The Guide to Buying the Perfect Glasses for Face Shapes

Falling into a new look routine booking eye exams for the family and finding new frames. There you are in FYidoctors, prescription in-hand, standing in front of a wide selection of frames. Where does anyone in the family begin? The answer is in the mirror: their face shape can narrow down your search! If you’re still unsure, our experienced FYi team members are always there to help you understand your face shape and choose the best eyewear for you.

We assembled a guide to decoding face shapes and frames (damond face shapes, heart shape face, oval square face shape etc). It is crucial to remember that this is a starting point for your selection, and should not overrule style, personality or comfort. A crucial thing is to wear your eyewear as much as possible so you can benefit from clear vision – and this is one way (not the only way!) to encourage wear. Here’s how to choose the right glasses frame according to your face shape.

Find your face shape.

While this isn’t a tried-and-true rule, getting to know your face shape can help you find the perfect frame for everyone in the family. The trick is to focus on these three areas of the face: the widest part (cheeks, jaw, forehead), the jawline (Round? Square? Tapered/pointy?) and the overall length of the face (short or long).

The next step is examining the proportions of your face. If your face is longer than it is wide, you’re more of an oval. If you are as long as you are wide, then you might be square. If that doesn’t help, you can always take a portrait of each family member and trace the shape over it.

Here is our face shape guide:

Round:

Like a square-shaped face, the forehead, jawline, and cheeks are the same, only the angles are much softer.

Oval:

The proportions of the face are even throughout, with occasional narrowing at the chin and forehead.

Square:

The face is wide as it is long. The sides are straight, and the jawline is slightly angled.

Diamond:

This face shape is pointed at the chin, has higher-set cheekbones and a narrower hairline.

Heart:

The chin tends to be narrower than the forehead.

Triangle:

The inverse of the heart shape, the triangle has a broader jaw and a narrow forehead.

No one has a perfectly round or square face, but the point is to identify the wider and narrower parts. That is what will be helpful during the frame selection.

See our frame shape recommendations

You’ve figured out everyone’s face shape, so how do find the right frame styles? Consider how the frame works with the proportions of your face.

Round:

The best glasses for round faces will be angular frames, which complement the softer edges of the face. Good frame styles would be rectangle, square, geometric and cat-eye frames. If you have full cheeks, then you can especially go bold with thick acetate frames!

Oval:

Because the proportions of the face are even, this face shape can pull of any frame style. If you have high cheekbones, be sure to fit the frame to the widest part of the face. The perfect glasses for oval faces are any style.

Square:

A similar logic applied to the round face shape works here. For the square shape, we want to work with the sharper lines of the face by adding a softer shape, which is why the best glasses for square faces are round, oval, wire and cat-eye frames.

Diamond:

We want to draw the attention to the center of face, and we can do that with frames that have bolder brow lines. When choosing glasses, try semi-rimless, cat-eye, or oval frames.

Heart:

To balance out the wider part of the face – the forehead – you want a frame that’s slightly wider or accented at the bottom. When choosing frames, try rectangular, angular, aviator, or rounder styles.

Triangle:

We recommend rectangle, cateye, square and aviator.

Choosing your perfect pair

Your style, your way. This guide is a template; not a strict rule book! The takeaway is to ensure that the frame is working for the wearer. Ideally, you should think about the frame and its fit. But ultimately, you are the one wearing the glasses (and we want you wearing them)!

Looking for more tips on finding glasses? We have more tips here.