Eyewear Talk

At OpticsPlanet, a big part of our work is helping customers get the right size glasses. Of course, size is important when it comes to how the glasses look on you and how comfortable they are. Most glasses are not available in a wide range of sizes, but the limited range fits most people very well. In this blog, I will suggest some of glasses using a small, medium and large size guide.

Serengeti offers their superb lens technology in small, medium and large sizes with different frame and lens colors in their Serengeti Aviator standard sunglasses. The different sizes of the Aviator are also available with prescription lens at Serengeti Small Aviator Prescription Sun Glasses, Serengeti Rx Prescription Medium Aviator and Serengeti Large Aviator Rx Sunglasses. The Aviator with progressive bifocal lenses is only available in small and medium sizes at Serengeti Small Aviator Progressive Rx Sun Glasses and Serengeti Rx Progressive Medium Aviator.

American Optical offers their AO Original Pilot standard sun glasses in a variety of colors with different temple options in 52mm, 55mm and 57mm sizes that correspond to small medium and large.

Adults who need to fit a smaller face should consider glasses that are sized to fit children. The AO Original Pilot 45mm Sunglasses are suggested for adults with smaller faces as well as for children. The Ray-Ban Juniors from Ray Ban are an excellent choice for those with smaller faces who want to wear classic Raybans!

Here in the Eyewear Group at OpticsPlanet, we have special expertise in glasses for larger faces. One of our Product Specialists, Pam, has been trying to find glasses for her husband, Rich, who has a larger face. His is a larger face and not just a large-average.

According to Pam, people with larger faces must make sure their glasses are big enough for proper appearance. The rule-of-thumb is that glasses should be as wide as your face. Rich has had glasses that were too narrow for his face and they left marks where the temples rubbed his skin. Pushing your glasses up on top of your head will widen a frame but doing this too much can overly stretch them. Glasses with spring hinges such as Serengeti’s S-Flex offer a little more give for the larger-average faces.

The only glasses that fit Rich well are the Spiral from Bolle. The SG-1 from Wiley-X was close but not comfortable. The Coopers from Spy Optics weren’t big enough and neither were any of the Serengetis.

Even with the best information, it can be hard to be sure you are getting the right size. If you order online, check that the dealer has a Return Policy.

Knowing your glasses size is especially important when you buy glasses online. If you haven’t had a chance to try on the frames in a store, you want to make sure the glasses will fit for comfort and looks.

When I try on glasses in the store, I always look at the measurement information that is printed on the inside of one of the temples or on the bridge. You don’t have to try on too many glasses before you begin to know your size.

The size information is a set of three numbers that are measurements in millimeters. For example, I recently bought frames that are size 54-19-140. The first number (54) is the horizontal width of one lens. The second number (19) is the distance between lenses, and the third number (140) is the length of one of the temples. I am a larger person and this is the bigger size in this style. The smaller frame is 52-17-140.

At OpticsPlanet, we provide this size information on each page that describes our Sunglasses, Prescription Sunglasses and Eyeglasses.

The first thing I consider when choosing the right size is to make sure the glasses are at least as wide as my face. Otherwise, the glasses will look and feel too small. The width of glasses includes the horizontal width of one lens times two (one for each lens) PLUS the distance between the lenses PLUS the distance the temples stick out which can be a few millimeters. It is helpful if you know the width of your face, otherwise, after you try on a few pairs, you’ll know the minimum horizontal lens width you need.

I don’t use the value for the distance between lenses as a guide for fitting over my nose. The number can be misleading especially if the shape of the lenses bring them close together at the bridge. I use the number to get a sense of the overall width of the frames.

Sometimes, there isn’t a lot of choice in the length of the temples. A number like 140 is common. However, for myself, I have found that a temple that is longer than 140 is more comfortable and provides greater stability. A temple that is too short may not have enough length for proper final fitting and adjustment. Also, a temple that is the proper length looks better by going straight back across your head and not angled up. The temple length number can be misleading. A frame that wraps may have a temple length that appears to be short, but you need to take the wrap into consideration which pushes the temples back over your ears.

When you know the size that fits you best, you can confidently by glasses online and take advantage of great savings on the best brands. See our Sunglasses Guide and our Rx Prescription Guide for more information about choosing glasses that fit well.

At OpticsPlanet, we have a flexible Return Policy and many of our customers order several pairs of glasses at a time with the idea to keep what they like and return the others for a full refund. This is a good way to try glasses you buy online.

We have a lot of experience helping customers with special size needs such as smaller or larger frames. I will talk about our recommendations for those situations in a future blog. In the mean time, people with smaller faces should consider child size frames such as the Ray-Ban Junior. The junior Raybans are way cool smaller versions of the classics. For larger faces, see the Ray Ban Highstreet, the S-flex models by Serengeti and the Bolle Spiral.

The Bolle representative was here recently giving us an update on their latest styles. He had trays of sunglasses laid out on the table and no one could resist grabbing glasses and seeing how they looked in the mirror.

Glasses are fun. Some people have closets full of shoes for every occasion and many of us are just as ga-ga over glasses. Elton John must have a whole wing of his house for his collection.

I like eyeglasses. Sunglasses are more utilitarian for me and I wear them, basically, to protect against UV radiation. But, if I had the chance, I’d love to mix it up and present a fresh look everyday with eyewear that matched my mood. Now that prescription glasses can be ordered on the internet at more affordable prices, I thought my dream of a closet full of glasses would come true, but I’m not sure yet.