drag

How to find the right glasses for your face, according to a specialist optometrist

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICOLE WILLIAMS

WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT

“Eyewear should be part of your wardrobe, as it’s arguably the first thing people see.”

As someone with genetically doomed eyesight, I’ve been wearing contact lenses since the age of 12. Yes, I also owned a few colourful pairs of glasses (I got them to match my school uniform, naturally) but I avoided them at all costs. This was a cycle that continued well into my twenties – I’d decide to start wearing glasses more, drop a few hundred dollars on new frames and proceed to let them gather dust on my bedside table.

Glasses always felt like such an unnatural appendage on my face. When I did wear them, they had to be paired with my plainest, safest clothing – my glasses were an insecurity, and I didn’t have the cajones to take multiple risks in one outfit. But after over a decade of religious contact-wearing, it was time to change my ways.


For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.


Alongside Fashion Journal’s Digital Editor and fellow glasses wearer, Cait Emma Burke, I was invited to a personal styling appointment at speciality Elwood-based optometrist, Wink. Founded by Jo Twaddell in 2006, Wink is dedicated to helping customers find an alternative to mass-produced eyewear. “We do believe that eyewear should be part of your wardrobe, as it’s arguably the first thing people see,” says Wink’s Optical Dispenser, Lucy Rouw.

“When investing in eyewear, comfort is always a priority but getting compliments is always nice too,” Lucy continues. “It’s worth feeling the product. Just like a good pair of shoes, quality counts.” Before our appointment, Cait and I provided a selfie to give Jo and Lucy an idea of our bone structure, face shape and personal style. Historically, we’re both into bigger, aviator-style frames (although Cait wears hers far more than I do).

We then headed to Elwood on a sunny Saturday morning. After being greeted by the team, we dove straight into trying frames from Wink’s eclectic walls of eyewear – with expert guidance, of course. “We do ask lots of questions about lifestyle and daily visual tasks to navigate our suggestions,” Lucy tells me. “Practical questions [like] what do you wear your glasses for? Do you take them off regularly, or do they stay on your face all day? Do you like a statement, or something more low-key?”

My experience

I was looking for something comfortable, flattering and practical, preferably in black, silver or gold. My face is roundish with chipmunk-esque cheeks (no buccal fat removal here), so I’m typically suited to more angular styles. “I think one of our skills… is being able to read a person’s personality in addition to the questions [we ask],” Lucy explains. “Once the basics are established, I feel the two most important factors are the nose or ‘bridge’ fit and where a frame sits in relation to your eyebrows. This is why trying frames on is a must.”

As a change from my usual aviators, my vision was rimless, sleek and ’90s-style – think Gisele Bündchen’s glasses in The Devil Wears Prada, but without the wire rim. Lucy and Jo helped me find a pair that had a similar aesthetic but better suited my face; simple silver wire frames from Ic! Berlin.

Cait’s experience

I’ve worn glasses on and off since high school, but my eyesight has gone downhill in the last few years (not in a worrying way, but in a needs-to-wear-glasses-or-contacts-everyday type of way). Much like Izzy, I’ve historically found it hard to find a pair of glasses that works with my sense of style – there’s been something off about all the pairs I’ve previously owned. They sat too high or too low, slipped down my very narrow nose or were too tied to the trend cycle and ended up looking dated far too quickly.

I say this to emphasise just how much I was in need of a custom eyewear appointment. I went in knowing I prefer larger frames and that I was ideally looking for an aviator-adjacent style (my previous pair were gold aviators but they were rounded at the bottom and took up too much real estate on my face). Lucy and Jo guided me through the very impressive selection of brands that Wink stocks, and I spent much longer than Izzy pouring over the different styles.

“We find that small-batch craftsmanship is what many people are looking for,” Lucy says. “And investing in timeless pieces that can be used again. We are big on revamping old pairs so that they remain in your collection and then you just keep that collection growing.” They were able to point me towards frames that both fit my face well and worked with my ’70s meets ’90s way of dressing, which I found refreshing. In previous eyewear purchasing experiences, I’ve been provided with little guidance and have always felt unsure as to what styles suit my face and aesthetic.

After trying on dozens of pairs – unlike Izzy, I’m an indecisive Libra – I landed on a pair of square-framed gold and silver aviators from iconic eyewear brand Cazal. A cult eyewear brand since the 1980s, the brand is renowned for spearheading numerous trends in the eyewear world. As a devoted all-gold jewellery wearer, I was surprised that I was drawn to a frame that features both silver and gold, but the silver accents make for an eye-catching pair of glasses.

For more on finding eyewear to suit your face, head here.

Lazy Loading