Glasses for a heart face

How frames work on a heart face

Glasses sit just below the forehead, the widest part of a heart face. A frame with a heavy top bar or a wide, decorated brow line adds visual weight exactly where the face already has it and makes the taper to the chin more pronounced. A frame that is light at the top and slightly heavier or wider at the bottom does the opposite: it draws the eye down and balances the narrow chin.

So the rule for a heart face is light on top, weight at the bottom, no wider than the forehead.

Frame shapes that suit a heart face

• Bottom-heavy frames, where the lower rim is thicker or darker than the upper. Semi-rimless frames with the rim on the bottom half are the purest version.
• Rimless and thin metal frames, which add almost no weight anywhere and let the features show.
• Round and oval frames in a thin rim or a light colour. The curve softens the pointed chin by association and the lightness keeps the top quiet.
• Aviators in a thin metal, because the teardrop lens is wider at the bottom than the top.
• Rectangular frames with a thin top and slightly deeper lens, which add width at cheek level without a heavy brow line.

Frames to avoid on a heart face

• Frames with a heavy, dark or decorated top bar, including most browline styles.
• Strongly upswept cat-eye frames, which pull the width upward and outward at the temples.
• Frames wider than the forehead, which extend the widest part of the face.
• Very small frames on a face with a wide forehead, which make the forehead look even larger by contrast.

Width, height and bridge

Frame width should be at or slightly narrower than the forehead width and roughly equal to the cheekbone width. The face shape test reports both. A lens that is moderately deep, rather than shallow, helps bring attention down the face.

A low-set bridge that keeps the frame sitting a little lower on the nose works well on a heart face. A high, prominent bridge draws the eye up.

Colour and material

Light colours and thin materials suit the top half of the frame: clear, light tortoiseshell, gold or silver metal, light neutrals. If you want a dark or bold colour, choose a frame where the colour is concentrated in the lower rim, or a two-tone frame that is lighter on top. Match the tone to your skin undertone, which the test reports: warm undertones with gold, light tortoiseshell and warm neutrals; cool undertones with silver, clear and cool greys.

Sunglasses for a heart face

Aviators are the classic sunglasses for a heart face, for the same reason as in eyeglasses: wider at the bottom. Round and oval sunglasses in thin metal, and slightly oversized frames that do not exceed the forehead width, also suit. Avoid flat-top, browline and heavy square sunglasses that put a thick dark line across the widest part of the face.

A quick check

Photograph yourself straight on with the frames. If the forehead looks wider or the chin looks smaller with the frames on, the top of the frame is too heavy or the frame is too wide. The right frames make the face look more evenly balanced from top to bottom.