We are often asked what to look for when selecting new frames and lenses. While a lot of elements factor into a decision, we have done our best in this article to highlight the 5 most significant considerations that we would advise you to take into account.
1. Choose a frame that compliments your features and personality.
The first priority when choosing new frames is to select a frame that suits your personality and compliments your features.
While some frames will look better with individual clothing styles and colours, we consider it not to be that practical to match frames with clothing styles and colours. In most situations, frames that complement your features will not clash with your dress style anyway.
We recommend customers to select a pair of glasses to wear generally, a pair for evening or smart occasions, and then another set of frames as a flash back up. When you do have multiple different frames, make sure that the lens prescriptions are similar. Otherwise, you could end up with headaches and frustration.
2. Make quality and versatility a priority
When choosing new frames, it should be the quality of the frame and lenses, and the versatility in design that helps you to make the final decision.
Frames from a luxury or mainstream designer brands do not necessarily have the same standards and quality that you should expect from an independent frame designer-based boutique. Hence when considering the cost of your glasses, what do you pay for; the name or the quality?
Independent eyewear designers take pride in their design and manufacturing processes. A frame is partially worked on by hand and can take anywhere between 3 up to 8 months to complete. It does not end up costing the consumer much more than luxury brands that mass produce their frames, while it is made with more expertise and pride by the artisan who constructs it.
Independent eyewear is made to be used again and again, with timeless design, even when your prescription or fashion changes.
3. Select lenses with your lifestyle in mind
When it comes down to choosing lenses, we recommend clients to consider their occupation, lifestyle and activities first. What will you be wearing them for? Do you require glasses to wear all day or just when reading or working on a computer? Do you see clients in an office, do your serve customers in a Café, or are you a teacher? Do you spend a great deal of time driving? Do you spend the majority of your time outdoors? Are you an ‘Art House’ person and love the thought of how the glasses are designed? These are the considerations that feed into choosing a quality pair of lenses from the myriad of available lenses for different lifestyles and activities.
4. How the shape of your face comes into the mix.
Generally speaking, a larger frame on a big face is better, smaller frames accentuate the head size. They tend not to be complimentary at all. Small glasses & frames look like you have picked up the wrong eyewear. Smaller faces need to have frames that are complementary in size too, not too big as then they tend to look googly and fall down your nose all the time. And a small frame on a small face is not right either, they can hide the eyes and make it difficult for others to see them. Have you heard the phrase ‘Beady Eyes’? That’s dispensing gone wrong!
In our experience, however, it is limiting to try and match face shape with frame styles. In a practical sense, it restricts you when trying on different shapes and frames. Regardless if conventional wisdom suggests that specific frame styles do and other frame styles don’t match face shapes.
5. Frames and the choice of colour
Frames available nowadays come in an endless range and variety of colours. Experimentation and innovation with different types & combinations of materials make for expressive and exciting new frame styles. This is evident in the range of different designer eyewear brands that we carry.
The acetates used in manufacturing frames today come from Japan, Italy, France and are of varying thicknesses and colours and can be manipulated and treated in so many ways. They are melted, shaved, beaten, combined with metals and used as inserts for the lenses to fit.
Use the colours to enhance your face and complexion and add to what you present to the world.
We hope that these considerations help you find perfect new frames. Should you require any help selecting a great pair of glasses that really compliment your features and personality, come and see us. The people from August Eyewear have years of experience in assisting customers with the choice of both lens types and frame shapes. You are sure to have a happy experience.