How to choose your prescription glasses
Choosing a frame isn't just about "does it suit me". In seven steps, this guide covers what a Lapaire optician actually looks at when helping you decide: face shape, but also width, eye position, material and your daily life.
1. Start with your face shape
Face shape sets the general direction. The principle is simple: aim for gentle contrast. A face full of curves benefits from straight lines, an angular face softens with rounded shapes, and a balanced face can take almost anything.
To identify yours, tie your hair back, stand in front of a mirror and look at three markers: the width of your forehead, your cheekbones and your jaw. The widest part gives the answer in most cases.
- Widest forehead → heart-shaped face.
- Widest cheekbones → round, oval or diamond face.
- Widest jaw → square or triangle face.
Tip: If you're torn between two shapes, take a straight-on photo without smiling, in natural light: the contours read far more clearly than in the mirror.
2. Check the width before anything else
This is the most overlooked criterion, yet it's the one that decides comfort. A frame should span the width of your face without going beyond it: the hinges should sit roughly in line with your temples.
Too narrow and the frame presses on your temples and slides forward. Too wide and it drops down your nose all day, forcing you to push it back constantly.
- The temples should follow your head, neither splaying nor squeezing.
- Your eyelashes shouldn't touch the lenses.
- The frame shouldn't rest on your cheeks when you smile.
Watch out: Common mistake: picking a frame because it looks good on a model's photo. The same frame on a narrower or wider face gives a completely different result.
3. Look at where your eyes sit in the lens
Your pupils should sit roughly in the centre of the lens, slightly above the midline. That's what gives a natural gaze and, above all, correct vision once your prescription is fitted.
If your eyes sit too low in the frame, it's probably too tall for you, or the bridge doesn't suit your nose.
Tip: The bridge, the part resting on your nose, matters as much as the shape: too wide and the frame slides, too narrow and it leaves a red mark.
4. Understand what each shape brings
Every frame shape produces a specific visual effect. Knowing them lets you choose deliberately rather than at random.
- RoundSoftens strong features and brings a deliberate retro touch.
- RectangleWidens the gaze horizontally and adds structure to a rounder face.
- SquareSharpens the gaze with clean angles and a confident look.
- AviatorWidens the upper face and lightens the lower half with its tapered base.
- Cat-eyeLifts the cheekbones and opens the gaze upwards.
- OvalThe balanced shape: discreet, it suits almost every face.
- BrowlineEmphasises the brow line and adds character without heaviness.
- GeometricUnexpected angles: a frame that gets noticed and states a style.
5. Choose the material for your daily life
Plastic offers the widest colour range and bolder lines. Metal gives thin, discreet frames. TR90, very light and flexible, copes better with long days and frequent handling.
No material is superior to the others: there's a material suited to how you live with your glasses.
- Plastic (acetate)
Plenty of colours, generous lines and a very good price-to-durability ratio.
Very thick models can press on the nose if the frame is too large.
- Metal
Thin, discreet lines, often with adjustable nose pads.
Thin temples bend more easily if you store your glasses without a case.
- TR90
Very light and flexible: the frame springs back, ideal for heavy daily use.
Fewer glossy finishes than acetate, the look is more matte.
- Mixed
Plastic front with metal temples: character without the weight.
Two materials mean two assembly points to have tightened now and then.
6. Start from how you'll actually use them
A frame you like but that doesn't match your day ends up in a drawer. Constant screens, travelling in full sun, all-day wear or occasional use: each situation shapes the lens choice as much as the frame.
That's what your eye test is for: the lens type is decided with the optician, based on your prescription and your habits.
7. Try, move, decide
A useful try-on lasts more than ten seconds. Keep the frame on for a few minutes, look down, smile, walk. If it slides, pinches or leaves a mark during the fitting, it will be worse after a full day.
In a Lapaire store, trying on is free and so is the eye test. That's the one step this guide can't replace.
- It stays put without you pushing it back up.
- No pressure on your nose or behind your ears.
- Your eyes are properly centred in the lenses.
- You like it head-on and from a three-quarter angle.
Move from theory to trying on
Our opticians in Uganda help you confirm the frame and the prescription, with no paid appointment.
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