Articles
Choosing frames without a mirror lying to you
The four measurements that decide whether a frame fits, why the width across the front matters more than the shape, and how to shop for glasses when you cannot see without them.
The shape of a frame is the first thing anybody notices and, on its own, the least useful thing to choose by. Fit is decided by four measurements, and a frame that is the right shape and the wrong size will slip, pinch, or sit crooked no matter how good it looked in the mirror for the first thirty seconds.
Front width
The total width across the front, temple hinge to temple hinge. This is the number that decides whether a frame fits your face at all, and it is the one number no shop prints on the price tag. A narrow face in a wide frame looks borrowed; a wide face in a narrow frame looks squeezed.
Lens size
The width of each lens opening. It decides how much room a varifocal has to work with — a long, gentle corridor needs a deeper lens than a short, compressed one, which is why not every shape can take every lens design.
Bridge
The gap between the lenses, which sits on the nose. Too narrow and the frame rides up into the brow; too wide and it slides straight back down, which is usually the actual cause of a frame that “keeps falling down” rather than the weight of the lenses.
Temple length
The arm, hinge to ear. Too short and the frame grips at the temples by the end of the day; too long and it has nothing to hold onto and drifts forward.
Shopping for glasses when you cannot see without them
This is the part almost nobody tells you: bring the pair you already wear. Even old, out of prescription and scratched, they carry the four measurements above, and a frame close to those numbers is a frame that is very likely to fit before you have tried it. A companion, a photograph on somebody else's phone held at arm's length, or simply asking the person helping you what a frame looks like on rather than what it looks like in your hand all work better than trying to judge it yourself in a mirror you cannot focus on.
Every frame in the catalogue on this site is measured, and the front width, lens size, bridge and temple length are published on its own page rather than left for you to guess at from a photograph. Half an hour of the optician's time is free if you would rather not choose alone, and a narrow face will not be sold a wide frame here — or the other way round.
Come and be measured properly
Every frame in the catalogue is measured, and the optician's time is free if you would rather not choose alone.