Sunglasses — finding the perfect look

I need some new sunglasses and the last few I’ve bought haven’t looked quite right. Can you give me some pointers so I know I’m on the right track?

Ah, sunglasses — better than any cream for concealing tired eyes and to give you that air of film star mystery. I depend on them a lot, having not had a decent night’s sleep in about three years.

To look your best in sunglasses you should consider your face shape and also the size of your face.

There are two types of people who can ignore the guidelines. Firstly, the fashion followers who just want the newest shape for summer 2022. If this is you, pick up a pair of bug-eyed supersized shades, or select a pink-, green-, orange- or white-framed pair and off you trot into the sunset. There is a veritable rainbow of colours out there: Burberry, Armani, Versace and Loewe all have a pretty range to choose from. I also like Coach’s fun Badge Rectangle Sunglasses (£118, uk.coach.com) and Boss’s green-lensed Acetate Sunglasses with green lenses (£175, hugoboss.com).

The second category are those who are blessed with an oval face shape. Considered by stylists to be the “best” shape on account of its elegant, spherical outline, which looks a little like an egg if you scraped all the hair back. The oval does not need to balance anything as the widest point sits in the middle of its cheekbones and is therefore symmetrical with the rest of the face. Those with that shape can literally wear any style of sunglasses, although they look particularly good in a cat eye. This style has been popular since the ‘50s and with good reason!

I adore the ladylike Celine Cat Eye Acetate Sunglasses (£290, libertylondon.com) or add some attitude with these stud-edged Valentino tortoise-shell cat-eye sunglasses (£253, harveynichols.com). Alternatively, look at Ace and Tate’s brilliant Capri which comes in seven colourways (£110, aceandtate.com)

The only thing to note is that the sunglasses shouldn’t stray too far outside the edge of your face and the size should be proportionate to you. Please remember to look in a full-length mirror when choosing sunglasses so you can see the overall scale against your body proportions. Don’t let them overwhelm you. One way of testing this is to put the sunglasses on, close your eyes for a second and then look again. If the sunglasses are the first thing you see, they’re too big. It’s a little like the old adage, are you wearing them or are they wearing you? 

What about everyone else? For square-shaped faces where you have a straight line from forehead to jaw like me and Kate Moss (the only physical similarity, sadly) you need to look for curved shapes and avoid glasses with a flat bottom. Choose an aviator — which are literally everywhere (thanks, Maverick). Saint Laurent’s Classic SL 11 aviator never dates (£270, mytheresa.com) or try a softly rounded acetate frame from Ray-Ban (£146, fenwick.co.uk).

For long or oblong faces, where your face is roughly twice as long as it is wide, like Alexa Chung’s, opt for a chic oval pair such as Ray-Ban’s Oval Flat in Gold & Green Classic (£164, revolve.com) or ones with decorative detailing on the temples (think Sophia Loren not Dame Edna Everage). I’m rather taken with these jewelled Jimmy Choo Yellow Transparent Cat-Eye Sunglasses with Swarovski Crystals (£250, jimmychoo.com) for a dressed-up lunch al fresco. The detail works to shorten the length of the face and draws attention across instead of down. 

Round faces are approximately the same length as they are wide, like Kirsten Dunst’s. They look amazing in heavy angles as it counteracts the circular appearance of the face. The hexagonal Esther style from Chloe is super bold (£230, mytheresa.com) or opt for a wider shape that also works to reduce fullness. Givenchy Black D-frame sunglasses (£229, harveynichols.com) will do the trick.

Inverted triangle and heart-shaped faces, like Reese Witherspoon’s, where the forehead is much wider than the chin, are best suited by glasses with emphasis on the top of the frame. A half rim, for example, can make the jaw appear wider than it actually is. Try DSquared’s DQ0298 style (on sale at £69, linvelles.com) or Le Specs’s elegant Navy Mountain High cat-eye acetate sunglasses (£75, net-a-porter.com)

The popular butterfly shape is especially good on a heart face by angling the frame inward towards the bottom, which helps to soften the angles of the face. I’d recommend Ted Baker’s Anniiya style (£130, tedbaker.com) or Polo Ralph Lauren’s streamlined RA5254 Women’s Butterfly Sunglasses (£91, johnlewis.com).

As I mentioned at the beginning, the size of your face matters. If you have a very small face, either look at children’s sunglasses or try Ace & Tate which offers three frame sizes. Ray-Ban’s Julie and the classic RB4122 come in XXS and the company has some great options in larger sizes too, such as the original Wayfarer. If you get stuck, do try the brilliant virtual mirrors at Vision Express, Ray-Ban and Eyeconic. A word of warning though, it’s actually quite addictive. 

Hopefully these rough guidelines will aid your quest for the perfect sunglasses. Let me know how you get on.

Anna Berkeley is a London-based personal stylist and style columnist for FT Weekend. She has worked in the fashion industry for more than 25 years, previously as a buyer for Selfridges and Prada, and a consultant for Margaret Howell. Every month, she answers readers’ questions about fashion and what to wear.

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