While shopping for new frames, have you ever come across a great pair of eyeglasses that you instantly fell in love with the minute they met your eyes? This before you’ve even had the chance to come, so to speak, face to frame? You’ve seen this style on someone, like the always impeccably well-put-together Stanley Tucci, and you’re set on replicating his eyewear game in those Oliver Peoples.

But after actually trying them on and taking a proper look in the mirror, your heart sinks. To your dismay, you admit to yourself that you do not look nearly as good as Tucci. Something about these beautiful, fashion-forward sunglasses feels off. But why?

The truth about choosing the best glasses for your face — and ultimately how much they flatter you — lies in a few factors, but primarily it’s down to the shape of your face and how your frame of choice compliments your proportions.

Depending on who you ask, there are about seven different face shapes: round, square, heart, oval, oblong, triangle — and apparently the rarest — diamond. Not sure what shape yours is? A simple trick is to trace the outline of your face onto a mirror with something like lipstick — or anything that’s easy to clean off after. When in doubt, ask a professional — like an optician — for their opinion.

But in reality, most people don’t fit this cut-and-paste categorization of different face profiles, so don’t be confused if you end up being a mix of two (or more) of these shapes. Instead, view these groupings as guidelines — and if you don’t want to follow them, that’s fine, too. The most important consideration is how you feel about what you wear.

So, regardless of whether you don eyewear for the occasional fashion moment, or if you genuinely require a consistent pair out of necessity, we’ve done the research to match your face shape to your ideal frame style, and broken it down into a simple guide. As a general rule, opt for a frame style that contrasts the shape of your face.

Your face is widest at your cheeks. You have softly rounded features, with your jaw slightly narrower than your forehead.

A triangle with the tip pointing up is when your face is narrowest at the forehead and widest at the chin. An upward-pointing triangle face shape means you have strong angular features.

If you have a triangle face shape with the tip pointing downwards then you have a downward-pointing triangle shape or an inverted triangle shape. An inverted triangle shape means the widest part is at the forehead, and then it narrows at the jawline to a pointed chin. It is very similar to a heart-shaped face.

Your face is narrowest at your forehead and chin, and widest at your cheekbones. You have strong angular features.

Your face is as long as it is wide. You have softly rounded features.

Your face is as long as it is wide. You have strong angular features.

Your face has a broad forehead and wide cheekbones, slowly narrowing towards the chin.

Your face is longer than it is wide. You have strong angular features.

The Essential Guide for MenThe Manual is simple — we show men how to live a life that is more engaged. As our name implies, we offer a suite of expert guides on a wide range of topics, including fashion, food, drink, travel, and grooming. We don’t boss you around; we’re simply here to bring authenticity and understanding to all that enriches our lives as men on a daily basis.