No trip to the beach is complete without a pair of sunglasses. Whether they are $450 designer frames or $5 convenience store shades, sunglasses are hot items, especially when the mercury climbs skyward. Take a quick glance through fashion and celebrity lifestyle magazines (I do while I’m in the check out line at the grocery store) and you will see page after page of Hollywood stars donning tinted lenses. They look great. So, how come I look like a bug when I put on a pair?
At first I blamed it on my daughter (until the guilt overwhelmed me and I realized it was my fault). My 2-year-old cannot resist snapping sunglasses in half. If she can’t make a clean break down the middle she’s just as content snapping off both sides at the hinges. I blame her for looking like a bug because at the rate I go through sunglasses I can’t afford to buy a pair that makes me look the way Jessica Simpson does in her $550 Prada’s.
It was a great excuse (I thought)… until I found out that while money may afford the luxury of stronger frame material the way to look “Hollywood good” in sunglasses is to find the right frames to fit your face. How many times have you gone shopping for new sunglasses, find a pair you like, try them on, only to find that they look better on the plastic mannequin than they do on you?
Experts say the key to finding a pair of sunglasses that will look great on you is to pick a pair that will compliment the shape of your face. Here are some tips to keep in mind the next time you are cruising the mall in search for the perfect shades:
Heart Shape Face—If you have a heart-shape face like Mariah Carey or Nicole Richie you’ll want to find sunglasses that are wider on the bottom. Rimless frames accentuate the best parts of a heart shaped face—the forehead and the chin.
Oval Shape Face—Celebrities with oval-shape faces include Halle Berry and Katie Holmes. If you have an oval shape face stick with sunglasses that have horizontal lines, which minimize the length of the face. The best brands for this type of shades include Ray-Ban Wayfarer’s and Dolce & Gabbana.
Square Shape Face –-If you have a square-shape face like Angelina Jolie and Jessica Simpson, stick with frames that have curves or round features, like Ray-Ban Aviators.
If you can’t afford Ray-Ban’s or Dolce and Gabbana’s, don’t despair. You can follow the same tips if you are shopping for shades at the mini-mart. The point is to be realistic; those Aviators that look incredible on Jessica’s square shape face may make a heart-shaped face mom (like me) look like a human fly… or even worse, an owl.