We've put together some top tips to help you find your perfect pair from the comfort of your own home!
1. Match the size of your current glasses
One simple way to get a frame that will fit you well is to find the sizing of a pair of your own glasses and use this as a guide to choose your new pair. Your glasses should be marked on the inside of the temple (or sometimes the nose bridge) with the parameters of the frame, as in the example below.
The most useful measurements to us today are the lens width ("eye size") and the bridge width. The eye size is normally the first number given and is generally around 40-60mm, and the bridge width is always the smallest number you see, generally between 14-25mm. Now that you know the sizing of your current glasses, you can browse our frame collection here and look out for similar numbers (+/-3mm) in the sizing sections of each product page!
Top Tip: If a frame has a larger bridge width than your glasses but a smaller eye size, these should still be a good fit overall! You can combine the numbers together to get a gauge of the overall width. Our Bell frame for example has the the measurements 47-21 and this is a similar overall width to Paterson with measurements 49-18.
If this all sounds too complicated, you can also simply filter our collection to see only wide, medium or narrow sized frames and even select a shape to search if you are looking to find a particular style.
2. Bridge Fit
If you aren’t sure what size of standard fixed bridge will fit your nose well, it’s a great idea to choose a frame with a “keyhole bridge”. These should fit any bridge width or curvature. Another great solution is to choose a frame with adjustable nosepads as these can be moved wider or closer together to achieve a better fit, even for those squint or broken noses!
3. Find the best frame for your prescription
Although we thin lenses down for free for higher prescriptions at IOLLA, the frame choice can actually play a much bigger role in the final finish of your glasses!
Long-Sighted (+)
If you have a high prescription and are long-sighted (+5.00 and up), your lenses will be thickest in the middle and thinner at the edges. To get the best possible finish for your lenses we recommend that you choose a frame which has a small lens eye size (see above) and a round or square lens shape (lens height and width are similar). Acetate (plastic) frames are also a better choice than metal as the thicker rims can better disguise any lens thickness. Your best options would be Bell, Anderson, Connolly and Paterson. It is not possible to achieve such a good result with frames with large lens sizes such as Inglis and Burns. This is particularly true in large metal frames like Robertson and Lennox.
Short-Sighted (-)
If you have a high prescription and are short-sighted (-5.00 and up), your lenses will be thickest at the edges and thinnest in the middle. We recommend that you choose an acetate frame which has a small lens eye size and a narrow lens shape. These frames will allow us to get the best finish for your glasses as the thickest parts of the lenses around the edges will be cut off during glazing! By choosing an acetate frame you can also conceal the edges of the lens with the rims of the frames. Good options for you would be Adam, Baird and Drummond. It is not possible to achieve such a great result with very wide and deep frames such as Inglis and Burns. This is particularly true with large metal frames like Robertson and Lennox.
4. Buy and try at home
If you are struggling to choose between a few options, it is possible to order frames without prescription lenses to try from home before you buy your prescription pair of glasses. We do not offer a ‘free home try-on service’ as such but you can purchase the frames that you would like to try on as “non prescription” and then return them within 14 days for a full refund. When using this option to find your perfect pair, you'll just have to cover the cost of return postage!
