THE JOURNAL

Buying sunglasses can be a shady business. As brands proliferate, and styles multiply, it’s all too easy to be dazzled by the ranges on offer, and forget to train your lens on what’s important – shape and fit. With that in mind, here’s how to pick a pair that complements your facial features, and you’ll instantly up your frame game.
01.
If your face is round

Who’s got it: Mr Kanye West, Mr Tom Cruise
Go for: frames that contrast well with your softer features; the goal is to create as much definition as possible. Frames that are slightly wider than your face, such as aviators, will make your cheeks appear slimmer. Angular frames (such as Wayfarers by Ray-Ban) elongate your temples and lengthen your face.
Avoid: round frames that mimic your face shape. You would, quite literally, be going round in circles.
Try these
02.
If your face is oval

Who’s got it: Mr Ryan Gosling, Mr Will Smith
Go for: almost anything, because – congratulations, respect due, etc – you’re blessed with the most coveted, compatible face shape of all.
Avoid: arms that hang too low, because they further elongate your already adequately distended features.
Get the look
03.
If your face is oblong

Who’s got it: Mr George Clooney, Mr Russell Brand
Go for: thick frames or oversize lenses to balance out your narrow proportions and soft features. Try vintage styles with clean, bold lines, or aviators – the convex shape and teardrop silhouette of the lenses accentuate the vigorous line of the cheek and jaw bones.
Avoid: more diminutive styles that make your features appear pinched and may provoke wearisome enquiries of the “why the oblong face?” variety.
Get the look
04.
If your face is square

Who’s got it: Mr Jake Gyllenhall, Mr Brad Pitt
Go for: rounded or slightly curved frames that will complement your strong facial structure.
Avoid: anything too boxy or too sharp. So-wrong-it’s-right-angled is a challenging look to pull off.
Get the look
05.
If your face is heart-shaped

Who’s got it: Mr Riz Ahmed, Mr Nick Jonas
Go for: rounder frames, to help balance the wider forehead, or bottom-heavy frames, to help broaden the lower part of the face.
Avoid: teardrop lenses or frames with too much detailing at the top. You’re looking to bolster the region south of the nostrils.
Get the look
06.
If your face is diamond-shaped

Who’s got it: Mr Jared Leto, Mr Lakeith Stanfield
Go for: retro-inspired, rectangular styles that complement your defined chin and sharp cheekbones. You’ve got the canvas to experiment with strong colours and creative details.
Avoid: extremes, particularly rounded, curved and angular styles. You’ve got the carats; you don’t need the stick.
Get the look
07.
If your face is triangular

Who’s got it: Mr Donald Glover, The Weeknd
Go for: top-heavy frames that pull the emphasis upwards and offset your broad jaw and chin; teardrop lenses can draw the eye up to the forehead. Anything with a heavy brow-line adds width to the upper portion of the face, which is where you need ballast.
Avoid: anything that adds to bottom-heaviness. You don’t want to put the SOS in isosceles.