Gorgeous Glasses for Narrow Faces: What to Look For and Why

When you have a narrow face, finding the perfect pair of glasses can be a bit of a challenge. If you don’t want your specs to overwhelm your features or slide off your nose, it may seem like your only option is to resort to children’s eyewear. Don’t despair though — there are some gorgeous glasses for narrow faces out there. It’s just a matter of knowing what to look for and where.

Let’s figure out if you have a narrow face and then delve into the type of glasses that will suit you best. We’ll also suggest where to find glasses for narrow faces that flatter your features and make you feel great.

What Is a Narrow Face Shape?

A narrow face is longer than it is wide. Some definitions say it’s one and a half times longer than the width. You may have an oblong face with sharper lines and angles or a more oval face with rounded edges. Either way, your face usually appears long and thin, and you may have a high forehead and/or a longer nose. As a bonus, longer faces are often described as elegant.

Although every face is different, petite or narrow faces often need a frame width of less than 129 millimeters. This in turn means a smaller lens width. Small glasses also usually have a smaller bridge width and slightly shorter temple arms (although not as short as children’s frames).

Considering that the average frame width is 138 mm, it’s not surprising that many glasses styles don’t work for you.

Your ideal frames should sit on the bridge of your nose, with your eyes centered in the lenses. As you’ll likely be wearing them for long periods of time, they should feel secure and comfortable on your face, and when you shake your head, they should stay in place.

Many glasses for narrow faces also work well on small faces with more petite features, whether they’re narrow or not.

Whatever your face size, your eyeglasses should enhance your facial features rather than detracting from them or highlighting the bits you’d prefer to downplay.

Choosing Glasses for Narrow Faces

When you’re looking for glasses for narrow faces, there are a few key guidelines to keep in mind.

Frame Width

Your total frame width should be about the same as the width of your face or very slightly wider (not more than 3 mm wider on each side). A frame size that’s slightly wider than your temples can help to balance out the length of your face. If your frame (and therefore your lens width) is too narrow, your face may look pinched.

Frame Height

The longer your face, the more height you need in your lenses so everything looks in proportion, otherwise your face may look even longer than it is. If your face is small overall, you can get away with less lens height.

Frame Style

Look for adult glasses for smaller faces rather than children’s styles. While children’s styles usually have narrow frames, they’re often designed with shorter temple arms, which can sit very uncomfortably on your ears. Their designs can also be — to state the obvious — a bit childish.

Frame Shape

Choose your frame shape to complement your face shape, not match it (for example, square glasses don’t usually look great on a square face). Curved frames look good with more structured, angular faces and vice versa.

Frame Color

If you like your narrow glasses in bright colors, try thinner frames rather than prominent thicker ones to avoid weighting the area around your eyes too much — which can in turn emphasize the length of your face above and below that. Thin eyeglass frames in the same color as your eyes can be particularly effective. Thick frames often work better on a narrow face if they’re clear frames or at least a transparent color. Tortoiseshell is a great neutral color if you want something in between.

Best Glasses for Narrow Faces

Let’s apply those guidelines in real life and explore some types of glasses for narrow faces that might just work for you.

Square Eyeglasses

If you have a long, oval face with some curves, a more defined glasses style is likely to look good on you. Bearing in mind our guideline on lens height though, aim for squarer rather than rectangular frames.

Round Glasses

If your face has strong lines, like high cheekbones, an oblong shape, or a square jaw, opt for round frames to soften your features. Circular frames with some height tend to look better than oval frames, which can again emphasize how much of your face is above and below your glasses.

Cat-Eye Frames

Cat-eye glasses tilt up at the sides and complement many different face shapes. They’re especially good glasses for narrow faces as the upward curves draw the eye outwards, rather than emphasizing the length of your face. Opt for taller cat-eye lenses, rather than thinner ones, to maintain those proportions.

Avoid These Glasses for Narrow Faces

Although you can wear anything you want, some styles are probably best avoided if you want to make your face look less narrow. These include browline glasses, semi-rimless glasses, or glasses that are heavier or darker on the top section. These draw the eye upwards, with nothing below to balance it, making your face look even longer.

Buying Glasses for Narrow Faces

So where can you get gorgeous glasses for narrow faces? A great place to start is Pair Eyewear.

We have a range of prescription glasses, including petite glasses for petite faces. Note that our children’s frames are stylish enough for adults to wear and their temple arms work for smaller adult faces too.

Whether you need reading glasses, single-vision prescription lenses, or progressives, we’ve got what you need. You can also add functional extras like blue-light filters for working on your computer at night or transitional lenses that take you from indoors to out.

Our Size Guide lists the measurements for all our glasses and you can also find them in the Fit Guide for each style.

For a petite, round face, try:

• The Cedro (frame width: 124.5 mm, lens height: 27.4 mm)

• The Otero (frame width: 130 mm, lens height: 33.5 mm)

• The Larkin (frame width: 133 mm, lens height: 35.2 mm)

• The Finley (frame width: 134 mm, lens height: 35.1 mm)

For a more angular petite face, try a rounder style like:

• The Serra (frame width: 125 mm, lens height: 36.5 mm)

• The Reese (frame width: 133 mm, lens height: 40.4 mm)

• The Twain (frame width: 128 mm, lens height: 37.5mm)

If you’d like to try a cat-eye style, give The Ella a go (frame width: 134.5 mm, lens height: 36.2 mm).

Use our Virtual Try-On feature to see if the frames you have your eye on work for you.

Take your Base Frames to the next level with a Top Frame that clips magnetically to your Base Frame, instantly giving you a whole new look. Whether you prefer classic styles, or you’re an art lover or sports fan, you’ll find a wide range of Top Frames that suit your personality and your favorite activities.

Pair frames are made of cellulose acetate, with select designs featuring stylish metal temples. While our standard lenses are made of scratch- and impact-resistant polycarbonate, with an anti-reflective coating to reduce glare.

Fit Your Longer Face With the Right Glasses

A narrow face is about one and a half times longer than it is wide, which means that many regular-size frames don’t fit well. Look for adult glasses designed for narrow or more petite faces. Your goal is not only to find the best fit but also to get the proportions right, so your glasses help you look and feel great.

Whether you go for square, round, or cat-eye frames, buy your glasses from a high-quality retailer like Pair Eyewear. Feel free to add any extra features that will enhance your lifestyle, plus as many Top Frames as you wish so you can change up your look whenever you like. Form, function, and versatility — what more can you ask for?