your face and allow your eyes to shine. The lack of rims can also make these frames feel lighter on your face and make it easier to forget that you are wearing them. Rimless glasses may not be for everyone. Someone who needs a strong prescription for nearsightedness, for example, needs especially thick lenses. Without the rim to hide some of the lens profile, this style would only accentuate the size and thickness of the lenses. By going rimless, you also lose some valuable protection for your glasses.

Aviator Frames

These classic teardrop-shaped glasses were originally developed for pilots. The large lenses gave them a clearer view of the instrument panels. Most people will like how these uniquely-shaped glasses look on their faces, though they look especially good if you have an angular face with well-defined cheekbones or a sharp jaw. Another positive is that the longer lens offers additional area for clear vision, provided your lenses have a single correction. With all that being said, aviator frames may not be suitable if you want progressive lenses or bifocals. The area at the bottom where the reading prescription would go might be too narrow.

Round Frames

Round frames are the most classic style. This style tracks back to the 13th century when glasses were first invented. While round frames have a retro style, it’s a style that is very much in fashion today. For those with thick lenses, round or oval shape frames are an excellent choice for minimizing the profile of your lenses. In addition, round frames go well with many face shapes, including diamond-shaped faces. They can also bring some soft curves to a square-shaped face. However, if you have a round face, then round frames might not work well for you.