Finding your pair of glasses

During high school, the classrooms were so small that you could take a seat in the back of the room and still see clearly what happened in the front of the room, given that your teacher had a readable handwriting. In college, however, the average classrooms are bigger and arranged so that those with not-perfect-but-decent sight either need glasses if they want to attend and follow lectures from farther back in the room or need to find a seat in one of the front rows. Others might have worn glasses for longer than they can remember. I belong to the latter category and I am also the kind person who does not manage to squeeze contacts onto my eyeballs.

So, imagine you are at the optician's shop. You know you need a pair of glasses because otherwise the lectures become very tiring for your eyes and for you. The glasses themselves won't really be the problem: the optician will find which ones are most suitable for your eyes. It's the frame that results in endless considering, trying, deliberating, and weighing one frame against the hundreds of other frames.  Fortunately, glasses today are considered a valuable accessory that can really add something to your outfits. There are countless styles and colours of frames so that there is always a frame that looks good on you. I figured that the fashion-conscious college students could use some advice.

First, look at the prices. Not only at the prices of various optician shops and their price reduction actions, but also at the deals they have with insurance companies. If you get your glasses at a place that does not have a deal with your insurance company, where they sell haute couture designer frames only, while you really have bad sight without glasses, the price might go up into the hundreds of euros. On the other hand, it has occurred to me that I had to pay nothing at all for my glasses due to a nice action of the optician shop, combined with a deal with my insurance company.

Now you have decided which optician shop fits your budget best, it is time to find out which frames they have and how these frames look on your face. It might be helpful to take someone with you for this part of the task, especially if you have very bad eye-sight. For example, without my glasses I can see sharp for only 10 cm / 0.1 yards, so I am highly dependent of what others say about how the frame looks on me. In order to decide what looks good on you, you need to take into account several things:

• The shape and the size of your face. Each frame looks different on each face. Sometimes, a very subtle difference in the shape and size of the frames can make the difference between looking stupid and looking great. If you happen to have a very small face, like I have, you might want to point this out to the optician who is helping you. He or she is likely to know which frames in the shop are fit for your face without referring you to the children's glasses.
• Your complexion. Just as you buy clothes and make-up adjusted to your complexion, you also need to find a frame that matches with your complexion. Again, a subtle change in colour or tint can make a major difference for how the frame looks. I once tried a frame that was black on the outside and very deep, dark brown on the inside. Just a second later I tried a frame that was black both on the outside and the inside. The second hardened my face far more than the first.
• The colour of your eyes. Glasses in general tend to push your eyes to the background. It is therefore often advised to allow yourself some heavier eye make-up if you wear glasses. However, you may as well get a frame that matches very well with your eye-colour and even enhances it and thereby does not push your eyes to the background. 
• Your clothing style and personality. It's the same as with clothes: people will notice when you feel uncomfortable with what you're wearing. This even goes for your glasses, so make sure that you have a frame that fits your personality and clothing style. Obviously, if your glasses mismatch your clothing style, you won't feel comfortable about wearing them. Also, if you, for example, very often wear purple, it might be wise to find a purple frame, too, so make sure everything matches.

Last but not least, don't be afraid to ask the optician for help. As I pointed out in the first point, they are likely to know which frames they have in store for your face size. These people sell glasses and advise clients about the purchase of glasses and frames every day. Sure, some will have a better sense of style than others, which is why it is important to take someone with you in case you have very bad eye-sight. The last time I bought new glasses, though, I was helped by someone who managed to find a few frames that made my heart skip a beat and that were not too large for my face. 

So, these are some things to take into consideration next time you need new glasses. I apologize if you just bought new glasses and, after reading this, come to the conclusion that you bought the wrong frame. If you found this post and want to show the world what you got, don't hesitate to comment and insert a link to a photo of you with your glasses on. Of course, you are also free to share your thoughts on glasses in general and what you think of this post.