Jennifer Connolly adds her own personal flair to everything she wears – even her prescription glasses! Read more from Jennifer on her blog, A Well Styled Life.
I’ve begun to accumulate them. It’s a collection I would never have chosen to start. But I’m pretty much dead in the water without them. And they’re expensive! The older I get, the more necessary they become: Prescription eyeglasses.
I haven’t admitted I can’t wear contacts…yet. But I think this second optometrist I’ve tortured used, has accepted this as fact. I’m driving the poor man insane. I haven’t given up hope. So many people successfully wear contacts. Why am I struggling so hard with them?
What I do know is that your eyeglasses have a huge impact on your image. You wear them everyday…and the world sees you in them, everyday. Think of them as face jewelry.They’re a big part of the decisions made about you, during that precious 9 seconds people take to sum you up.
Start with the lenses
- Buy they best quality you can afford. Lenses have come a long way in recent years. Their clarity and ability to give you crisp vision is not just about your prescription strength anymore.
- They make high index lenses from a lightweight material. They’re also thinner than other lenses. This makes them a great choice, if you have a strong prescription.
- Aspheric lenses are flatter which reduces the amount of bulge, in the lens. They also magnify your eyes less, so are more cosmetically flattering.
- Do pay extra for anti-reflective coating. It makes your eyes look more attractive, it decreases unwanted glare and night-time halos. You want people to see through your glasses, to your beautiful eyes!
- If you wear multifocal lenses, a deeper lens will give you a larger reading area, on the lens itself.
Rimless glasses are very popular, with good reason. They’re lighter weight than any other frame and offer a “barely there” look. Silhouette, Airlock, Cartier are just a few of the popular manufacturers. Titanium rimless glasses are the lightest available and claim to be invisible at 20 feet. They’re less likely to leave indentations on the bridge of your nose, which tend to become permanent over time.
Plastic frames come in an unending choice of colors and sizes.
Choosing the best frame
- If you have a large face and heavy bone structure, you’ll look better in a larger frame. Delicate features are more flattered by delicate frames. Keep the scale of your glasses similar to the scale of your face.
- Consider your coloring. Do you have warm or cool skin tone? Choose frames in the same tone as your skin, eye or hair color. These are your ‘inherent’ colors and the most flattering for you to wear. That applies to clothing and eyeglasses.
- Look for frames that mirror your eyebrow shape. It’s pleasing to the eye and makes your glasses look like they belong on your face.
- If you have an angular face, curved or roundish frames are more flattering.
- You should not see the inside of the frame’s temple, looking straight at yourself. If you can, the frame is too wide for your face.
- Plastic frames without nose pads have saddle bridges. The deeper the bridge, the more comfortable the frame. It disperses the weight over a larger part of your nose.
This all holds true for prescription sunglasses too. The lenses are usually larger and therefore heavier, so choose the lightest lenses you can afford.
Feel confident in your eyewear by choosing the best for you…not just what’s trendy.
What eyeglasses do you like?
Do you have more than one pair?
Jennifer Connolly
Jennifer Connolly celebrates the unique experience of women over 50. As a Certified Image Consultant and Personal Stylist, she empowers women to develop their image, personal style and self confidence. Her blog, A Well Styled Life, gives women the tools to appreciate their beauty and fully embrace the joys of midlife. Jennifer is a blogger, writer, wife, mom, grandmother. Pro-aging troublemaker, searching for the perfect foundation shade since 1973. Instagram: awellstyledlife
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Marian
Tuesday 27th of September 2016
Your tips are the best! Before I really don't know what kind of sunglasses would will fit to my face until I discover the shape or qualities of face has connection when choosing an eyeglasses frame! And even colors like what've discussed.
Truly, Marian @ http://www.eo-executiveoptical.com
Kairi Gainsborough
Thursday 31st of March 2016
Thanks for the advice about choosing glasses that will look good on my face. You will likely be using them for a long time, so it is kind of an important decision. Finding a frame that follow the shape of the eyebrow is great advice. I'll have to remember that the next time I pick out a new pair.
Jeff Madison
Friday 11th of March 2016
I appreciate your tip on considering your coloring when choosing eyeglass frames. I would imagine that finding frames that are similar to your skin eye or hair color would be more flattering. My eyesight has been going recently and I'm probably going to have my eyes checked by an optometrist. Once I get to the point where I'm choosing my glasses I'll be sure to take into account my skin tone.
Johnny
Tuesday 9th of June 2015
I like what you said about starting with the lens. After all that is why you need glasses in the first place. A friend and I recently went on a filming trip where he lost his glasses. Since then he has had trouble picking out a new pair. My friend insists on ordering aspheric lenses but it is difficult because he has such a high prescription. Hopefully reading this will help him make a quicker decision about glasses. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer
Thursday 11th of June 2015
I'm glad you liked the post.. Having a strong RX, makes choosing the right glasses all that more important!
Deanna R. Jones
Monday 8th of June 2015
Thanks for the tips! I've noticed that my prescription isn't as strong as it used to be, so it's about time for me to get a new pair of glasses. My current pair of frames are pretty large, so they tend to slip down the bridge of my nose really easily. I thought that your tip to go for a pair of frames that will carry lighter lenses rings true for me in my situation. My prescription requires thinner lenses, so I could use thinner frames that will carry the lenses without any problems.
Jennifer
Tuesday 9th of June 2015
Look for a brand call Swiss Flex. I have a pair and they are amazing!! The bottom of the lens is colored to match the frame but is held in place with a fishing line, type material. Ultra light, but looks like a regular frame. They are the lightest frames I've ever found.