Framing Your Face: How Experts Choose Styles

The right shape and color on your face can brighten and energize your entire appearance. From John Lennon-esque round wires to Elton John's giant blingy frames circa 1977, sunglasses can become your trademark. But don't borrow someone else's look - find your own signature style by carefully considering your face shape and color tones. Here we discuss all shapes and colors, to help you put your best face forward. Any shape, any color: read on to fit the perfect frame for your face. Walk the Lines It happens: your friend tries on an adorable pair of sunglasses, then you put them on and look like a dope. What's going on?   It starts with geometry. Some shapes complement each other, some don't. If you know what your face shape is, you can choose frame designs that work with you, not against you. Identifying Your Face Shape: the Round Face Round faces often have circles within circles: soft eyes and round cheeks nest happily within a face equally circular. Angular frames add welcome contrast by dividing all those circles, especially rectangular frames that are wider than they are tall. They'll elongate a round face pleasingly.

Triangular Face
Triangles benefit from some balance. If the top of the face appears narrower than the bottom, you're a "base-down" triangle, and you can achieve attractive balance with frames that are tall and have prominent temple decorations or hinges to add visual weight higher on your face. "Base-up" faces are wider at the temples and narrow towards the chin, and look best in frames that are very lightweight or rimless, minimizing the apparent width.

Diamond Face
Diamond-shaped faces have prominent cheekbones to die for, then narrow towards eyes and chin. To bring out the eyes, try colorful, intricate frames, bold colors, and cat-eye shapes to draw attention upward.

Square Face
A square face looks best in frames that are wider than tall, which elongates the look. Narrow oval lenses are often perfect for a square face.

Oblong Face
Oblong faces are characterized by long cheeks and nose. Oblongs get to wear those popular big ovals, which cover real estate and add balance. Frames with low nose bridges make any nose appear shorter, and stand-out temple designs add width and balance to a long face.

Oval Face
An oval face is the most common, and is considered naturally balanced. It's lovely on its own, so don't mess with it. Start with frames that are equally wide as the face, with lenses not too deep or too narrow. Like Goldilocks, just right.

Whew! Now that you have your face shape identified, watch your eyebrows. As you try on frames, notice how the top of the frames follow your eyebrows. Do they match pleasingly, or align awkwardly?

Color Your World
Color theorists consider people to be either cool (blue-ish) or warm (amber-ish). What are you? Once you decide, pick complementary colors to match, not just in frames but in everything you wear. Skin tones that light and pink are usually cool. Warm skin tones include "peaches and cream," and overtones of yellow to brown.

This rule works for the eyes, too. Although blue eyes are cool, gray is warmer. Brown eyes range from yellow-amber or hazel warmth to a cool near-black.

Include your hair, if you have any. Blonds and blue-blacks are cool. Gold, red, or dirty gray are warmer.

Now that you've identified whether you are cool or warm, match your tone in your frames. Warm people look cool in metallics, oranges, reds, and blues. Cool people look hot in black, rich browns, magenta, purple, jade and those dark amber tortoise-shell frames.

These guides aren't cast in stone. Experiment. Break a few rules. Get opinions from friends. But knowing your face and color will help you make a smart, satisfying choice that looks fantastic on you, even if the same designer sunglasses look terrible on Sophia Loren.