The ‘what colour glasses shall I buy’ guide

In an ideal world, we’d all have tons of pairs of glasses in every colour #PrueLeighGoals. But that’s not always logical or affordable, especially if your prescription changes often.

Here’s our list of what to think about when it comes to choosing a frame colour:

  • Colour analysis (complimenting your eyes, skin and hair)
  • Your wardrobe (including workwear)
  • Make-up
  • Jewellery 
  • Trends 
  • Personality and personal style
  • Disguising lens thickness 

The Colour Analysis approach

Colour analysis is a method of finding colours that complement your skin tone, hair and eye colouring. There are a few different methods to this but put simply, the goal is to not make you look washed out and to make your best features ‘pop’.

There is a bunch of apps and filters online that can help you test out which colours might suit you. Overall when it comes to glasses though, we’d say to look for either a high contrast between your hair/eye colour and frames, or complimentary tones like:

  • Blonde and blue eyed - gold and tortoise.
  • Grey hair and green eyed - clear acetate tones.
  • Dark brown/black hair - silver and black tones. 

Instagram effects filter

Your wardrobe and work wear

Think about the outfits and colours you wear most and what would match best. A lot of spec wearers have 2 pairs of frames for smart and casual wear: basically one for work and one for play. Having 2 pairs with different looks is going to give you a lot more style flex (tip: don’t come home from the opticians with 2 very similar frames!).

Maybe you’re a nurse and blue or white would look great, or if you tend to wear quite plain clothes, a pair of ‘jazzy’ coloured frames could complete your look. 

Black is a classic because it ‘goes’ with a lot of outfits. Clear or brown has the same effect in that they are quite plain shades.

Make-up

If you have a go-to lip colour or make-up look, make sure your glasses colour compliments or matches.  

Jewellery 

Another way to think about choosing a colour is making sure the metal accents of the frames match with the jewellery you wear the most. Or if you have 2 pairs, include gold and silver so you can always match your jewellery and not clash. 

What's on-trend

Pretty much anything goes when it comes to frame colours, but if you love staying on trend you might want to match next season’s big hues, or have a pair for different seasons e.g. summer and winter. 

Personal style

The most important thing is that you feel comfortable in your glasses and what colour they are. Although, like getting a new haircut which can take some time to get used to, it can be good to step outside your comfort zone and try a new style. 

Disguising lens thickness

We hate to have to include this one! But especially if you have a prescription over -7, you might prefer the aesthetics of a clear or translucent frame which help blend the appearance of the lens with the glasses frame. 


Love a glasses tint? Head over to our big lens tinting guide.