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realizations about colored frames

adorkable

Veteran

Glasses-wearers: I'm wondering what your main pair looks like. If you who wear colored frames, do you generally have a second pair?

I only have one pair in my current prescription (but will probably get a second pair next month). I loooooove them - they're quite striking (see photo) - but sometimes this can be a little bit tricky.

Even though they're striking, I think of my glasses as ... not neutral, exactly ... but part of my face. (This seems fairly similar to what Angie has to say - http://youlookfab.com/2009/07/.....yeglasses/ - for example!)

I've noticed, though, that any time I wear almost any blue or green anywhere in my outfit, many people point out that my clothes match my glasses. Now, I love blues and greens and have a lot of them in my closet, but I definitely don't dress around my glasses. And I always feel uncomfortably cutesy or matchy-matchy when people point this out.

I'm not so much looking for advice as sharing my own observations. But I'm absolutely curious how other glasses-wearers feel about this issue!

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Dressing

25 replies

Latest reply was from Mander

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I don't often wear my glasses the entire day. My main ones are burgundy metal. If I wear them out, I will think about whether the clash, at least, with what I'm wearing. I also have a round faux tortoiseshell pair that is a little easier color-wise, but needs the right amount of funky style. And I have a black pair that is very flattering on me that I an wear if I need something conservative.

I love these frames on you! It might be worth it to find another style you love that is very different from these so that you have options!

Astrid

Veteran

Mine are fairly neutral with my coloring, here is a link to the (old) pics I took when Angie needed some for a blog post.

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ost-389860

That said, for me specs have nothing to do with an outfit. I just wear them and want them to look good with my coloring and features, but I would never think about coordinating them with my clothes. I've always had only one pair at a time anyway.

Do you want to go for a more neutral look for the second pair so that you can wear them with green/blue?

April

Veteran

I used to have a pair of red violet frames and a pair of black and green frames, and ultimately I decided I needed something less obtrusive for the reasons you named: the colors didn't look right with every color I might wear.

Also my eyes are very pale, and the dark frames made me look a bit like a lemur.

With your dark eyes, I really like the colored frames.

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rachylou

Veteran

I used to have bright blue speckled spectacles, then I went neutral. I think perhaps I dressed plainer when I had the colourful frames.

Anonymous

I have one pair of glasses. They do not have frames. I kid myself into thinking that the lack of frames makes people not notice them.

I would very much like to get a second pair. When I do, they will have frames and they will be red.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

When I was looking for frames recently Angie and some others encouraged me to think about colored frames. I tried some on but couldn't really imagine them being that versatile. My old glasses were mostly brown with a touch of green and for me they were pretty out of my comfort zone when I bought them. I got used to them and eventually just saw them as part of my face but I would always remember that other people wouldn't. I think of glasses as kind of like eyeshadow - if I'm wearing eyeshadow it's to complement my outfit and my face, not contrast with it.

I suspect this is kind of Iike preferences for print mixing and levels of contrast in an outfit. There are folks here on YLF who wear colors together that I would never feel comfortable wearing. If I had the budget for multiple glasses I would consider a colored pair but for now I will stick with neutrals.

catgirl

Veteran

I have a black pair, a purple and citron pair, a red pair, and a tortoiseshell pair. They are all strong shapes as i have strong features. I pretty much don't coordinate them with anything because I think of them as face jewelry statement pieces. I actually make it a point not to be too matchy. Here is the black (not usually crooked!).

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Ginkgo

Veteran

I've been wondering the same thing, as I just ordered a pair of green frames and I wear a lot of green also, but they did make my face come alive.

E

Veteran

You know, the people I know who wear glasses every day, I perceive the glasses as part of their face too. Like, I hadn't even realised Astrid wore glasses in her outfit shots until she posted on this thread. (And I've done that with friends in real life too, not realised for ages that they wear glasses.)

I love yours: they go so well with your face & hair!

I don't wear my glasses all of the time (I only need them for distance & they give me headaches if I wear them while doing close up stuff like reading or knitting), but mine are a kind of tortoise brown colour. They blend in that sense, but they're also quite oversized, a la the nerd chic glasses, so they make a statement too. Although I've never actually gotten comments on them!

shiny

Veteran

I've worn colored frames since I was 16. For the longest time, I'd always choose purple, because I like how it worked with my hazel eyes.

Then I gravitated towards red (blue-red, more of a muted shade rather than bright pop of color) for years and years, loved those, but got bored. Next I tried a funky pair in a multitude of bright, fun colors (striped) for a short time, but felt they were wearing me. I switched next to a neutral soft light brown with green on the inside, which made my eyes pop. Loved those!

At my last visit I bought a second pair for computer use only. These new ones are nearly clear/transparent, with a very subtle hint of a color I can't describe other than to call it "blonde." Ha. They match my hair more than anything. I saw the frames and knew instantly I had to have them, because my favorite sunglasses I've ever owned are similar in that the frames are a cream or buttery color.

My problem with frames lately is that my face gets so darn red. This may be hot flashes, it may be something else going on. Anyway, I can't wear red or purple frames anymore because it just makes the red more noticeable. And green I fear would do similar. I've got enough color going on in my face, it's nice to have glasses that are nearly colorless and not competing or drawing attention.

adorkable

Veteran

I think if I get another pair they will be equally striking in some way, but at the very least a different color scheme.

It's fun to see how much other folks do and don't have this same experience!

@alaskagirl: love yours! black frames wash me out, but I could do something like that in a dark brown - I used to have some purplish-brown ones that were very similar!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

First, you really are ADORABLE (scratch the K). And I love your fun specs!!

I do see how they might get comments, though. I suspect it's partly because people think you look terrific and saying that you "match" is an easy and maybe less "out there" way of saying that.

I have two pairs of specs. One is a dark red with hot pink insides -- the overall effect is sort of a dark fuchsia tone. People definitely comment on my clothes "matching" when I wear reds, pinks, berrys.

I also have a black pair with white inside. Those get fewer comments.

Ironically, today I tried on a blue pair, and I thought -- hey, these would match at least 9/10ths of my wardrobe! I'm seriously considering buying them.

gryffin

Veteran

Adorkable - those are gorgeous frames and they fit your face perfectly. Great pair!! But they are very striking. I am sure you knew you were making a conscious statement when you bought them. Honestly, you are fortunate that you can carry a statement frame so naturally. I have a small head, small face and small features and 99% of frame look awful or overwhelming and I am on the border of child sizing. Just to give you the flip side!! I do see them as jewelry. Like wearing turquoise jewelry as a style statement. Nothing wrong with that as long as you enjoy it. If you can afford a more neutral pair you might enjoy it as a change but I think they look fantastic!! If I could carry that off I would die happy and play to it!! But hey that's just me!!

ClaraT

Veteran

I have a neutral pair (ladylike) and a pair of clear acrylic with green touches (modern).

If $ were no object, I'd own a few more striking pairs, like yours. I love them.

Rebe G

Mine are DARK purple from the front and actually purple leopard print on the stems (that's what you call the earpieces, right? or is it legs? anyway...) I was really nervous about wearing them full time, but the purple was somehow less harsh than black and more flattering than the tortoise shell ones I've historically purchased.

I think as long as they flatter your face, then don't worry about matching or not. When I wear blue, people comment on my blue eyes and I just take it as the compliment it was meant to be - I don't worry about people thinking I'm dressing to match!

deb

Veteran

First off, I love your frames! I have 6 pair that I change with my outfits. The way I look at it, I change my shoes with my outfit so why not change my glasses? They are one of the first things people see when they look at me, bit they are not part of me. They are an accent, like jewelry.

Dee

Veteran

Your glasses are lovely and they really suit you!

I technically have two pairs, but one is seven or so years old now and I consider it my spare or backup pair. I'd love to someday have a glasses wardrobe, but I'm not there yet. The ones I wear day-to-day are a bright green metal pair (you can see them in my profile pic) that I love. Mostly I don't think about coordinating them, but recently a great neutral pair have begun creeping onto my "things I'd like to buy eventually list."

I do tend to get the same comments as you, though. I own all of two clothing items in similar shades of green, out of a fairly large wardrobe, and I don't wear them very often because it seems like everyone stops to comment on how much I must love green!

JAileen

Veteran

I wore glasses daily for more than 30 years. I think I probably had more than 20 pairs over the years. A few were metal but most were tortoise shell, matching my hair. I only used the newest pair so they needed to work in all situations. I love the idea of having several pairs. That wasn't something that was available to me. If I had had more than one pair I would have been more daring in style and color, I think.

BTW, I love your sweater!

Liz A.

Veteran

I have four pairs of glasses. Most are from before I started wearing contact lenses, so now I don't really need as many. Well, actually, I JUST got rid of the oldest pair, because I was just over the half rimless frame although I still liked the red color.

It's interesting, because my perspective is much different than yours. I would typically prefer that my glasses match my outfit and consider that a good thing. That's not to say that it has to be an exact color match or that I'd refuse to wear my glasses if they didn't match or something.

Also @Rebe G, it sounds like we have the same glasses. Are yours Betsey Johnson?

kkards

Veteran

i wear glasses full time (just can't bring myself to put something in my eye, so contacts are not on the table). for the longest time i was wearing frameless glasses, so that they receded from view. but last spring angie nudged me to think about replacing them. the new glasses that i got are blue with a purple undertone. i do wear a lot of blue, but i also wear a lot of black. at first, i was concerned that my glasses would not match my outfits and would look "off", but after wearing these new glasses for the last month, i don't even think about it anymore.

MRL

Veteran

My current glasses are neutral colored, but my very favorite pair had purple frames. That's sort of odd, because I don't wear purple at all. But for some reason those frames looked good on me. No one ever remarked about my frames.

Suzanne (ambergreen)

Veteran

I addressed this issue in a different way for the first time just last month.

I've only worn glasses since I was 19, and I would hang onto my single pair for years, partly because I have a small face and many frames really do NOT suit me--it was really hard to find anything I didn't hate in a size that wasn't too big.

Whatever I had was always as neutral as I could find so that it wouldn't clash with what I wore, almost all metal frames so they wouldn't be masky on me. I've had gold Victorian specs (vintage ones I had lenses put in), copper, gray/gunmetal, and black.

Now things have opened up a lot in terms of better design options for the small size I need. So I have just acquired 3 new pairs. One metal in gray/gunmetal as a fallback for days when I wear something that just doesn't work with my blue-and-gray or reddish-brown-to-amber plastic pairs. (I would love a green pair but haven't found the right one yet.)

So that's how I do it: I've branched a step to either side of the gray metal with my colors but have made sure to have the fallback just in case. And having these options makes me SO much happier than just one pair that has to work with it all.

In short...I would completely recommend adding at least one more pair to the gorgeous blue you have (perhaps in a warmer tone if you also wear those colors, or a complete neutral). I wish I had done it YEARS ago!

Glory

Veteran

I have 2 pairs - my main one is black with white insides. The other pair is burdundy but I rarely wear them.
I just recently bought the black/white ones and would love a pair in navy/turquoise - exactly the same. I hate when I have something so specific in mind - it makes it really hard to find.

Style Fan

Veteran

I love your glasses. They draw attention to your amazing eyes. To me glasses are like make up. I personally don't match my make up to my outfit. I know that other people do. I might wear more dramatic make up at night but I always wear earth tones, etc. I don't see why glasses should match your clothes because they are part of your face.

I wear glasses to read and to drive. I wear glasses that blend with my face because I have a "colourful" face and if I wore green glasses it would be too much. I wish I could wear dramatic colourful glasses.

Mander

(website)

Veteran

The advent of cheap online glasses has been great for me. I used to always pick something as neutral as possible but a few years ago I decided I wanted to try some funky dark frames. I'm blonde and people (that is, Mom) always said I should stick to delicate metal or pastel frames. Not my preference but I took their word for it.

Anyway I was still too chicken to spend much money on glasses I wasn't sure I would like, so I took a chance on a cheap online place, and it has been great. I now have about 6 pairs in several colors, and although a couple don't quite look how I hoped I haven't spent more than £15 on any of them. Remarkably none of them have had an incorrect perception.

All this is just to say that you could look into something like this if you want to experiment with other colors without spending a lot. And I always feel like a dork when I absent-mindedly wear my purple glasses with my purple scarf and Doc Martens.