Today’s post is a guest piece written by Ruth Domber, owner of 10/10 Optics.Your eyewear just may be one of the most important accessories you wear. This one item can create the image that you’d most like to project. Your specs say as much about you as the clothes on your back. With that in mind, here's how to choose frames that will make you look attractive. [Julie note: many women find glasses super sexy on a man, so it pays to find frames that truly flatter you.]'

Size matters

The best nonverbal tool you have for communication is your eyes. By choosing a frame with the proper proportions, you maximize eye contact and increase possibilities for communication. Here’s how to figure out the right size: pinpoint the widest part of your face as a guide for width, contour the shape of your brows for height and the top of your cheekbone for depth.

Quick tips for a great fit

*If you have oily skin, stay away from shiny frames and opt for a matte finish instead.

*Make sure that your bridge (nose area) is a perfect fit, as that’s the one part of the frame that cannot be easily corrected if the fit is off.

*The arms of the glasses should not squeeze or push in on the sides of your face.

*How deep should the frames sit on your face? Never past the flare of your nostrils and never resting on your cheeks.

*The arms should be enough length to anchor at your temples at least 1/3 way around the back of your ear.

Other features

If your hair is thin, or you’re bald, a bolder look brings the attention back to your eyes. Angles make weak jawline look more defined.

Men's Style Blog: How to Choose Glasses Frames

Color as your best asset

If you want to keep it businesslike, stay with blues, garnets and greens. Think about your favorite tie colors, and go in that direction. Color communicates individuality, creativity and openness to new ideas. You can keep it subtle or go big.

If you’re more into neutrals, use your hair or eye color as a simple way to find your best tones. And if you’re not sure about color, try natural materials. Horn, wood and leather are all tactile and elegant choices.

Let your glasses be an outward representation of who you are on the inside. If you’re still unsure of what works for you, try on a few styles, take some pictures and compare to figure out which suits you best.

If you're in the NYC-area and in need of new glasses or sunglasses, I highly recommend you check out 10/10 Optics. It's one of my favorite local style resources!

Cheers,
Julie

It used to be that sporting glasses was reserved for nerds like Lewis and Gilbert above. There was a stigma attached to it, so the people who did wear them only did so because they absolutely had to, and/or because they didn't really care that much about their appearance.But over the course of the past decade, all that has changed. There are tons of options for stylish frames, and glasses are now used as a tool for expressing one's personal style. Check out heartthrob Jon Hamm in a classic black frame below. The look is clean, confident and smart.If you're thinking about updating your look, glasses are a fantastically handy way to do so. Read on for my tips on choosing a pair of frames. And by the way, if you don't need glasses, don't feel left out. Plenty of people sport specs sans prescriptions.SHAPE1) Angular-shaped glasses read as authoritative, while glasses with rounded shapes make you look approachable.2) There's a lot of information out there about what shape faces should wear what shape glasses. To me, it's less about rules and more about choice. If you wear the same shape glasses as that of your face, you'll reinforce that face shape; if you wear the opposite shape, it will balance your face shape. So there's no "bad" or "good" here. Rather, it's what you choose to play up. As a specific example, if you have a round face and want to look tougher and more commanding, I recommend wearing glasses that are squared off. Luxottica CEO Andrea (above) is doing just that.3) The sides of your glasses should end between the corners of your eyes and the sides of your face. (However, if you have a long and narrow face and want to balance that, look for shapes that extend slightly beyond your temples so as to create width in your face. Also, people with long and narrow faces should avoid very small frames.) COLOR AND MATERIAL4) A very dark frame can make a strong, dramatic statement (it's also trendy). If this is what you're going for, be careful that the dark frame doesn't overwhelm your own coloring. Check out the guy on the left above -- his own coloring and features stand up to the heavy frames. In comparison, the dark frames on the right dominate Brad Pitt's facial features. On him, you see the frames first before you see his face.5) Choose a color or type of metal that works with your own coloring. If your skin tone is warm, go with warm-colored frames; if it's cool, go with cool-colored frames. Hint: if you have grey hair, a silver frame can play off of that nicely.6) Metal frames have a more modern and dressy feel, and plastic reads more casual. Tortoise frames have a preppy and collegiate vibe.7) Avoid transition lenses, as they often end up in an unflattering middle-ground of lens color -- not quite dark enough to be sunglasses and distractingly shaded for when out of UV-light. They also don't darken inside vehicles, so they don't work as driving glasses.DETAIL8) If you have a broad nose or wide-set eyes, go with frames that have a darker nose piece or bridge, as this will make your nose look smaller and bring your eyes closer together visually. A light nose piece will "open up" the space between close-set eyes and make them appear farther apart.9) Think about whether you want a logo on the side or not. I often find that the more heavy-handed logos can cheapen a look. One brand that I love for its subtlety is Persol (see above) -- its logo doesn't say the brand name anywhere. It's just a classy-looking design.PROPORTION10) The lenses should leave just the right amount of space around your eyes: not so much that they're out of proportion to your features, but not so little that they crowd (and therefore diminish) your eyes.FIT AND FEEL11) When you try on frames, think about how they feel physically. Are they comfortable? This is important, as they'll be hanging out on your face all day.12) Be careful not to get frames that are so heavy that you're constantly pushing them back up your nose.When you're shopping for glasses, find a store where they take pictures of you in the different contenders that you can look at on a screen side by side. You can also bring a camera and compare photos yourself. Glasses are an opportunity for you to show some personality. So take your time and have fun choosing a pair that works for you and that helps create your own individual look. And of course once you find a pair you love, you can start expanding your collection so that you have different glasses for different occasions.Do you have a favorite pair of glasses? If so, what do you love about them?

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