Question for those with glasses - YouLookFab Forum

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Question for those with glasses

nemosmom

Veteran

Last year I discovered that windy winter weather and contact lenses are not a good mix. I have been wearing glasses daily, but my beloved LAEyewear frames (bought in 2007) are on their last leg and I have been trying to replace them since summer.

I am having a tough time finding an exact size replacement in a style I like, so I am expanding my search to include other sizes. I have been to three different opticians to be fitted; every one has given me a different "ideal" frame size measurement.

If I use measurements of my current pair (47-17-140) to narrow down selection of new frames, does it matter if I move up or down by a mm or two in the lens? Does the bridge size need to stay at 17 to keep them from slipping?

Thanks in advance for any tips. I can't bear to drive into the city this close to Christmas, and I've exhausted the selection in my dinky suburb.

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27 replies

Latest reply was from Kari

Helena

Veteran

*bump*

Gretchen

Veteran

Glasses measurements are super confusing to me... but here are a couple thoughts to help you scope it.

Do your current glasses have nose pads? Does that matter to you? I have pairs with and without. I find the pairs w pads are a little more stable, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

If you increase the lens width, you may need to decrease bridge size. The goal is for your eyes to be roughly centered in the lenses. (Although, we are talking 2-3mm here, not sure someone would really notice?)

Show us what you're looking at, I love seeing how people choose their glasses!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Now there’s aggravation you don’t need this time of year! Does it work to wear the glasses when you’re outside, then pop the lenses in once you get to the office?

I know nothing about these measurements, but I would think the reason for your eyes to be centered in the lenses isn’t purely cosmetic; the lenses are cut so that’s where your vision can be best. 2-3 mm doesn’t sound like much, in terms of our daily lives, but as an eye surgeon, my dad measured his work in tenths of a millimeter.

Good luck with this!

Gaylene

Veteran

I’ve always found “ideal” measurements for frames to be just a starting point. Eyewear is constantly evolving as new shapes, styles, and materials come onto the market. The materials incorporated in my 2019 frames are worlds away from the plastics and metals used in my older frames.

I’d use this opportunity to expand your search. For what it’s worth, I vowed NEVER to wear frames with nose pads, but just like all my other fashion “I wouldn’t...” statements, I’ve had to recant. My current luminous metal frames are the best fitting glasses I’ve ever owned and the most interesting to boot. My advice would be to try on anything that strikes your fancy and keep an open mind. Oh, and listen to others when they excitedly say”hey, that looks good...” instead of automatically rejecting something as “not me”.

Runcarla

Veteran

The optometrist I’m working with says there is a little wiggle room like +/- 2 mm. The lenses are usually configured once you’ve actually got your frames sorted. There does have to be a certain size ( big/deep enough) to accommodate a prescription that is bifocals or trifocals (progressives).

Personally, I find the nose area most key to comfort with 16 or 17 non negotiable. The lense 49-51. Arms 135-140 (these can be heated up and bent to fit comfortably.)

nemosmom

Veteran

Thank you, TG!!

Gretchen - my current pair does not have nose pads. I am not against them (my aviator sunnies have them), but I think my current pair is comfy. I don’t know if 2-3mm makes much difference, but I do know 52 makes them too wide!

Here are my current pair (pic 1-2) now discontinued. They are olive in the front and teal inside. I found a similar-ish colorway in Vera Wang (V009-pic 3), but they are taller and wider (not by much) and more oval in shape.

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nemosmom

Veteran

These (downthread in comments) are the smallest ones available at our local optical shop; both felt huge on my face. I didn't buy either one. Lenscrafters had kids frames that looked ok (not great), but the arms/temples are too short.

FI - I wish! I work from home, so I don't really have an end destination where I could put them in. Thanks for the luck! I could use some (and some patience!)

Thanks, Gaylene! I am open to just about anything at this point! I would take anything that would allow me to split wears with my current ones (I love them so!) Styles have really changed since I bought mine, too!

Carla - that's interesting about 16 or 17 for comfort. I wondered if that was the one measurement I shouldn't compromise on. Like, would an 18 slip and a 16 pinch? Logic tells me yes but, if no, then I shouldn't limit my search.

Glasses shopping is

madeline

Veteran

Not sure where you live but Warby Parker will ship frames to you to try on.
Also framesdirect has a good explanation of eyewear measurements on their website.
Good luck - glasses shopping is difficult.

Diana

Veteran

It very, very much depends on your specific face/bone structure. For me, the bridge siZe almost doesn’t matter because my nose bridge is so low and flat that no glasses actually sit on my bridge anyway. But the lens width is very important for me because my eyes are far apart and my face is wide, so anything less than around 52 will look too small on me.

(Another thing to note, though, is that certain styles, like cat eyes, are actually a bit wider than the lens width would indicate because of the shape of the frame.)

Kari

Veteran

There is some wiggle room. I have several pairs so FWIW I’m going to try to find their measurements in case this is helpful. This is based on what’s available online. Images show how each fit me.

1. 54-15-135 Plastic, no nose pads
2. 56-18-140 Titanium and plastic arms, nose pads
3. 55-18-146 Titanium, nose pads
4. 55-16-140 Plastic, no nose pads.
5. 53-16-145 Titanium, nose pads

(Edited to add my oldest pair from 2011, because the measurements were hard to find online!)

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karen13

Veteran

Kari has the best glasses. That super useful to see the differences! I am struggling with fit/weight issues on my current pair.

Be sure the frame/lens combo you pick is light enough for extended wear comfort. My frames have recently started leaving big marks and even irritation on my nose - not sure why they were fine for a year. But I weighed them and they are a good bit heavier that my old pair that I’m am turning to for relief.

Bijou

Veteran

Commiserations, glasses shopping is the absolute worst thing for me too. This is mainly because of my very strong prescription and lack of interesting frames available locally. If you have a lower prescription, it gives you much more opportunity to play with larger and wider frames. For me, the recent trend to large frames has made finding anything smaller much more difficult. I like cats eye frames because they cut away at the sides and hence the lenses can are less thick at the lower part of the frame.

My current frames are below, by Tiffany. I liked the pearl white colour which was a change from my previous dark frames.

View Info

Kari

Veteran

And I have to thank you for this, because I’ve never paid attention to or compared my measurements like this. I need to save this info for my future reference!

I’ve always bought my glasses by shopping in person (very slowly; every few months I’ll visit boutiques even if I’m not looking for new glasses and try stuff on; it gives me an idea of what I like and what brands to target. And every once in a while I find a real gem and spend a few months hemming and hawing over whether to purchase them. This “collection” above ranges from almost 5 years old to less than 1 month old.)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I don't wear specs any more (except sunnies) but I wore them for years. Much depends on the shape of your face/ bridge, as others have said. You will have more or less wiggle room depending on those factors and the complexity of your prescription/ weight of lenses. I have a relatively small bridge and my prescription was also very high, so it was very difficult for me to find a specs that did not slide down my nose. (Very irritating). Nose pads sometimes helped and sometimes did not. A narrow bridge with a wider frame tended to work best on me (my eyes are quite widely spaced) and typically a 15 bridge was my best bet -- but some 16s might also work (or 14s, if I could find...) but I could go wider or narrower in the lens depending on shape and depth. You want your eye to be centred. Angie has some great info about what to look for in the blog archives.

Kari

Veteran

Bijou, I have a strong prescription, and with my titanium specs like the purple ones above, my lenses stick out a bit (I’m very nearsighted.) The optician shaped and polished the edge of the lens so that they don’t look like they are awkwardly sticking out from the frame. (This is with a high index lens.) I know with certain very strong prescriptions some frames won’t make that possible, but there are some workarounds that I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t visited an optician who really knew their stuff. Unless you’re looking at my specs from exactly 90 degrees, the glasses look nice and rather delicate, not like coke bottle lenses, but in real life they are pretty thick at the edge.

P.S. your white specs are lovely!

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Jenni NZ

Veteran

Well I have learned something from this thread! I had no idea about the measurements even though I have worn glasses every day since age 11 apart from approximately 5 years of contacts from 25-30.
I always pick what seems right at the time and last time the fashion was for big frames ( in the 90s) I can’t believe now how they overwhelmed my small face. I have been on a vague hunt for some more frames since April when I had an eye check-up but despite lots of trying on I didn’t like anything much

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Just looked: 52-17-135. This might really help me NM- sorry I am no help to you but thank you!

notsaf

Veteran

Karen and all -- You can take your glasses into any shop to get a "tune up" every so often, especially if they start to feel uncomfortable. A good technician will be able to adjust the arms so they fit well: glasses do bend and stretch as we wear them!

Seconding what Kari demonstrated above about high index plastics x side polishing meaning we don't need to worry so much about the coke bottle look for most prescriptions these days!

Nemosmom - If you have Ray-Ban aviators that you like, one idea would be to reuse them for optical frames, as I did earlier this year! They are a real *look* but one that you might enjoy, and I find them really comfortable. This pic of Christine Barberich and Elaine Welteroth was my inspo. (Extra points since I didn't need to buy new frames!)

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kkards

Veteran

gosh, i've been wearing glasses daily for 25 years and i have no idea what the measurements are~need to ask the next time. i've found that really good glasses shops will steer me to glasses that come in both the size that i need and a shape that will fit me. i'll also add, that it took me almost a year of shopping to find my current pair.

nemosmom

Veteran

Wow! Thank you everyone for your input!

madeline - Yes! I have tried Warby Parker, Zenni, and Eyebuydirect. Thank you for the FramesDirect info! I will poke around there next.

Diana - good points to consider! Thank you!

Kari - what an enviable collection you have! Thank you for posting measurements along with photos - that is so helpful! I have shopped around in person, but feel overwhelmed with so much selection. I figure there has to be a way to analytically overthink this, like I do with most things I figure if I can pinpoint a few online THEN go see them in person, I might have an easier time of it.

karen - sorry to hear your frames are bothering you! I finally located a SALT retailer who would order frames for me to try. (The closest one wouldn't order unless I had an an eye exam with their optometrist!!) I tried (and kind of liked) this one in Rose Quartz, and have it coming in Tea and Dragonfly to try. Thank you for the rec!

Bijou - thank you! I bet your pearl colored ones are gorgeous with your coloring!

Suz - YES! Good stuff in the blog archives about shape, color, and contrast! This was the first post I bookmarked when I got stuck on my search in the spring. It helped give me a good idea of shapes to start with!

Jenni - glad to help! Good luck with your search! Keep us posted on what you end up with!

notsaf - I hadn't thought of using aviators as my daily wear glasses! Interesting... thanks for the tip!

kkards - the measurement is usually stamped on the inside of your arm piece. Or, if you have a metal bridge, it will be there in teeny tiny print. You will see some letters followed by numbers like 47-17-135. The letters are often the name of the model or style, and the numbers are the measurement.

It's funny, the shop where I bought my current glasses took all kinds of measurements before showing me frames. Recently, not a single shop has done that.... My last experience was just them grabbing ones and handing to me to try. The saleslady was SO excited about the two I posted about earlier this summer - and both clearly looked wrong on me.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Count me as another who has absolutely no idea what my measurements are. But I always struggle to find the right frames as I have a small face and head but large features. I need nose pads because otherwise the frames slide down my nose and/or sit on my cheeks. And these days I’m into a less obtrusive style with thin frames. I absolutely have to go into a shop and try things on. I suspect that two different styles in the same measurements might work differently. When I was looking for new frames for my first progressive lenses a couple of months ago, I decided to expand my search beyond the less than huge selection at the closest optometrist, where I have bought my glasses for many years. Instead I went to a great shop in the next closest city, which has a funkier clientele and more selection. I ended up with a fairly expensive frame but I love them! So I feel like it’s worth the effort to do a little traveling to find options you can try on, on the spot, especially if you are hard to fit and picky like me! LOL Good luck in your search!

Runcarla

Veteran

@nemosmom - You are doing a lot of leg work for me! Our colouring is similar, though yours is more vibrant. I’m going to ask the optometrist about the Elizabeth and James frames you messaged me about. The only online source I found indicated they were sold out. The sizing of the frames is in my wheelhouse.

I’m extremely wary of ordering glasses on-line. In addition to providing the frames and lenses, the optometrist will adjust the arms of the frame to account for head shape and ears. They have a box of warm sand in which they place the glasses, and then gently mould to fit.

notsaf

Veteran

FWIW I have many time ordered frames online (through Gilt, when they used to have great frames) and had my optometrist do the lenses and make adjustments. This has resulted in the best frames and the best vision. I agree the Carla that online lenses are to be avoided if possible.

nemosmom

Veteran

Janet - yep, I know the struggle with a small head! I have a small head and face, but it's long, and I have large eyes compared to other features. The wrong shape frames, and I look like a bug!

Carla - Our coloring is similar! I love the colors in the Elizabeth and James frames, and think they would be gorgeous on you, but they are just too big for my face. Let me know if you can't find the frames locally; they are relatively inexpensive here and I would be happy to send to you. I wonder if your optometrist will adjust frames for you, even if you don't buy from them?

nemosmom

Veteran

notsaf - great point! I would be happy to buy FRAMES online, but will definitely have my lenses made here. My local optometrist has replaced the lenses in my current frames twice already, and does a great job.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I have a narrow face shape and it’s hard to find glasses that aren’t too wide. I like widths no wider than 50 mm. My favorite brand is Chelsea Morgan Petite, and I love that they make stylish frames for my narrow face !

Kari

Veteran

Karie, I have the opposite challenge - wide face and wide apart eyes and high - prescription (generally high - prescription is better with smaller lenses because of how thick they are at the sides, hence my workaround above.)

Super wise to zero in on brands that tend to fit your face well. My tried and true brands are Orgreen and FaceaFace. Recently Warby Parker has offered some of their most popular frames in wider lenses and/or low bridge options (my clear specs are wide w/low bridge.)

They can be darn tricky to fit, but holding out for the best fit is so worth it. It’s the most expensive pair of “jewelry” I have, save for my wedding ring.