How to Choose Glasses for Your Face Shape

Frame shapes that balance each face shape

Use these as starting points, not strict rules.

• Round: Your face is about as wide as it is long, with soft curves and a rounded jaw. Rectangular and square frames add definition, and frames a bit wider than they are tall make your face look longer. Small round frames tend to repeat the roundness.
• Oval: Your face is a little longer than it is wide, with balanced proportions. Most shapes work. Keep the frame about as wide as the widest part of your face, and pick a style with some depth so it doesn’t look lost.
• Square: You have a strong, angular jaw and a broad forehead. Round, oval and soft-cornered frames ease those angles. Thinner rims keep the look from getting heavy.
• Heart: Your forehead is wider than your chin. Frames that are a little wider at the bottom, light rimless or semi-rimless styles, and rounded or aviator shapes balance a wider brow. Heavy detail along the top line adds width where you already have it.
• Diamond: Your cheekbones are the widest part of your face, with a narrower forehead and jaw. Cat-eye, oval and browline frames add width at the brow and show off your cheekbones. Very narrow frames can make your cheekbones look wider.
• Oblong: Your face is noticeably longer than it is wide. Taller frames with deeper lenses, a defined top line and decorative or contrasting temples add width and shorten the look. Small, shallow frames tend to make a long face look longer.

Most faces are a mix

Few people fit one category neatly. You might have a round face with a pointed chin, or an oval face with a strong jaw. That’s normal. Pick the one or two features you notice first, and use the matching advice as a guide rather than a rule.

Personal style counts too. Plenty of people with round faces wear round frames and look great, because the size, color and rim thickness are right. If a frame makes you smile in the mirror, it’s worth a second look even if a chart says otherwise.

Fit and proportion matter more than rules

A frame in the right shape still looks off if it’s the wrong size. A few proportions do most of the work:

• Width: The frame should be about as wide as your face at the temples, with no big gap at the sides and no temple arms bowing outward.
• Brow line: The top of the frame should roughly follow your eyebrows rather than sit far above them or cut through them.
• Eye position: Your eyes should sit near the center of each lens, not crowded toward the nose or the outer edge.
• Scale: Bold features can carry thicker rims and larger lenses. Finer features often look better with thinner rims and a smaller frame.

Your eye doctor and optician can tell you which lens options suit your prescription and whether a larger or smaller frame works better with them.

Try frames on with our team

Charts only go so far. Seeing frames on your own face, in good light, settles most questions in a few minutes. At Aesthetic Eye Care in San Luis Obispo, our eye care team can help you choose frames that best fit the size and shape of your face.

Our selection includes designer frames, sport and active eyewear, and eco-friendly frames made from recycled materials. Call (805) 439-1010 or request an appointment online, and bring your current glasses.