How to Choose Reading Glasses? Your Ultimate Style Guide

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the questions you should ask yourself when choosing your reading glasses. By working step by step through this guide, you can pick the most stylish peepers for your personal aesthetic. 

What Reading Glasses Are In Style?

Today’s fashion is all about personalization. Your ensemble choices offer opportunities to show the world who you are. That’s why Peepers offers such a vast array of stylish frames. Each one says a little something different about the wearer. 

According to the Vision Council, approximately one third of all Americans regularly switch between two or more pairs of glasses. Having options lets you treat your glasses less like an appendage and more like a fashion choice.

How to Choose the Right Glasses Frames by Shape

One of the first things to pay attention to when choosing glasses is the shape of the frames and how that shape compliments your face shape. That link will take you to our in-depth guide, but we cover some of the highlights of face shape

Round Faces

Round faces are nearly the same height and width, with soft curves. They pair best with rectangular frames. However, soft square frames—square-shaped frames with curved edges—can be a nice in-between if you don’t love strong angles on your frames. Check out our Highbrow peepers if you’re interested in trying a soft square. 

Square Faces

Square faces are also nearly the same height and width, but are more angular than round faces, featuring a wide forehead and angular jawline. To showcase those beautiful angles, you want some gentle curves. Choose round frames to best compliment this face shape. 

Oval Faces

Oval faces have the same gentle curves as round faces, but are longer than they are wide. They pair well with taller glasses. For this face shape, you want to choose glasses with a vertical presence. Square frames or cat eye frames pair best with oval faces.

Rectangular Faces

Rectangular faces are longer than they are wide, like oval faces, but feature prominent angles. They pair best with round frames, especially if you choose chunky, oversized round frames to compliment the length of this face shape. 

Heart-Shaped Faces

Heart-shaped or triangle faces have broad, curved foreheads and pointed jawlines. This beautifully unique face shape requires a similarly unique frame shape. Half frames, like our tortoise shell half frames, are perfect for this face shape. They de-emphasize the forehead and bring attention directly to your eyes. 

How to Choose the Right Glasses Width

Choosing glasses that are the right width is key to being comfortable in your glasses throughout the course of the day. As a general rule, you want your glasses to be about the same width as your face at the temples. 

You can measure this yourself by using a ruler and measuring from temple to temple. If your ruler is in inches, be sure to convert to millimeters. As a rule of thumb:

• Narrow faces work best with frames less than or equal to 129 mm
• Medium faces should look for frames 130-139 mm
• Wide faces need frames 140 mm or wider

Typically, oval and rectangular faces will be on the narrow side, square and round faces will be wider, and heart-shaped faces will be somewhere in between. Check out our fit guide for more information on picking the perfect glasses size for your face. 

How to Choose the Right Glasses Material

Any time you make an investment, you want to ensure your money is well-spent. Paying attention to the materials used to construct your glasses can give you a good idea what to expect when it comes to how much the glasses weigh, how well they stand up over time, and their environmental impact. 

Metal

Metal is one of the most durable frame materials. Aluminum or titanium frames are particularly durable and resist breaking down over time. Although some metals can cause allergic reactions, most metal frames have a coating on them to prevent this from happening. The downside to metal frames—especially high-quality metal frames—is that they can be a little more pricey than other frame materials. 

Plastic

Plastic is one of the most popular choices for frames because they’re cheap, lightweight, and come in a wide variety of colors and styles. Plastic is a flexible material, so if you drop them, they’re less likely to break on impact than other types of frames. However, the material also wears down more quickly than other frame materials, and both their color and durability can fade over time. Plastic frames are a great choice for kids who are hard on their glasses or for people who tend to trade out their glasses often. But if you’re looking for one pair of glasses to last for years, this may not be the best frame material for you. 

Soft Matte

Soft matte frames, also known as matte acetate frames, are made of a mix of natural materials and are 70-80% cotton. This material prioritizes comfort. Not only do they have a soft look, but they also have a soft feel, and tend to mold slightly to the shape of your head. However, because they’re made of an all-natural, porous material, they can become discolored over time. 

Eco-Friendly

Eco-friendly frame materials are made from recycled materials, including recycled wood or plastic. The goal is to reduce one-time plastic use and waste. The downside is that recycled materials may not be as durable as the original materials. But if you’re concerned about your environmental impact, these are the frames for you.

How to Choose the Right Glasses Color

The final step in choosing the best reading glasses is to pick a color that you love and that looks good on you. When considering the best reading glasses color, you’ll want something that looks good with your hair and eye color and that also compliments your personality.

Eye Color

Since your glasses frame your eyes, the first thing to consider is the best frame color to compliment your eye color. 

 We wrote up an in-depth guide to choosing the right frame color for your eye color. As a general rule, you either want to choose a frame color that has tones of your eye color in them to emphasize the shade, or you want to choose frames that are directly opposite your eye color on the color wheel to bring your eye color out by providing a contrast.  

Hair Color

Your eyeglasses frame your eyes. In a similar way, your hair tends to frame your glasses. Once again, the goal is to make your eyes stand out. So, you’ll either want a frame color that blends into your hair color so that your eyes are the most stand-out feature on your face, or you’ll want a bold color to bring attention to your eyes rather than your face. 

Keep in mind that there can be too much of a good thing. For example, if your eyes and hair are both brown, having brown frames as well can make your face look washed out. On the other hand, if you’ve dyed your hair a statement color like blue or purple, you might want to choose a more subtle frame color. 

Personality

The final step to choosing the right glasses color for you is to think about your personality. 

If you’re the type of person who likes to blend in, you might want to avoid bold statement glasses. A classic black, navy, or tortoise frame is a great option if you’re looking for a more versatile style. 

On the other hand, a big personality calls for statement glasses. If you like people to think of you as fun, artsy, or innovative, you might prefer contrasting colors or fun patterns to add a little whimsy to your ensemble. 

How to Rock Your Chosen Reading Glasses

Choosing reading glasses should be fun. Our versatile selection of reading glasses makes it easy to find peepers that compliment your vibe, whether you’re going for a classic style or a bold, next-level look. 

Although it’s important to pick reading glasses that will compliment your look, it’s equally important to have fun and wear your favorite peepers with confidence. Our accessories, from our display case to our fashion-forward reading glasses cords, make it easier than ever to rock your peepers and showcase your style!