What shape sunglasses best suit my face shape?

Shopping for sunglasses can be a bit of a minefield…

Many people believe that you either suit sunglasses or you don’t.  Falling into that latter category can be a little tough to take, especially when your sunglass-wearing friends look infinitely better in theirs. But the simple truth is, there are sunglasses to suit everyone, it is just a case of knowing what to choose. So how do I find which sunglasses suit my face shape?

What Face shape do I have?

Different shapes of sunglasses suit different shapes of face, and we need to understand a little bit of the science here. We can’t let you go around squinting your unshielded eyes into the glare of the sun, nor can we have you ending up on a ‘worst-dressed’ list either. so we have compiled a guide to help you out when choosing looking to buy those perfect shades.

What sunglasses best suit a square face?

Okay, so what have we got here…

A powerful forehead and a prominent jawline characterise your distinctive look, making you the focus of everyone’s attention. Now you can go stronger still by sticking a pair of square frames on you face if that’s your thing – be our guest, but we’re all about trying to bring a better balance.

You can soften a strong face shape by choosing frames with curved or rounded corners – just make sure they’re the right proportion. The larger your face then it goes that the larger the frames should be. Ideally you want the frame to extend beyond the widest part of your face thereby giving you an overall rounder silhouette.

Your ‘frame friends’ are shapes that are round sunglasses, oval sunglasses, cat-eye or butterfly sunglasses and semi-rimless. These will draw focus to your eyes and stylishly balance your strong jawline.

To square it with you. We’ve some decent choices here. If you want round shape sunglasses, then head over and check out our Lich and Baobab frames, ‘easy frames that will suit and soften any square-shaped face. Our Baobab style suits a slightly smaller face shape, so help is on hand for those that struggle with proportions when it comes to their frames.  For women, if you want something with a touch more ‘oversize’ appeal, then our Nkiru frame could be your thing.

What sunglasses suit a round face?

Characterised by softly contoured, gentle features, round faces have a width and height that are pretty much the same. So, what you need is edge… literally. That round face of yours needs to be broken up with some tasty angles so anything that is square, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal (you get the idea), is going to be good for you. They will accentuate your features to give you a longer, more elegant look.

Conversely round frames, small or even oversize frames will only work to make your face look rounder (yes, you can look like the moon). You might like that of course and who are we to say otherwise? However, our recommendation would be angles all the way.

Our angle on this… we’ve got several angled shapes for your face to party with and you can find our range of square frames here. It just comes down to preferences after that, a more subtle, fine frames such as Nyota or a thicker frame such as Pendo to give them a little more presence on your face.

You may even find our sporty Karibu frame the perfect pair? It would be remiss of us not to mention our latest edition, Maliaka one designed more for the female face, a slightly more oversize square available in some stunning colourways. See our full collection of square frames sunglasses.

What type of sunglasses are better suited to a heart-shaped face?

High cheekbones? Check.
A jawline that tapers to a defined chin? Check.

Welcome to the heart-shaped face. Your goal here is to minimise the width of your forehead and broaden the appearance of the chin, which means you should go for sunnies that are wider on your forehead or have prominent end points.

A heart-shaped face will positively purr over a pair of cat-eye frames that will bring you remarkable symmetry. However, don’t feel your life is to only ever be full of ‘cats’ (unless you do actually live in a home full of cats), and for the male species, too, perhaps a sigh of relief.

Avoid very round or oversized styles and remember that cat-eye doesn’t only mean Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn.

Hand-on-heart advice If you’re after a cat eye, then we’ve got some lovely choices to take a look at. If you want 50’s vintage style sunglasses, then our ever-popular Meria frame will give you plenty of that. More glamour still? Then take a look out our striking Zuri frame – in all its oversize glory.

Suppose you’re looking for something a little more subtle. In that case, we recommend looking at our Malaika frame (square cat) and Nkiru frame (round cat) as two very wearable choices. You can find all our cat eye styles here.

Oval face shape? What sunglasses are best for me? 

If you’re one of the lucky ones to be genetically blessed with an oval-shaped face, we’ve got good news – the world of sunglasses is your oyster! Any frame is going to look good on you because, basically, your symmetrical bone structure is what people are generally striving to emulate when they’re choosing their sunglasses.

However, we said we would give you advice, not just tell you how beautiful you are. We have a few suggestions to ensure that the frames on your face feel as natural as a cup of tea and a biscuit.

We would suggest a frame that is slightly more on the broader side. Rectangle-shaped sunglasses often look fantastic on oval-shaped faces. The horizontal style complements an oval face’s vertical nature.

Conversely, a narrow frame can draw attention to a narrow eye line, so perhaps something to steer away from. However, let’s be honest, we’re being pretty picky here. Pretty much anything goes style-wise, so maybe get playful with the lenses and colours if you want to stand out from the crowds.

 

What are the best hairstyles and sunglasses match?

Not to be overlooked, your hair needs to be very much ‘ruled in’ to your decision-making process… it can make a significant difference.

Long wavy hair will already be helping to soften your features, which may suggest the need for a more angular frame. Short hairstyles tend to accentuate your face’s more defined features. To counterbalance that would push you toward more rounded frames that will soften your final look.

Of course, it does mean that when you have chosen your desired frame, you must never change your hairstyle again. It’s quite commitment admittedly, but we reckon you can do it. Anyway, perhaps we should move on to our final point…

 

Be yourself

Hopefully, we’ve given you some pointers here, but ultimately we don’t know you. You’re probably the best at knowing that part. Introvert? Extrovert? Wherever you fit on the scale, you’ll instinctively be drawn to certain styles and colours that throw our conventional wisdom out the window.

There is no right or wrong answer when choosing a frame, simply that when you wear them, you feel good in them. That’s it!