How to Choose an Eyewear Frame for Square and Rectangular Face Shape

Let's learn how to choose an eyewear frame that best compliments a SQUARE face. If you do not already know your face shape, click here to find first. 

SQUARE FACE SHAPE:

• A square face is almost equal in length and width.
• Forehead, Cheeks and Jaw, all have the same width, so the sides of the face are like two parallel lines.
• The jaw bones are prominently visible on each side of the face. This is called a square jaw.
• The chin is flat.

RECTANGULAR FACE SHAPE:

If you have all the above features of a square face, but your face is much longer than it is wide, then you have a long square face i.e. a Rectangular face.

When choosing a frame for a square or rectangle face, keep these goals in mind: 

• To balance your square jaw: Concentrate on frames that highlight the upper portion of your face.
• To balance the angular face: Go for curved frames to make your appearance softer
• Optional: You may want your square face to look longer and slimmer. OR you may want your rectangular face to look shorter.

Follow these three basic guidelines when choosing an eye frame:

1. Frame SHAPE should be in contrast to face shape (particularly spectacles).

2. Frame SIZE in proportion to face size (particularly spectacles).

3. Frame COLOR in accordance with your skin tone or eye color (both specs and sunglasses).

CHOOSING THE EYEWEAR FRAME SHAPE (think contrast):

You can go for any of the basic shapes shown on the left side above and see which one looks best on you. There is a huge variety available in the market for each of these shapes.

• If you want to add sweetness to your face, go for Round or Oval frames, as they soften the angles in a square face.
• Oval Frames (for spectacles) also make your face appear longer and slimmer. They look okayish to good but not so great.
• Butterfly and Cat eye frames draw the attention to the upper face and balance your square jaw. They make you look very stylish and enhance your personality.
• The arms/temples of the frame should be attached at the top or middle of the frame

Kanye West in Round Butterfly Frames with temples /arms attached at the top of the frame

Paris Hilton: Square Face
Oversized sunglasses with arms/temples attached to the middle of the frame

Kourtney Kardashian in Cat eye frames

Brad Pitt in round butterfly frames

AVOID: 

• Rectangular, Square or geometric frames as they accentuate the angles of the face, which we don't want.
• Avoid rimless as they keep your look neutral and don't add much to your personality.
• Avoid frames with a linear (straight line) top bar which can make you look stern.
• Avoid frames with arms/temples attached too low as they will emphasize your lower face.

What's wrong with David Beckham's glasses here?

David Beckham in glasses

The frame is thicker and darker at the top and if you pay attention, there are silver studs at each top corner. All these accentuate the upper face, which is good. But still his frame looks more rectangular than curved and it is making his face appear very stern. The upper rim of the frame is almost covering his eyes. Eyes should actually be in the center of the frame.

Let's take Kareena Kapoor's example and see which eye frame looks more flattering on her:

Frame 1: It's looking just fab, adding oodles to her personality. The frame is curvy, the upper frame is heavy and the prominent upper edges of frame are balancing her square jaw. Her smokey eye makeup is further grabbing the attention to the upper face. Everything is perfect!

Frame 2: She is looking sweet in an oval frame. The small height of the specs is fine for her small face. Not looking bad but not adding much to her personality either. Just okay!

Frame 3: Rimless and square shaped glasses. Keeping her look neutral but not  doing anything to enhance the face. Again, not so great!

Aviators or Pilot Frames: I personally feel that aviators don't look very good on square faces as the straight line at top of the frame adds harshness to face and the shape draws attention to your lower face, both of which you should avoid. But if you particularly like them and they look good on you, it is your choice. For example, see 

CHOOSING THE EYEWEAR FRAME SIZE (think proportion):

For Sunglasses, oversized frames are an exception as they look good on every face shape. So for a glamorous look, you can safely go for oversized frames.

For spectacles, choose a frame that is in proportion to your face. Small face: Small size frames (make your face look longer). Big face: bigger size frames in proportion to your face. Long square face people (also called rectangular faces) look good in longer glasses.

Demi Moore: Rectangular Face. Long round glasses
Example of big face - big spectacles

Kara Tointon in geometric butterfly frames
Example of small face - short/small spectacles

When we say long or small, we are talking about the length/height of the frame.

Widthwise, your frame should be at least as wide as (or wider than) the widest part of your face and this is for both sunglasses and eyeglasses.

What's wrong with these glasses?

In this example, John Abraham's round glasses look good on his square face. Eyes are in the center. BUT, the frame is too narrow for his face. The frame width ends exactly at the end of his eyes.

Now see how good he looks in these ones:

CHOOSING THE EYEWEAR FRAME COLOR:

One very important point for square face shape people: The color emphasis for frame should be on the upper rim and for sunglasses, on the upper side of the eyewear lenses. Such eyewear with two-color toned lenses are called gradients. For frame, note Kareen Kapoor Frame 1 Example above. For lenses see these:

Paris Hilton in butterfly frame gradient sunglasses

See Paris Hilton in this PERFECT pair of Sunglasses. Oversized butterfly frames with thick upper edges, pointing upwards like a cat-eye frame. The lenses are gradient - dark brown color on top and light brown towards bottom. 

Here's another example of gradients:

Gradient Lenses: Dark at top, light at bottom. Therefore, color emphasis is on top

Avoid sunglasses with color emphasis on the lower side as that will rather enhance your lower face, which you don't want.

If you want to keep your look neutral, go with colors that match your eye and hair color. Such eyewear will just 'blend into' your appearance keeping it neutral.

If you are fashion conscious and want to look attractive, go for colors matching your skin tone, to make a statement. Such eyewear will 'enhance' your appearance.

Warm toned people can choose an eyewear frame color from Coral (warm red), Orange, Peach, Copper, Gold, Honey, Camel, Beige, Khakhi browns, blond tortoise, off-white, Aqua (warm blue) etc.

Cool toned people can choose from Black, Charcoal, Gray, bluish gray/blue-gray, Blue, Silver, White, Purple, Red (cool toned), Maroon, Plum, Magenta, Pink, Rose, Rose Brown, Amber brown, demi-amber tortoise (darker), Jade, Turquoise, Purple etc.

If you cannot figure out your skin tone and want to make a safe choice, go for rimless eye wear, where the color is visible only on the nose bridge and earpieces. Choose the color for that small visible area based on what looks good on you and try many different options before deciding. Women can decide easily based on what color lipsticks look good on them :) and choosing a color from the same 'warm' or 'cool' color family.

For kids, avoid dark colored frames as they can make a kid look mature.

Some square and rectangular face celebrities are:

(W) Kareena Kapoor, Sandra Bullock, Sushmita Sen, Kristin Scott, Shannyn Sossam, Brooke Shields, Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, Kara Tointon, Jacqueline Fernandez etc. 

Demi Moore and Kourtney Kardashian (Rectangular Face)

(M) David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Nick Lachey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Matt Damon, John Abraham, Sanjay Dutt etc. 

Kanye West, Keifer Sutherland, Ben Affleck, Tom ford, Adrian Brody (Rectangular Face)

Just do a Google Image Search for these celebrities. Check their pictures to study which sunglasses and eyeglasses look good on them. It will help you a lot when choosing one for yourself. If you are a square face-shaped female, just search on 'Paris Hilton Sunglasses' and you will find numerous perfect examples of what frames to go for.

I have provided the names of different frame shapes and the names of colors.  If you are not clear about any frame shape or color, Google Image Search on these will open your eyes to a wide variety of frames available for each type of frame shape. A little research will pay a lot, as in the future, you will always know what suits you and what to go for!

Exception:

Ben Affleck has a rectangular face and still the shape of his eyewear is not in contrast with his face shape. The frame is rectangular and also small in height. This is accentuating the angles and the length of his face but still he is not looking bad in these. The lighter colored frame-arms/ temples are making his side profile look good but his face may actually be looking too long  from the front view.

So these guidelines are just to help you choose what may look better or best on you and what to avoid. Still it is all about your personal choice. You need to feel happy and confident in whatever you choose, whether you follow these guidelines or not.

Different types of Eyebrow Shapes and Which suits Whom

There are 5 basic eyebrow shapes

Rounded Eyebrows: They have no angle, just one curve

Soft Angled Eyebrows: They have an angle with soft curves. So the angle is not sharp.

Hard Angled Eyebrows: You can see a clear sharp angle in them

S-Shaped or Curved Eyebrows: This is a hybrid of curve and a sharp angle. It roughly looks like an 'S'.

Flat Eyebrows: Straight line with no curve and no angle.

These shapes can further have variations depending on eyebrow thickness and eyebrow height from the eyes. The height of the eyebrow is called the 'arch.'

When shaping your eyebrows, remember contrast:

Angled face / Sharp features: Go for Round or soft curved eyebrows

Round or curved face: Go for Angled eyebrows

Long face: Go for Flat eyebrows.
Short face: Go for high arched eyebrows
Small eyes: Keep eyebrows near eye (low arch)
Big eyes: Keep eyebrows away (high arch)

Keeping these basic guidelines in mind will be really helpful even if you are unable to determine your face shape.

To know your face shape, refer to THIS article.

Preity Zinta flat eyebrows (L) Angled Eyebrows (Right)
Eyebrow shape Left: 5.3 (from the eyebrow chart above)
Eyebrow Shape Right: 2.2a

See how Flat eyebrows are making Preity Zinta's round face look shorter and more fuller in the left pic. In the right pic, angled eyebrows and slightly puffed hair style are making her round face appear slimmer and longer. So you see eyebrows can change your look?

Rounded eyebrows suit faces with sharp angles, like heart or square face shape people. Rounded eyebrows soften the angles/sharp features in the face. That said, I have hardly seen people in real life keeping round eyebrows these days, except for some celebrities. Rounded eyebrows are not a very flattering eyebrow shape. The hottest trend these days is thick soft angled eyebrows, which compliment almost every face shape.

Shilpa Shetty Rounded eyebrows

One celebrity I have almost always seen in rounded eyebrows is Shilpa Shetty. She has a round face and rounded eyebrows are not an ideal brow shape for her. Still she is an exception and carries them well because she keeps them so high arched, which helps in making her face look longer. Though I have seen her sometimes in soft angled eyebrows too.

Soft angled eyebrows add femininity and softness to the face. These look good on Oval, Diamond, Triangular and even square face shaped people. This shape helps maintain the harmony/proportion of an Oval face and helps tone down the sharp angles in diamond and square faces. It takes attention away from the heavier lower face in a triangle face.

Shannyn Sossamon: Square face with soft angled thick eyebrows
Eyebrow shape: 2.3a from the above chart

Bipasha Basu: Diamond Face with Soft angled eyebrows
Eyebrow shape: 2.2b from the eyebrow chart

Hard angled eyebrows add youthfulness to the face. These make a short face appear long and also make a fat/heavy face appear slim. These look good on round faces.

Christina Ricci: Round Face with Hard angled eyebrows
Eyebrow shape: 3.1 from the chart above

Flat eyebrows make a long face appear short. So these suit Oblong or Rectangular face shaped people (basically anyone with a longer than normal face).

Sarah Jessica Parker: Oblong Face with Flat Eyebrows

Demi Moore: Rectangle Face with flat eyebrows

Classifying by the 7 basic Face Shapes, Demi-Moore has a hybrid face. She has a square face, but a long one, so that becomes a rectangular face. Here, and in most of her pictures, you will see her in flat eyebrows, though she can also go with sharp or soft angled eyebrows to even out her square jaw.

An exception is Kourtney Kardashian. She has an oblong face but has never kept flat eyebrows, even though her angled brows make her face look even more long. She is comfortable with that.

If you see Kareena Kapoor's old pics, she used to keep flat brows. Now she keeps sharp high arched brows. Notice the immense transformation in her looks, simply by changing her eyebrow shape.

S - Shaped / Curved Eyebrows

look good mainly on diamond face shaped people but in fact, it suits almost all face shapes due to it's unique shape: a blend of curve and angle. This shape adds glamour to your face.

Nicole Kidman: Diamond face shape with Curved/ S-Shape Eyebrows
Eyebrow shape: 4.3 from the above chart

An Oval face with Curved / S- Shape Eyebrows
High arched: See how high they are from the eyes

Kareena Kapoor: Square face with Curved / S-Shape Eyebrows
Thick medium arched brows

Oval face shaped people can sport any eyebrow shape without worrying much.

EYEBROWS FOR SMALL AND BIG EYES

See this picture and tell which circle is bigger?

Most people will think that the left circle is bigger. But the truth is both the circles are of the same size. This is an optical illusion. When the line is closer, the circle looks bigger and vice versa. Same as the Sun appears smaller in the sky but much bigger during sunset at the horizon. You can use the same science to enhance your small eyes or to make your BIG eyes look smaller.

For small eyes, keeping your eyebrow arch low (near the eyes) will make your eyes look bigger. But understand this will draw attention to your eyes, however, will make your face appear shorter. But if you define and outline your eyes very bold with eyeliner, you need not keep low eyebrows. Bold makeup will make your eyes look bigger and you can still keep high arch eyebrows for a glamorous look.

For really big bulging eyes, keeping your eyebrow arch high (far from eyes) will create an illusion of smaller/normal sized eyes.
These are examples and guidelines to help you understand your options. Mostly, you will see celebrities sporting different eyebrow shapes depending upon their stylist, which is not possible for common people. If you have a great beautician near your place, you are lucky. So far I have come across only one such beautician in Gurgaon.

Most people stick to their natural eyebrow shape and get it polished and groomed. I know a few people who do their own eyebrows. For an eyebrow makeover, you will need a stylist/esthetician/ intelligent beautician. Else, you need a lot of practice to do this yourself. But many people have achieved this with patience and practice.

Also check out:

Eyebrow Grooming Methods Guide

How to choose an Eyewear Frame for Oval Face Shape?

Let's learn how to choose an eye frame that best compliments an oval face. If you do not already know your face shape, click here to find first.

OVAL FACE SHAPE:

This is the most ideal face shape to have. Oval face shaped people will look good in any eyebrow shape, any shape of spectacles or sunglasses frame, any shape of jewelry or any hair cut.

Follow these three basic guidelines when choosing an eye frame:

1. Frame SHAPE should be in contrast to face shape (particularly spectacles).

2. Frame SIZE in proportion to face size (particularly spectacles).

3. Frame COLOR in accordance with your skin tone or eye color (both specs and sunglasses).

CHOOSING THE EYEWEAR FRAME SHAPE (think contrast):

Angular shape frames look the BEST on an oval face. Angular frames will add the missing angles and will balance the curves in your face.

You can try any of the basic shapes shown on the left side above and see which one looks best on you. There is further a huge variety available in each shape.

GO FOR ANY SHAPE: Square, Rectangular (sharp or curved edges), Butterfly, Cat eye and geometric shape eye frames will best compliment your face by helping add angles to create a balance. 

AVOID: Avoid completely 'Round' frames (make you look owlish) or completely 'Oval' frames as they will rather add more curves to your oval face. Note that butterfly frames come with both completely round and slightly curved edges.

CHOOSING THE EYEWEAR FRAME SIZE (think proportion):

For Sunglasses, you are lucky to have an oval face because you can flaunt ANY shape or size of sunglasses. Particularly aviators/pilot frame shape, wraparounds and oversized sunglasses will look very good.

In fact, oversized sunglasses suit every face shape as they cover the major contours of your face and also look very glamorous. So go ahead and choose any Sunglasses that you like. For choosing the frame color, read on.

But when it comes to spectacles, you cannot just go for any size. For spectacles, choose a frame that is in proportion to your face. Small face: Small size frames (make your face look longer). Big face: bigger size frames in proportion to your face. When we say small, we are talking about the length/height of the frame.

Widthwise, your frame should be at least as wide as (or wider than) the widest part of your face and this is for both sunglasses and eyeglasses.

What's wrong with this frame?

The frame is too small for her big face, though the shape, color and style are perfect.

The same person in a suitable frame

Sporting Oversized Eyeglasses

In fact, big faces can carry really big frames too. Here they do not look out of proportion because she has a really big face.

If you have chubby cheeks or a heavy face, avoid frames with arms attached too low (see pic below) as they will make your cheeks appear heavier and fuller. Go for semi-rimless or cat eye frames, or frames that have a stylish/highlighted upper portion, that will highlight your upper face and balance the fuller cheeks. If you do not want the style quotient of such fancy frame shapes, use rimless or semi-rimless frames that will keep your look simple and neutral.

Don't choose a frame with low-attached arms if you have heavy cheeks

For spectacles, make sure the frame does not hide your eyebrows completely.

At the same time, it should not sit very low on your face. When choosing eyeglasses, make sure your eyes are in the center of the frame. See this:

An example of poor fitting eye glasses

What's wrong with this frame? Everything!

1. It is sitting too low on her face and the top of the frame is almost covering her eyes, obstructing the vision. 
2. Eyes are not in the center of the frame. 
3. The oval shaped butterfly frame may have looked good on her. But her rounded eyebrows (not suitable for oval faces) are making her glasses look all the more unsuitable.

Eyes are perfectly in the center of the frame

A good fitting frame should neither pinch on your nose bridge nor slip down: meaning neither too tight, nor too loose.

If you have a very thin nose bridge and most frames slip down your nose, choose a frame with adjustable nose pads to get the grip.

CHOOSING THE EYE FRAME COLOR

If you want to keep your look neutral, go with colors that match your eye and hair color. Such eyewear will just 'blend into' your appearance keeping it neutral. 

If you are fashion conscious and want to look attractive, go for colors matching your skin tone, to make a statement. Such eyewear will 'enhance' your appearance.

Warm toned people can choose an eyewear frame color from Coral (warm red), Orange, Peach, Copper, Gold, Honey, Camel, Beige, Khakhi browns, blond tortoise, off-white, Aqua (warm blue) etc.

Cool toned people can choose from Black, Charcoal, Gray, bluish gray/blue-gray, Blue, Silver, White, Purple, Red (cool toned), Maroon, Plum, Magenta, Pink, Rose, Rose Brown, Amber brown, demi-amber tortoise (darker), Jade, Turquoise, Purple etc.

If you cannot figure out your skin tone and want to make a safe choice, go for rimless eye wear, where the color is visible only on the nose bridge and earpieces. Choose the color for that small visible area based on what looks good on you and try many different options before deciding. Women can decide easily based on what color lipsticks look good on them :) and choosing a color from the same 'warm' or 'cool' color family.

For kids, avoid dark colored frames as they can make a kid look mature.

A few Oval Face Celebrities are:

Oval face shape Women: Madhuri Dixit, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachan, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Aniston, Grace Kelly, Britney Spears, Tyra Banks, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone, Beyonce Knowles, Charlize Theron, Megan Fox, Meryl Streep etc.

Oval Face Shape Men: Jude Law, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Del Spooner, Barry Watson, Imran Khan actor, Johhny Depp, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, Chace Crawford etc.

You may have mostly seen them sporting sunglasses, but here are a few celebrity pics in spectacles.

Just do a Google Image Search for their pictures to study which sunglasses and eyeglasses look good on these celebrities. It will help you a lot when choosing one for yourself.

I have provided the names of different frame shapes and the names of colors.  If you are not clear about any frame shape or color, Google Image Search on these will open your eyes to a wide variety of frames available for each type of frame shape. A little research will pay a lot, as in the future, you will always know what suits you and what to go for!

Hope this article is helpful. Please understand that these are just guidelines to help you choose better. You need to feel happy and confident in whatever you choose, whether you follow these guidelines or not.