The Perfect Eyeglass Fit – What To Look For

We make it our mission to help you find a frame you’ll love, and that fits as if it were tailor-made for you. We’ve found that the perception of a good fit can vary from client to client so we decided to write a simple post on eyewear fit from a professional optician’s perspective. We’ve seen thousands of faces in our frames and we thought you’d like to know the ideal eyeglass fit we had in mind when designing and fitting each frame.

Frame features 101

 

DK_sweet-spots

These are the key fit areas of any eyeglass frame front, including the pupil location “sweet spot”. Focusing on these key areas will give you a tailored look that will work perfectly with your prescription.

1. Overall frame size

The best fit will “frame” your face. Pay attention to how the overall frame width works with the width of your face. The endpiece should match with the widest part of your face at your temples (just in front of your ears). This fit feature is more important than the size of the lens. We have many clients which focus on lens size (“I’m a 52mm lens wearer”). However, they’ll often find the overall frame size is more important than the lens size marked inside the arm of the frame.

2. Eye position

Eye position is very important not only for how your frame looks on you, but how your Rx works in that frame. Horizontally, each eye should be centered in the lens up to 5mm inside of lens center–never outside of center. Vertically, if you imagine the lens in four equal sections, your eyes should be in the 25% segment just above center-never below center and never in the top 25%.

frame-fit-3

3. Bridge fit

Comfort is key and trying on the frame is essential. Whether acetate pads that are integrated into the frame, or pads attached by metal pad arms, the nose pads should rest comfortably on the sides of your nose. The frame shouldn’t rest on your cheeks nor should the top of the frame bridge only rest on the top of your nose. This balanced fit ensures the frame fits comfortably and helps it to stay in place.

4. Frame shape

While the popular generalities around how round frames are better for square faces and vice versa, we think that is an unhelpful oversimplification. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little. Sometimes the size of a frame is much more important than the shape. For example, if you have a round face a small round frame may look great, but a large round frame doesn’t work.

5. Your prescription

There are two things to consider–your Rx power and Rx type. For low power single vision wearers, you don’t need to be concerned. For higher Rx powers (over a +/- 3.00) and/or progressive or bifocal wearers, lens size matters. High power Rx’s will want to keep the lens size as small as possible and eyes as centered as possible to help reduce lens thickness and weight.  Progressive/bifocal wearers will want to ensure your eyes are in that 25% above lens center–the deeper the frame the more room you’ll have for the distance to intermediate to reading portions.

A proper fit consists of:

  • Eyes centered in the frames.
  • Width of the frame that matches closely to the width of your face.
  • The bridge fitting snugly on your nose.
  • For more info, see this post.

Use this calculation for frame size:

Eye size + Bridge size = Frame Size. Or for example: 47mm +21mm = 68mm

frame fit measurements eyeglass size fit

Very Narrow: 65mm or less

Narrow: 66mm to 67mm

Medium: 68mm to 70mm

Wide: 70mm to 73mm

Very Wide: 74mm or more

Above is a general rule. For men, add 1-2mm, for women subtract 1-2mm

 

FIND A PERFECT PAIR

 

*This post doesn’t cover fine tuning adjustments (i.e. temple tip, panto, ear height, etc). We are able to do many of these adjustments based upon your feedback during home try-on and further fine tuning can be done by a local optician.

 

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  1. I didn’t realize that there was a “sweet spot” for your eyes to be. Is this purely for the look and fit of the glasses, or does it have to do with your vision? It is good to know that the frame isn’t actually supposed to rest on your face. I think that this means my son needs some new glasses! Thank you for all of the professional tips, I will keep these in mind!

    • davidkind says:

      Hi Brooke,

      Thanks for the note! That is correct, all lenses using the latest in modern technology have a “sweet spot”–which is referred to as the optical center. By placing the optical center in the proper place in relation to your pupils will allow the lens to work correctly and certainly will result in improved vision vs an optical center improperly placed. From an aesthetic standpoint, ensuring your pupils are as centered as possible in the lens of the frame you choose will help minimize the lens thickness at the edges. Hope this helps you find a perfect fit when looking for a new pair of glasses. If you have any specific questions on fit, feel free to send us a photo in the glasses along with the Rx to optician@davidkind.com and we’ll get back to you with feedback.

  2. Sarah Smith says:

    My eyesight is getting worse, and I want to get glasses. Thanks for the advice about getting a frame size that will best fit your face. It would also be smart to get an optician to help you get the best glasses.

    • davidkind says:

      Hi Sarah,

      Thanks for the kind words. We 100% agree on consulting the advice of an optician. That is why we pair you with an experienced optician throughout the process. You select 3 styles and upload a photo, and your David Kind optician selects 3 more styles they believe you will like–and that will work with your Rx.

  3. Maggie Allen says:

    It’s good to know that the endpiece of the glasses should match with the widest part of your face. I bet that is a good way to make your face look as slim as possible. Could you also make the endpieces go wider to heighten that effect even more?

    • davidkind says:

      Hi Maggie,

      That is a good question. We do not suggest going wider because choosing a frame too wide for your face can have negative results. For example, your lens edge thickness can increase. Also, it is similar to clothing in that wearing loose clothing does not typically give a slimming effect and can often give the opposite result. We strongly believe that a “tailored” fit for an individuals unique facial features is the best for eyewear, just as it is for clothing. With frames, looking at the frame depth, shape, and color all play a part as well. This is why we highly recommend the assistance of one of our opticians on staff to help find the perfect frame. Thank you again for the question!

      David Kind

  4. Luke Smith says:

    Thanks for pointing out that higher power prescriptions would want to keep lens size as small as possible. I imagine many people wouldn’t think of that as a consideration that could be affected by your prescription. I’m sure that consulting with your optometrist before buying prescription glasses would be a good way to make sure you get a good pair.

  5. Donavon says:

    I would like to talk to an eye glass professional

    • davidkind says:

      Hi Donavon, please give us a call at 800-995-2032 or chat now using the live chat icon at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Looking forward to connecting!

  6. John Mahoney says:

    Thank you for talking about how your eyeglasses’ frame should fit with the frame of your face. We are looking for an optometrist that can help us with our son since he has been complaining about his vision but we want to make sure they glasses have a good frame for him. It is always good to remember that taking the time to take into account what the person who will be wearing the glasses can help them feel confident in themselves as well as be fashionable.

    • davidkind says:

      Hi John,

      Thanks for the comment. If your son is over the age of 16, we likely will have a great pair for him. We’d suggest requesting a home try-on via our site. Our staff opticians will help him select the perfect pair of glasses for his fit and prescription.If he is younger, we’d suggest searching for collections which cater to children. Regarding the optometrist, we work with a few located in New York, New Jersey and California. You can find info here in our FAQ.

      Please let us know if we can answer any other questions.

      David Kind Team

  7. AB Thomson says:

    [* Shield plugin marked this comment as “0”. Reason: Human SPAM filter found “awesome blog” in “comment_content” *]
    Awesome blog. I really like reading this blog. Will share with my circle.

  8. Afton Jackson says:

    I didn’t realize accounting for where your eyes are positioned can help you choose glasses that are centered over your eye so you get the best vision. My wife recently failed her vision test when renewing her drivers license. Hopefully, she can use this info to choose glasses that will help her get back on the road while looking good doing it.

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