You’re an online shopping master and don’t think twice about buying jeans with a simple click “buy” while sipping chai latte at your favourite weekend café. But you’ve yet to climb the Everest that is buying sunglasses or specs without first trying them up close and personal? If this is you, here are some tips for how to successfully buy sunglasses online, even the really $$$ ones.
The trick is to figure out your face shape, and then find frames that contrast that shape because opposites attract (aka tend to be the most flattering). Using this expert (Anna Wintour) approved logic, here are our suggestions.
Oval face – An oval face is longer than is it wide, with a gently curved forehead and jawline. The proportions of your face appear perfectly balanced, which means most frame shapes will be flattering. So have some fun and experiment with rectangular frames like Kate, Princess of Wales) or a 90s vibe with square or Ray-Ban Clubmaster Classic. You could also choose frames that are as wide or slightly wider than your cheekbones in bold or oversized shapes. The sharp angles provide contrast to your soft features.
Round face - A round face is prettily curved and is about as long as it is wide. Do not choose a frame that is wider than your cheekbones, stay inside the width of your face; and avoid frames that are too deep, they will swamp your face. Rather than rounded shapes which would make your face look wider, add some angles with a rectangular or square frame which balances the features and brings a more structured shape. A slightly upswept frame (cat's eye) can be flattering as it lifts the face adding contours and effectively slimming it down.
The round face shape and flattering frame styles are like Oval as both face shapes are a curved shape. The main difference being that a round face is not as long as Oval. As such, avoid glasses frames that are overlarge, as they will overpower your features.
Square and Rectangular faces – With both these face shapes, you have great symmetry that can take confident and bold styles. It's best to avoid glasses that are rectangular or square as adding more angles to your already strong face may make your face look too wide and rigid. Create contrast to the straight lines of your face by choosing dark coloured frames, as the lightly coloured ones will get lost on your face.
Oval and rounded shapes are good to offset the angular features and balance the strong jawline. This breaks the square and helps to make the face look longer. Don't add to the width of your face so ensure that the glasses stay within the width of your face. Go for frames with soft, thin lines and curves. Round and cat’s eye styles soften the jawline, emphasise your eyes, and help to lengthen the nose.
Heart Shaped faces – A pretty heart shaped face sweeps down from a wide forehead towards a quite pointed chin. The idea is to add volume to the lower half of your face which is much narrower than your forehead.
Rectangular frames like Wayfarers work well for a heart face shape and glasses because the tapered lenses draw attention away from the cheeks and create balance. They are a design classic popularised initially by the Blues Brothers and Tom Cruise in Top Gun. A pair of thin metal frames with a teardrop design like Aviators, draw the eye downwards and flatten the bottom part of your face. A lighter frame, in any case, keeps a small face and features from looking too heavy.
Avoid cat’s eye styles as they sweep upwards and add volume to the top of the face rather than to the lower half. Aviators are the perfect style as the lower half adds bulk to the slender chin.
Oblong faces – Oblong faces are long, with long straight lines that draw into a soft curve at the jawline. The main factor is to avoid small shallow frames which will make your face appear longer. A deeper frame will offset the length of your face. Bold or oversized frames are the most flattering on oblong faces. Squarish glasses that are slightly wider than your cheekbones will help to make your face appear broader and complement your features.
Alternatively, you might choose something more feminine with cat’s eye upswept corners or decorative detail to emphasize the cheekbones and add some width. Two toned glasses can also create an optical illusion as the different colours or textures draw focus upwards to your eyes rather than to the length of your face.