To follow up on the Before & After Challenge thread as well as Angie's guest post on Corporette, here's my attempt to illustrate my grasp of Angie's tips on finding stylish glasses frames, as seen through my "before and after" versions of bronze, rectangular metal frames:

#1-2: The "before" specs: Bronze metal frames purchased pre-YLF and photographed here shortly after I joined the forum. Bronze, rectangular, little diamonds at the temple, a small texturized design on the sidearms.
#3-4: The "after" specs: Titanium frames purchased just last week. A sort of green-ish bronze color with a bright, light green inner color. There is a cutout detail on the sidearms.

Now, the "before" pair weren't awful, but they weren't fantastic or "killer" either. They were a bit narrow for my face, and a bit too squared off for my eyebrow shape. They don't totally "droop" at the cheekbone, exactly, but they don't really "lift" my face, either. I realized after I'd had these for a year that I'm not really a "blingy" girl - diamonds/sparkle just isn't me. Also, the frames just seemed to blend in. I rather like my eyes, and I prefer them to be a focal point when I'm wearing specs, and these glasses just didn't do it.
Additionally, the frames were rather heavy, and the nose pads pinched. After purchasing these glasses several years ago, I've stuck to plastic frames only.

...that is, until this month, when I tried the titanium frames pictured in #3-4 (Orgreen Pussycat). They are super light-weight. The nose pads were adjusted perfectly by the optical sales assistant, and cause no discomfort. They are wide enough to suit both my enormous "temples of doom" as well as my pupillary distance. The cutout detail at an angle on the sidearms sweeps upwards toward my cheekbone, and the curve of the top of the frame follows my eyebrow arch better than my older pair. The contrasting lighter, inner color brings more light and attention towards my eyes, and also creates greater contrast between my eye color and the glasses frames - they don't blend into my face, but rather are a standout (and a nice contrast to the red hair.) Plus, I think it's just wicked cool that the lens "floats" at the side of the frame.

So... to make a long story short, I'm a titanium spectacle convert. Total surprise!

(Gah! I didn't realize this turned into such a ridiculously long post. Sorry!)