RKZ — #FeelGoodFrames

Boots Opticians invited me down earlier this month to check out their #FeelGoodFrames studio, located in their City store.

Helping people to Say Yes To Specs (which, in all fairness, didn’t take much convincing considering I've been wearing glasses since before I can remember), they took me through their range of designer frames and provided a really awesome one-to-one styling session.

Joidan, a Boots consultant. Image by Kris Atomic.

Fortunately for me, I was one of the first to arrive so my one-on-one styling session came with the assistance and opinion of three other wonderful and newly-trained consultants. As I knew the type of frame I was after, the actual process of selection and styling was relatively straightforward. The pair of glasses currently missing in my arsenal was a heavy frame tortoise shell. Joidan, my consultant that morning, located a few different options before we spotted a beautifully bold SAINT LAURENT pair that blew away all competition.

Making the final decision. Image by Kris Atomic.

I love that you can look at these frames and immediately tell they’re SAINT LAURENT, even before seeing the logo on the arm. Having spotted the camera I was lugging around, Joidan took the opportunity to inform me that they were going to be fitted with ZEISS lenses. Now, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I actually had no idea that their lens offering extended beyond photography. It blew my mind, and opened my eyes to a whole new world. (Still not sure how I feel about the upcoming Aladdin film FYI…)

When I posted the above pictures on my Instagram, I had a couple people ask how I find glasses that suit my face shape. I told them, quite frankly, that my choice every morning depends on my current facial/hair situation. The general approach is to pick something that’s flattering, but mostly so that it provides symmetry. When I have a bigger beard/hairstyle, I normally opt for a chunkier pair of frames. Whereas, should my beard and hair be trimmed (which it seldom is) then a round wireframe pair is an easy go-to.

I do occasionally switch those around to provide a starker contrast, but I need to make sure the colours and style of outfit works together on a whole. Glasses are an important accessory that often finalise and perfect a look as well as accentuate personality.

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to glasses and face shape, so I would always recommend trying pairs on in-store and getting opinions from friends and style consultants. However, this loose set of rules may help guide you a little on your way:

Round Face: Go for something round and slightly angular at the top. This will generally compliment your features whilst bringing a little bit more length.

Oval Face: You’re lucky. As your face is quite long, you have the ability to pull off bolder, thicker frames or go for circular wireframes. I’d usually suggest going for the former.

Square Face: Go for a angular frame (not rectangular), as this will generally compliment your features.

Heart Shaped Face: Avoid oversized, thicker frames and opt for a rounder shape.