Match Your Glasses to Your Outfit | FramesDirect.com (2024)

When choosing a new pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses, think about which colors will complement you and your style. The best rule of thumb is matching your glasses to your outfit to avoid clashing colors; fortunately, the most common frame colors for glasses are black, white, grey, and silver, which go with just about everything, so you may not need to think too deeply about matching your glasses to most outfits. But if you have multiple pairs—especially in bold colors—you may be interested to learn how to match different frames to your clothing or eye color.

Before you think about your wardrobe, first consider your skin tone. Do you know whether your skin has warm, cool, or neutral undertones? Using color theory, we can find the right balance of tones and find the most flattering eyewear that will complement you and your wardrobe.

How to Look Good in Glasses

You will look good in the glasses that feel the best, because, as a simple rule of thumb, confidence equals style. The better a pair of eyeglasses fit, flatter, and draw focus to your eyes, the better you will look in them. To help determine which glasses are best, we've put together a simple set of steps on how to look in glasses. They include identifying your skin undertones, assessing your clothing and overall preferred color palette, your personal style, the occasion, how many pairs of glasses you prefer to own, and whether or not you need sunglasses. Once you've walked through these steps, finding a pair of frames that will make you look and feel your best is relatively simple.

Step One: Identify Your Skin Undertones

You can figure out which color glasses to gravitate towards by first assessing your skin tone, which will be either Warm, Cool, or Neutral. Warm skin has green or yellow undertones; if your skin is olive, you’ll fall into this category. If you can see your veins through your skin, they will appear greenish if you are Warm. If they appear bluish, then your skin tone is most likely Cool. When you divide the color wheel below horizontally, the top half will be the warmer colors and the bottom will be the cooler colors. If your eyes are hazel, that's a good sign your skin tone is Neutral, so choose glasses in more muted colors; a saturated shade like electric blue or lime green can overwhelm your neutral skin tone.

Best Color Glasses for Warm Skin Tone

Dark reds, corals, honeys, and deep greens are the best options for those with a warm skin tone. These deeper hues will complement the russet undertone of your skin, giving a healthy, youthful, glowing effect. While some bright colors in the orange to yellow range can be flattering, bright pink and lavender will wash you out and are not the best choices.

Best Color Glasses for Cool Skin Tone

Emerald, deep purple, pink, ice blue, and bright white are the best color glasses for cool skin tones. Since blue is the primary hue of cool skin, colors that balance and bring warmth to your complexion will complement your face without washing it out. Try to avoid metallic reds or greens, as both of these can cause a wearer with a cool skin tone's face to appear redder.

Best Color Glasses for Neutral Skin Tone

People with a neutral skin tone can wear almost any color of glasses, but gold, purple, brown, and silver are best. These balanced hues complement the majority of color palettes, without overwhelming the face. Oversaturated colors can wash out a neutral skin tone, so make sure to choose brighter colors in a light hue for the best results.

Step Two: Survey Your Closet and Assess Your Clothes

At a glance, do you see a theme? Do you prefer bright primary colors, soft pastels, or muted earth tones? This will give you a starting point when you browse for glasses online.

A closer look at the color wheel developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666 reveals the primary colors to begin with (red, yellow, and blue), expanding to include their secondary and tertiary complementary and contrasting colors. Follow these strategies to achieve harmony between your outfit and your glasses:

• Choose analogous colors, found on either side of your main color (for example, chartreuse and mustard are neighbors of yellow); if you predominantly wear one color tone, then look for analogous color frames.
• Choose complementary colors. Find the color directly opposite your main wardrobe color on the wheel (for example, blue is the complementary color of orange).
• Remember to match your accessories as well. Use the color wheel to pair complementary colors of your earrings, bracelets, or watch to match your glasses.

The color wheel works as well for matching your eyeglass frames to your wardrobe as it does for designing a home. You can also consult the color wheel when considering which frames will make your natural eye color pop.

Step Four: How Often Do You Replace Your Glasses? How Many Pairs Do You Have?

Many of us only have one current pair of glasses at a time, so it may be less about following trends or matching outfits and more about finding a tried and true pair that will make you look great no matter what you wear. If that's the case, check out our best-selling eyeglasses, where you can find the timeless styles that have been popular for good reason. Whether you choose a Ray-Ban Clubmaster or a classy pair from Persol, you can pick an uncommon color in a classic style for a simple way to make the look your own.

Step Five: What’s the Occasion?

Think about the situations where you’ll wear your frames. What is the perfect pair of glasses to wear on a formal occasion? Do you need a special pair to go with your tuxedo? If you really want to go all out with glasses that are like jewelry, try the Swarovski collection. And for the guys? Polo and Burberry each make classy and distinguished eyeglasses that will take you from the office to dinner, dancing, and beyond. At the other end of the spectrum, maybe you work in a dangerous environment or enjoy hardcore hobbies that require eye protection. Or maybe you play sports and need eyewear with a no-slip grip. Our most popular safety glasses are from Titmus, but everyone loves stylish, hard-wearing Oakley glasses.

Step Six: Don’t Forget About Sunglasses.

Sunglasses are an effective way to accessorize and bring out the most in your complexion and wardrobe. Plus, sunglasses offer a license to exercise even more fun in fashion. Choose sunglasses in primary colors or in warm, inviting tones. Don't be afraid to choose a color other than classic black or tortoise.

What Color Glasses Are Most Flattering?

For the most flattering look, stick to classic frame colors such as gold, silver, tortoise, or brown. These shades match any skin undertone and will integrate with most color palettes. Frame material also makes a difference in the color of the glasses you choose, as acetate frames generally have thicker rims than their metal counterparts, and therefore make more of a visual impact.

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