At Pair Eyewear, we don’t believe in shrinking violets. Everyone has their own big personality, and we say — go big! Let that personality shine with a larger-than-life style statement. And there’s no bigger style than oversized glasses frames.
Big frames have perks that go way beyond looking pretty. They give you main-character energy and major comfort at the same time.
We’ll share our eight favorite oversized glasses styles, explain some of the benefits of going big, and give you a few tips for choosing the right eyeglass frames for you.
8 Oversized Glasses Frames for Every Face Shape
It really only takes a few frame shapes to flatter every face shape. So somewhere in this list of eight oversized glasses frames is the perfect pair for you. (If you aren’t sure which shape would be best for you, you can follow this guide to find your face shape.)
In addition to flattering frame shapes, these unisex glasses look great on all genders. They’re also comfortable and durable with lightweight cellulose acetate frames and flexible spring hinges.
All of these frames are available with single-vision lenses, progressive lenses, reading glasses lenses, or non-prescription lenses. And you can add blue light blocking or light-responsive transition technology. The blue light glasses are even made with clear lenses so there’s no distracting yellow tint.
Every frame on this list is available in six color options: black, brown tortoiseshell, blue tortoiseshell, clear, blue clear, and pink clear. And you can add snap-on Top Frames to change the look of your glasses at any time. So you can have red frames, polka dot frames, multicolor confetti frames, or even cheetah-print frames in a snap — and all from a single pair of oversized glasses.
You can also get any of these frames as oversized sunglasses, or add snap-on Sun Tops (like these Rose Gold Sparkle Sun Tops) to get your prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses in a single pair.
Let’s jump in— we ordered this list from widest to smallest. They each start at just $60 with a prescription!
1. The Drew
Width: 147.5 mm
Our widest pair of glasses, The Drew has a boxy, rectangular shape that reminds us of Clark Kent (and makes us want to pair them with these Superman Top Frames). The keyhole nose bridge makes them a comfy pick for anyone with a naturally low bridge, and the extra-wide fit is ideal for larger faces. The Drew’s rectangular silhouette is a flattering choice for triangular, oval, or round face shapes.
2. The Quinn
Width: 145 mm
The Quinn offers an oversized look even on larger faces. (Hey, big heads don’t just mean big glasses, they also mean big brains!) The shape is halfway between a round frame and a cat-eye frame, which creates a quirky vintage vibe. They’re flattering on oval, round, heart, diamond, and triangle faces.
3. The Murphy
Width: 144 mm
The Murphy frame is the epitome of modern hipster style. The square shape makes them one of the most flattering pairs of glasses for oval faces. But this shape also looks great on heart-shaped, triangle, and oblong faces. Plus, The Murphy features a wide fit, so they’re oversized on nearly every face size.
4. The Harper
Width: 141 mm
Another cat-eye-inspired silhouette, The Harper is a modern interpretation of this retro style. The gently sloping top line juts out at the corners to give a subtle wink to the classic cat-eye. The wide fit offers an oversized look on most faces. And like a true cat-eye frame, the Harper complements nearly every face shape.
5. The Jessie
Width: 140 mm
If you love mid-century modern style, then you’ve just met your mod match. The Jessie has a thick top line and a wide nose bridge that makes them both bookish and stylish. Pair them with a chocolate brown Top Frame, and they’ll complement the olive green, mustard yellow, and vintage earth tones in your mid-mod wardrobe. These rectangular eyeglass frames flatter round, oval, heart-shaped, triangle, and diamond faces, and the wide fit makes them a great choice for larger faces.
6. The Kirby
Width: 138 mm
The Kirby is the narrowest of these wider-frame glasses. But on a smaller face, they’ll appear oversized, since glasses under 129 mm look average on small faces. These frames are nerd-chic in the best way possible, and the square shape perfectly captures retro ‘70s style. Square glasses frames are some of the best glasses for round faces. They’re also oh-so flattering on oval and triangular faces.
7. The Wanda
Width: 138 mm
For a flirty, feminine style, The Wanda puts a modern spin on a vintage classic. These cat-eye glasses have a lens width that’s slightly larger at the top of the frame than at the bottom. They will look about average on the average face, but oversized-chic on petite faces. The shape draws attention up toward your eyes and flatters so many face shapes, including oval, square, triangular, and heart-shaped faces. Perhaps it’s because they look good on nearly everyone that The Wanda has become a perennial best seller.
8. The Otis
Width: 138 mm
Round eyeglass frames may be beloved by trendy hipster types (and who can blame them — these glasses go great with a fedora). But if you ask us, this frame shape is less trendy and more timeless. The Otis frames are a cool round frame that will look oversized on narrow, petite faces. They have a high nose bridge that leaves your browline visible to accentuate your facial expressions. They’ll flatter the facial features of anyone with a square or triangular face shape.
The Perks of Oversized Eyeglass Frames
The biggest perk of big glasses is the lenses. If you wear prescription eyeglasses, then your field of vision is limited to the size of your lenses. So, if you have smaller frames with smaller lenses, it will limit your peripheral vision. But large frames with large lenses will give you a bigger field of vision.
There are also some prescription lenses — like progressive lenses, the modern-day answer to bifocals — that don’t fit in small frames. These lenses need to be a certain size to provide the vision correction you need. So, you’ll need large eyeglass frames to accommodate your prescription.
And finally, our favorite perk of wearing oversized glasses is that you can get that pesky frame out of your peripheries. Choosing oversized glasses frames keeps the edges of your vision frame-free.
The Possible Pitfalls of Oversized Glasses (and How to Avoid Them)
For all their perks, oversized eyeglasses aren’t perfect (unless you’re careful to choose the perfect pair, of course).
Weight
The wrong pair of oversized glasses frames can be heavy on your face. And a heavy pair of glasses will leave skin irritation on your nose and indents across your cheeks. But, modern technology has made this problem easier to avoid.
If you have a strong prescription (thus calling for thick lenses), you can add Premium Plus lenses — a high-power, ultra-thin lens — for $59 at Pair.
You can also consider if you want full-rim or rimless glasses. Full-rim glasses used to be made from real horn or tortoiseshell. (That’s where the terms horn-rimmed glasses and tortoiseshell glasses come from.) Genuine horn is heavy, which meant full-rim eyeglasses weighed your face down and oversized ones were even worse.
The only way to avoid this used to be to buy rimless glasses. But now, most full-rim glasses are made of plastic.
While some types of plastic are still quite heavy, you can choose lightweight oversized glasses frames by looking for frames made from cellulose acetate, like we use at Pair. This plant-based plastic is extremely lightweight, flexible, and durable, so even big glasses feel comfortable on your face.
Fit
Another key to choosing comfortable oversized glasses is to make sure the frames don’t rest on your cheeks.
The nose pads on your glasses are there to prevent the bottom of your frames from sitting on your cheeks and causing indents. If your eyeglass frames do touch your cheeks, it’s a sign that the glasses are too big for your face. Look for something just a little bit smaller to get the oversized look without sacrificing comfort. You can use this guide to how glasses should fit to make sure you’re choosing the right frames for your face.
How Big Should You Go?
Oversized glasses frames are not one-size-fits-all. Not only do we all have different face shapes, we also have different face sizes. If you have a narrow face, then a pair of oversized glasses that look great on someone else might look way too big on you.
And if your glasses are too big for your face, they might fall off or cause some of the other fit issues we described above. That will make your big-frame glasses go from fashion-forward to fashion faux pas.
To make sure you get adorable oversized frames and not gargantuan glasses, take the time to figure out your ideal glasses measurements. If you typically wear a narrow frame size, you can likely get the oversized look with a pair of medium-sized glasses. But if you typically wear medium or wide glasses, you’ll need to opt for a wide frame size to get the same look.
Big, Bold, Beautiful
At Pair Eyewear, you can get one pair of oversized glasses frames and create hundreds of bold, beautiful looks. Our snap-on Top Frames allow you to change the color or pattern of your glasses in seconds. You can go from timeless tortoiseshell to tartan plaid in a snap. You can even turn your prescription glasses into oversized sunglasses with our Sun Tops.
Explore all of our glasses and use our virtual try-on feature to find the oversized frames that are the best fit for you. Then, order your favorites without fear — you’ll have 30 days to wear and return your glasses (yes, even prescription glasses!) if they’re not right for you.
Big glasses are about making a big statement. And with Pair, you can make a different statement every day. So be bold, and be undeniably you!
