How to Pick Sunglasses for Your Face Shape

Every sunglasses roundup tells you to “shop for your face shape” and then leaves you to figure out what shape that is and what to do about it. Here’s the actually useful version, including the measurements printed on the glasses you already own.

Find your shape in 30 seconds

Pull your hair back and look straight into a mirror. You’re judging two things: where your face is widest, and how much longer it is than it is wide.

• Oval: longer than wide, widest at the cheekbones, jaw slightly narrower than forehead. The lucky shape, since nearly everything works.
• Round: width and length are close, soft jaw, full cheeks.
• Square: width and length are close, but the jaw is strong and the forehead broad. The lines are straight rather than curved.
• Heart: wide forehead and cheekbones tapering to a narrower chin.
• Long: clearly longer than wide, whether the lines are soft or angular.

Don’t overthink the borderline cases. Most faces are a blend, and the rule below covers the blends too.

The one rule doing all the work

Contrast flatters. Frames that repeat your face’s dominant line amplify it, and frames that oppose it balance it.

• Round faces want structure: squared, rectangular, or angular frames. Skip small round lenses, which double down on roundness.
• Square faces want softening: rounded and oval frames, aviators, anything with curve. Blenders says the same thing about its own rounded North Park style, which it pitches at oval and square faces.
• Heart faces want bottom weight to balance the forehead: aviators, rimless bottoms, and frames that sit a little lower.
• Long faces want depth: oversized and tall lenses that shorten the visual line. This is where oversized styles like Quay’s High Key aviator, the brand’s bestselling frame, do their best work.
• Oval faces get a free pass. Pick by mood. The only real mistake is a frame wildly out of scale with your features.

The numbers on the temple arm

Inside one arm of nearly every pair you’ll find three numbers, something like 53-20-146. That’s lens width, bridge width, and temple length in millimeters. They matter more than the shape rule, because a flattering frame that slides down your nose flatters no one.

For reference, Quay publishes the High Key’s full spec: 153mm frame width, 20mm bridge, 146mm arms, 56mm lens height. That’s a genuinely oversized frame. If a pair you love fits well, write its numbers down and shop within a couple of millimeters of them forever. Adjustable silicone nose pads, which the High Key also has, buy you extra forgiveness on the bridge number.

Style is only half the checklist

A flattering frame still needs the two features that make sunglasses worth wearing: a UV400 rating, which we decode in what UV400 actually means, and ideally polarization if you drive or spend time near water. Once you know your shape and your numbers, our polarized shortlist is built to be shopped by fit, and the oversized crowd should read are Quay sunglasses worth it first.

Frequently asked

What sunglasses suit a round face?

Angular frames. Squared, rectangular, and geometric shapes add the structure a round face lacks. Small circular lenses are the one style to avoid, since they repeat the roundness.

What do the numbers inside sunglasses mean?

Three numbers like 53-20-146 are the lens width, bridge width, and temple arm length in millimeters. Match them to a pair that already fits you well and almost anything you order online will sit right.

Are oversized sunglasses flattering on everyone?

They do the most for long and oval faces, and they can overwhelm petite features. If you love the look on a smaller face, brands size down popular frames, like the smaller version of Quay’s High Key.

Does face shape matter more than fit?

No. A flattering shape that slides down your nose or pinches your temples will not get worn. Get the measurements right first, then use shape to choose between frames that fit.