Day 2.2 - Picking out Glasses

Picking out Frames

Learning to fit your customer in the correct style frames takes a lot of practice and sometimes a lot of patience.  

There are many different face shapes and sometimes it can be difficult to find a pair of glasses that looks good on a particular face.  The important thing during this process is to be kind and HONEST.  If a pair of glasses doesn’t look particularly good on someone simply say something like, “That’s a nice pair that you picked out, what about these?” or “Those look a little wide for your face, let's see if we can find a pair that fit better.”

It’s important to keep in mind the customer's prescription, the color of the frame, and the shape of the frame.  If the customer has a strong negative prescription, you may want to suggest a smaller frame because the lenses will look thinner.  If the customer is picking out a frame that is a bright color and it washes out their face, you may want to suggest a warmer color.  If a customer picks out a blue frame and is wearing a blue shirt it may look really good today, but not so good when they wear a green shirt tomorrow.  Also, look at the color of the person’s skin.  If a customer has rosacea, you’ll want to stay away from red frames so it doesn’t bring out the redness in their skin.  If a customer has warm skin, choose warm frame tones.  If a customer has cool skin, choose cool frame tones.

The part of the process that is oftentimes the hardest, is picking out the best frame for the customer's face shape.  The easiest way to tell a person’s face shape is to look at their chin.  

For a heart-shaped face, they will have a narrow chin.  They also have a wide forehead and high cheekbones.  When shopping for frames,...

• Look for frames that will broaden the appearance of the chin and minimize the forehead width.  
• Choose a frame that is slightly rounded.  
• Another possibility is a frame that is wider at the bottom.  
• Some frames to choose from could be aviators, butterfly styles, and rimless.

When fitting this face shape, make sure to avoid overly embellished frames and top-heavy styles that draw attention upward.

Characteristics of an oblong face include the face being longer than it is wide.  The space between their cheek and chin is narrow.  

• Look for frames that will break the length of the face-up, making it look like it’s shorter and wider.  
• Choose a frame that has temples that come from the middle of the frame and is deep to minimize facial length and width.  
• Oversized style frames also bring proportion to the face.

When fitting this face shape, make sure to avoid short frames without the depth that will accentuate face length.  Also, watch out for frames that are too narrow. 

Characteristics of a round face include full cheekbones with little to no angles.  They tend to lack width and length therefore their entire face is similar in proportion.  Their chin is often times wide. 

• Look for frames that make the face appear longer and thinner.  
• Choose a frame that has high temples and a slightly angular shape; it will create a narrowing effect.  
• Some suggestions are rectangles, squares, and sporty or squared-off retro styles.

 Some styles to avoid would be round frames or lenses which will exaggerate facial shape.

Characteristics of a square-shaped face include a broad forehead and strong jawline, as well as a wide chin and cheekbones.  Specifically look at the lower part of the face, the jawline.  If it is highly defined, then he or she has a square face.  

• Look for frames that soften and balance out a strong jawline and make the face appear longer.  
• Choose styles that have high temples and are round, oval, or curved to soften the face and jaw.  
• Some suggestions include rounded or oval, and semi-rimless frames with soft curves.

 When shopping with this face, make sure you avoid boxy and angular frames because the sharp lines will be too harsh.

Finally the oval-shaped face. This is considered to be the most ideal face shape due to its balanced proportions.  Characteristics of an oval-shaped face include the chin being slightly narrower than the forehead. The chin is different from the heart-shaped face because it is more squared off.  

You should not have too much trouble finding a frame for this face shape because they look good in almost any frame.  But some things to keep in mind when searching is to... 

• Look for a frame that keeps the natural balance of the oval.  
• Choose a frame that’s in proportion to the face.  
• Options really aren’t limited so oval faces can have fun and play with classic or trendy styles.

 The only thing to avoid would be oversized styles that will swallow a petite oval shape or styles that are too small on a larger oval face.