The best frames for your face

Optician Marcy Zuccaro offers her guidelines on finding the frames that suit you best.

1. Determine your face shape: oval, round, square, oblong, heart or diamond. Make sure your hair is styled the way you normally wear it. With an erasable marker -- or eyebrow pencil in a pinch -- place a dot on the mirror on either side at the outer corner of each eye, the widest part of your jawline, and the widest part of your cheekbones. Then make a dot in the middle of your forehead (if you have bangs, dot the part that is visible) and in the middle of the bottom of your chin. Connect the dots for a rough idea of your face shape.

2. Choose frames that make your face look as oval as possible. "Some people fall into more than one face-shape category," says Zuccaro. "They compensate for both."

OVAL Almost anything goes.
ROUND Elongate a round face with angular frames that have straight-up-and-down sides.
SQUARE Soften a square face with curves on the outer edges of the rims.
OBLONG Make an oblong face look shorter by choosing frames that emphasize the lower rims.
HEART Bring a narrow jawline and wide forehead into proportion with frames that have strong lower rims. Compensate for a wide jawline with frames that have strong top rims.
DIAMOND Balance a narrow forehead, wide cheekbones and a narrow jawline with softly curved frames.

3. Choose the right bridge. "Close-set eyes will seem more widely spaced with a thin, discreet bridge in a light colour," advises Zuccaro. Wide-set eyes will benefit from a bolder, darker bridge; deep-set eyes look best framed by lighter, more-delicate rims. "The colour and weight of the bridge can also contribute to the illusion of a longer or shorter nose," she says.

4. Select a colour based on your skin tone: warm shades to flatter warm tones and cool to flatter cool. As a rule, freckles and a coppery flush to cheeks are hallmarks of warmer skin tones, whereas very pale skin, a pink flush and bluish undertones signify cool tones.

5. Decide whether you want your new glasses to be discreet or make a statement (if your frames look fabulous on your face, you can wear them with any clothing).