Ask Angie: clarification on your "perfect frames" blog post

I was wondering if you could help me. I'm going to pick out new glasses tomorrow. I browsed your blog posts and sure enough, I found one on choosing the perfect frames. I'm a little fuzzy on this point:

"Frames MUST LIFT: I cannot stress this point enough. Specs look best when they lift the cheek and eye area at the bottom outside corners of the frames upwards. If they don’t, your facial features look like they’re drooping which is unattractive. So be wary of the vertical height of the style. It’s awfully unflattering if it’s too high or sags downwards."

When you say the frames "must lift", do you mean the frames themselves must lift upwards at the outside corners, or that they must make the face appear to be lifted? And when you say watch the vertical height of the style, do you mean how far above your eyes the frames go? Like, should they reach your eyebrows?

I'm a bit of a newbie to glasses. I've had some for distance since eight grade, but I've got such a weak prescription that I don't really need them for much besides reading an overhead projector from the back of a lecture theatre (something I haven't had to do for quite some time!). The last time I picked out glasses was at least ten years ago. I want better ones. Even if I don't wear them much, I'd like to not look like an amateur.

14 years ago

fashionista

Veteran

Well as I have heard, round face should choose square/rectangular shaped frame and vice versa. I also wear specs so maybe further suggestions from YLFers would also help me out.

Astrid

Elisabeth, as I understand it a particular frame can both lift or look droop-ey on different people. I think it all depends on your face! When I searched for new frames last summer I had a difficult time finding frames that lift, but I instantly understood what Angie was talking about the moment I tried MY specs on.

Here's the thread where I asked Angie about her "perfect frames" blog post:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-new-specs
You can see my old frames there.

Here on the second page are the frames I got:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-ii/page/2

Doro

Active Member

I've been wearing glasses since second grade and have gotten a new pair about every two to four years (eyes getting worse, a great excuse for a new frame!). I've had the experience that most people around me don't notice a new pair when they really flatter me. Meaning: I still have to look like "me" in them. So besides "you'll see what droopy means when you try them on" I can pretty much only give you the advice that the perfect frame doesn't mess with your facial features but makes you look like yourself, i.e. you don't suddenly think "my eyebrows are hidden", "my eyes look sad", "my nose looks tiny", "my eyes are not that narrow", "my face is really not that wide, is it" and so on. I hope that makes sense!

Also, remember pupillary distance, because frames look best when the eyes are centered in the frame. And here is a video by Imogen of InsideOutStyleBlog.com on how to choose flattering glasses that might help you, too.

If you're unsure about a frame, or if there are several you like, why don't you snap quick pictures of them and post them here? I've seen a few YLFers do that in this forum I'm sure everyone will be excited to help and choose new glasses. Have fun!

ETA: Astrid, just looked at your threads - what an improvement! Not that the old glasses were not good, but the new ones are PERFECT!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Elisabeth, Astrid has explained the concept perfectly!

Have fun

Diana

Astrid is right, it all depends on the particulars of your own face structure.. I would add that it also matters how the glasses sit on your face. So, for example, I have a very shallow bone structure (typical for my ethnicity) with a super flat nose bridge and shallow cheekbones. That means that glasses don't sit very high on my face, and they tend to slide down and even touch my cheeks a little bit. So I can't wear very tall frames because they come like halfway down my cheek, which is obviously very droopy! I also have a wide upper part of my face with far-apart and kind of small eyes, so I like shapes that minimize that. My favorite shape, hands down, is a wide cat-eye, because the upward swoop of the cat-eye adds vertical lift and the shape makes the upper part of my face appear less wide. A thicker frame also helps mask the fact that my eyes are far apart and small.

I've never found a pair of specs that are too high on my face, so I can't help you there!

Aziraphale

Thank you thank you thank you! Your answers are all very helpful.

I already have a clear idea of the sort of vibe I'm going for -- I want the nerdy-chic look -- but there are lots of different shapes of glasses that fall under the nerdy-chic umbrella! I've done some preliminary trying-on of glasses by myself, and it's true that the good ones stand out right away. I wasn't analyzing them, though; it was more like, "urgh, fugly", or "oh, those sort of work". After reading Angie's blog post and your responses, I have a clearer idea of WHY certain glasses work.

Doro, what you say about glasses not emphasizing any one part of your face in a bad way, but instead making you look like you, makes perfect sense to me. That's what I'm looking for.

Today I'm meeting my husband for lunch and bringing him with me (we both need new glasses) to get his opinion.

Thanks again!

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