Eyeglasses have moved beyond being a medical necessity and are now seen as a vital part of a person’s style. Whether bold or traditional, the latest eyewear trends make it easy to use your glasses to express your own personal flair.
“Eyewear is quickly becoming today’s hottest fashion statement,” Chicago optometrist Mila Petkovic said. “Eyewear is a great way to incorporate today’s seasonal trends.”
Here are some things to keep in mind as you adapt these trends to your style and prescription.
Consider Your Face’s Shape
The same pair of glasses will look different on different faces, so it’s important to understand how your face pairs with a frame. “For example, I have a very heart-shaped and round face, and love the idea of round glasses — but I look like a ball if I wear them,” Petkovic said. “They’re better for long, oval faces or square faces.”
People with round faces should consider more angular frames, Petkovic said. “Angular frames with sharper edges add dimension and help to balance the roundness of the face.” People with heart-shaped faces should avoid boxy frames and instead look for soft angular frames, she added. People with oval faces are lucky — almost any frames look good on them, she said.
Balance Fashion with Your Vision Needs
Some of today’s looks are bold, but it’s important to understand how these fashions might work with your prescriptions. Aviator-style glasses, often worn as sunglasses, are becoming popular for prescription glasses as well, Petkovic said, but they can pose a challenge. “When young kids or people with very small or narrow heads try to get massive frames, then the prescription isn’t centered properly on the lens,” she said.
“When young kids or people with very small or narrow heads try to get massive frames, then the prescription isn’t centered properly on the lens.”
Smaller frames are better for higher prescriptions, and use high-index material to avoid thick “Coke-bottle” lenses, she said. “For patients with really high prescriptions, I recommend that they go with plastic frames instead of metal — that hides the edge thickness better.”
It’s also important to consider your daily activities when picking a frame, Petkovic said. If you’re highly active, you’ll want a more durable frame; if you work on a computer all day you can get away with something a little less sturdy.
Embrace Your Individual Style
Your own personal look can help you decide on the best frame fashion for you. Some of the more trendy looks include big glasses, and while colors such as millennial pink are popular, Petkovic said natural or clear frames are on the rise. “There’s still a little bit of a hipster movement, with thicker plastics, but they’re no longer rectangular,” Petkovic said. “More rounded and a modern cat eye for women are very in.”
In the end, though, Petkovic recommends going with what you like. “What I look for is, are they happy wearing them?” Petkovic said. “I don’t like to follow the rules too much, as long as it’s not too wide on the face. If the eyes are centered in the frame that’s a good thing, and they shouldn’t be too tight or too loose.”
