How to Choose Sunglasses for Your Face Shape (Men)
Choosing the right sunglasses for your face shape can be the difference between looking sharp and looking off.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to match sunglasses to your face shape, find the right frame size, and avoid common mistakes.
Plus, I’ll show you which common sunglass styles (aviator, wayfarer, and more) work best for each face shape.
Why Face Shape Matters When Choosing Sunglasses
Because not every pair of sunglasses looks good on everyone.
You buy a pair of sunglasses because they look good on the model, and when you get them, boom, they look completely wrong on your face.
A lot of people have the same experience.
The reason?
Face shape.
Your face shape is the key to which sunglasses will look good and which ones will make you look off.
Think of it this way:
If you have a round face, round sunglasses will make your face look even rounder, while angular frames create contrast and balance out the roundness.
The same logic applies to every face shape.
That’s why face shape is the first and most crucial step to finding sunglasses that actually work for you.
And once you know your face shape, the rest is easy.
How to Determine Your Face Shape
Here are two ways to figure it out:
Method 1: The Mirror Test
Stand in front of a mirror.
Pull your hair back so you can see your whole face.
Now trace your face outline on the mirror with a washable or dry-erase marker.
Step back and look at it.
Is it round? Square? Long?
That’s your face shape.
Method 2: Measure It
I talked about this method in the baseball cap guide because face shape also matters when finding the right cap.
Here’s how to do it at home:
Pull your hair back, grab a flexible measuring tape (or a ruler), and stand in front of a mirror.
First, measure your forehead width. Measure from the peak of one eyebrow arch straight across to the other.
Next, measure your cheekbone width. Go from the outer edge of one cheekbone across to the other, right over your nose bridge.
Then measure your jawline. Start at the tip of your chin and go to just below your ear, where your jaw angles up. Multiply that by two for your full jawline length.
Finally, measure your face length. From the center of your hairline straight down to the tip of your chin.
Write down the numbers.
Now compare them to the face shapes below.
The 6 Common Face Shapes (and How to Identify Yours)
Once you’ve got your measurements, compare them to the patterns below:
1. Oval Face
Your face is longer than it is wide. Your forehead is a bit wider than your jawline. Your jawline is rounded, not sharp or angular.
2. Round Face
Your face length and cheekbone width are roughly the same. Your cheekbones are the widest part of your face. Your forehead and jawline are about the same width. Your jawline has soft, curved lines with minimal angles.
3. Square Face
Your face length and width are similar, but it’s usually a bit longer than wide. Your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are all roughly the same. You have a sharp, defined jawline.
4. Oblong/Rectangle Face
Your face is noticeably longer than it is wide. Your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are roughly similar in width. Your jawline is long and angular.
5. Heart Face
Your face is longer than it is wide. Your forehead is the widest part of your face. Your cheekbones are slightly narrower than your forehead, but still prominent. Your jawline is narrow and pointed.
6. Diamond Face
Your cheekbones are the widest part of your face. Your forehead is narrower than your cheekbones. Your jawline is the narrowest part of your face, with a pointed chin.
Best Sunglasses for Each Face Shape
Now that you know your face shape, let’s talk about which sunglasses work best.
Best Sunglasses for an Oval Face
If you have an oval face, you can pull off almost any style.
Oval is the most versatile face shape because it’s already balanced.
That said, here are the styles that look especially good:
1. Aviators
The balanced, teardrop shape complements an oval face’s natural proportions.
Since your face is already well-balanced, aviators enhance what’s already there without competing with your features or throwing anything off.
2. Wayfarers
The straight lines and bold angles add structure to your softer curves.
They give your face a more defined look without overpowering it, which is why they’re a classic choice for oval faces.
3. Rectangular Sunglasses
The sharp angles create contrast and definition against your softer, balanced features.
They add an edge to an otherwise balanced face, making your look more striking and intentional without going overboard.
4. Square Sunglasses
Strong, defined edges balance out the natural curves of an oval face.
They add a bit of boldness and structure, giving you a sharper, more angular appearance that still feels proportional.
5. Cat-Eye Sunglasses
The upswept corners sharpen your look and add style.
They draw attention upward and create a subtle lift that complements the natural symmetry of an oval face, adding a touch of personality.
6. Oversized Sunglasses
Work well as long as they’re not too big.
The key is staying proportional, oversized frames can add drama and coverage, but go too large and they’ll swallow your face instead of complementing it.
What to avoid: Frames that are too large or too small. Stick to proportional sizes.
Best Sunglasses for a Round Face
Round faces need angular frames to balance out the roundness.
Here’s what works:
1. Rectangular Sunglasses
Your best bet.
They elongate your face and add definition by creating vertical lines that break up the roundness.
The sharp angles contrast beautifully with soft curves, giving your face more structure.
2. Wayfarers
The bold, angular shape adds instant structure to a round face.
The wide top and strong lines create definition where your face naturally lacks angles, making everything look sharper and more balanced.
3. Square Sunglasses
They create contrast and balance out the roundness.
The hard edges work against your soft curves, giving your face a more defined, angular appearance without looking too harsh or out of place.
4. Cat-Eye Sunglasses
The slight upward shape makes your face look sharper.
The lifted corners draw the eye up and outward, creating the illusion of angles and length, which is exactly what a round face needs.
5. Geometric Sunglasses
Hexagonal or octagonal shapes work great because they add multiple angles.
These frames introduce sharp lines and edges that break up the circular softness of a round face, creating instant contrast and definition.
What to avoid: Round or oval frames. They’ll make your face look even rounder.
Go angular, not curved.
Best Sunglasses for a Square Face
You need the opposite of what round faces need—frames that soften your strong jawline and angular features.
Here’s what works:
1. Round Sunglasses
The round Frame softens your sharp angles by introducing curves where you have straight lines.
They create a nice contrast with your strong jawline and forehead, making your face look less boxy and more balanced overall.
2. Aviators
The curved lenses and teardrop shape soften your angular features.
They add a smooth, flowing element to counterbalance the hard edges of a square face, creating a more approachable and balanced look.
3. Oval Sunglasses
Add curves to balance your angles.
The elongated, rounded shape works against the strong horizontal and vertical lines of a square face, softening everything without taking away your natural definition.
4. Browline/Clubmaster Sunglasses
The heavier top frame balances a strong jawline by drawing attention upward.
The curved bottom and bold top create visual weight where you need it, making your face look less bottom-heavy.
5. Cat-Eye Sunglasses
The upswept corners draw the eye up and balance out a strong jawline.
They add a lift that counteracts the width and sharpness of your jaw, creating a more harmonious overall shape.
What to avoid: Boxy, geometric, or square frames. They’ll make your face look even more angular.
The goal is to add curves to balance the angles.
Best Sunglasses for a Rectangle/Oblong Face
Your face is long and narrow.
So you want frames that make your face appear shorter and wider.
Here’s what works:
1. Wayfarers
The bold frames break up the length by adding visual weight.
The thick top and strong horizontal lines create a stopping point that interrupts the vertical flow, making your face look more balanced.
2. Aviators
The teardrop shape adds width up top and breaks up the length.
The wider top creates horizontal emphasis where you need it most, while the curved shape softens the angularity of a rectangle face.
3. Square Sunglasses
They add coverage and visual weight.
The bold, boxy shape creates strong horizontal lines that compete with the vertical length of your face, helping everything look more proportionate and less elongated.
4. Round Sunglasses
They soften your angular features while adding width.
The circular shape breaks up the straight lines of an oblong face and draws attention outward, making your face appear less long and more balanced.
5. Oversized Sunglasses
They add width to balance out the length.
By covering more horizontal space, oversized frames break up the vertical lines of a long face, making it appear shorter and fuller without overwhelming your features.
What to avoid: Small, narrow frames. They’ll make your face look even longer.
Best Sunglasses for a Heart Face
You have a wide forehead and cheekbones, and a narrow jawline.
So you want frames that balance that out by adding width to the lower half of your face.
Here’s what works:
1. Aviators
The teardrop shape balances a wider forehead by adding width to the lower half of your face.
The wider top tapers down, mirroring your face shape but in reverse, which creates a nice counterbalance.
2. Wayfarers
The broader top balances out a wider forehead without making it look even wider.
The bold frame adds structure and draws attention to the middle of your face, taking focus away from the forehead-to-chin taper.
3. Rectangular Sunglasses
The straight, horizontal lines balance out your wider forehead and cheekbones.
They create a visual anchor in the middle of your face, interrupting the triangular shape and making everything look more proportional.
4. Round Sunglasses
Soft curves tone down a wide forehead and prominent cheekbones.
The circular shape contrasts with the angular taper of a heart face, softening the sharpness and creating a more balanced overall look.
5. Oval Sunglasses
They keep everything balanced without adding extra width.
The elongated shape complements the natural proportions of a heart face without emphasizing the forehead or making the chin look even narrower.
6. Cat-Eye Sunglasses
They pull focus to your eyes and away from your forehead.
The upswept corners create a lift that draws attention to the middle of your face, balancing out the wider top and narrower bottom.
What to avoid: Heavy top frames or styles with embellishments on top (like thick browlines). They’ll make your forehead look even wider.
Best Sunglasses for a Diamond Face
You’ve got strong, prominent cheekbones.
So you want frames that complement them without overwhelming your face.
Here’s what works:
1. Aviators
The teardrop shape balances wider cheekbones by adding width at the top and tapering down.
This mirrors the natural width of your face and complements your cheekbones without making them look even more prominent.
2. Cat-Eye Sunglasses
The upswept corners play nicely with your cheekbones.
They follow the natural lines of your face and draw attention upward, creating harmony instead of competing with your most prominent feature.
3. Oval Sunglasses
Curved shapes soften those prominent cheekbones.
The smooth, rounded edges create a gentle contrast with the sharp angles of a diamond face, making everything look more balanced and less severe.
4. Round Sunglasses
Rounds soften your strong cheekbone structure by adding curves where you have angles.
The circular shape contrasts beautifully with the sharp, defined lines of a diamond face, creating a more harmonious overall look.
5. Rimless Sunglasses
Keep the focus on your natural features instead of the frames.
Since diamond faces are already distinctive and striking, rimless styles let your cheekbones shine without adding visual competition or extra bulk.
6. Browline/Clubmaster Sunglasses
The heavier top frame creates balance by drawing attention upward.
The bold top and thinner bottom mirror the width distribution of a diamond face, making everything feel more proportional and grounded.
What to avoid: Narrow frames. They’ll look too small and make your cheekbones appear wider.
How Should Sunglasses Fit
Here’s something most guys miss:
Even if you choose the right sunglasses for your face shape, they’ll look terrible if they don’t fit properly.
Here’s how to make sure they fit:
1. Frame Width
Your frames should align with the widest part of your face.
If they’re too wide, they’ll slide off.
If they’re too narrow, they’ll squeeze your head.
A good rule of thumb: the frames shouldn’t extend past your temples.
2. Bridge Fit
The bridge (the part that sits on your nose) should fit comfortably without pinching or sliding.
If the bridge is too narrow, the frames will sit too high. If it’s too wide, they’ll slide down your nose.
Look for adjustable nose pads if you have a low or high nose bridge.
3. Temple Length
The temples (the arms of the glasses) should rest comfortably on your ears without squeezing.
They should follow the natural curve of your head and not stick out.
Most temple lengths range from 135 mm to 150 mm.
Common Mistakes When Choosing Sunglasses
Okay, now let’s wrap it up with some common mistakes:
Mistake #1: Choosing Sunglasses Based on Trends Only
This is the most common mistake.
Popularity doesn’t mean it’ll work for your face.
Don’t buy trendy frames just because a celebrity wore them.
Figure out what works for your face shape first, then worry about trends.
Mistake #2: Ignoring Frame Size
Make sure to pick frames that aren’t too big or too small.
Remember: the frames should match your face width, not hang off the sides.
Mistake #3: Buying Online Without Trying Them On First
Online shopping is convenient, but sunglasses are one of those things you should really try on before buying.
If you’re buying online, look for stores with free returns and virtual try-on features.
Mistake #4: Not Considering Your Lifestyle
Are you buying sunglasses for everyday wear, sports, or driving?
Your lifestyle matters.
If you’re active, go for durable frames with a good grip. If you’re mostly wearing them casually, you can prioritize style over function.
Mistake #5: Skipping UV Protection
This one should be obvious.
Your sunglasses need proper UV protection.
Look for 100% UVA and UVB protection.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology says prolonged UV exposure damages your eyes and increases your risk of cataracts.
Don’t cheap out on this.
