If you can't see well without glasses, and don't wear contacts ...

[catbiskit]

... how do you go about choosing stylish frames that suit you?

Last time, my DH took photos of me wearing different frames, then I put my own glasses back on to see the photos. We also had a dispenser hovering, making suggestions. Unfortunately, the result wasn't great - I regretted my choice. But I'm due to get new glasses soon, and I'm wondering how to make sure I choose better.

What do you do?

Please don't assume we're all salespeople - some of us trained for 3 years and took multiple exams to be an optician, only to then be referred to as a salesperson. I know I for one do not get commission! Maybe try using us for our knowledge of lenses and frames instead. That's what we love doing and what we're there for.

Trust me, the optical assistants at my local Specsavers have clearly not taken 3 years of exams, they are mostly just out of school.

Firstly have a look at the opticians website and do virtual try ones of the ones you like and make a note of the styles Less pressure than someone hovering in the shop
I have a small face so need slim slightly rectangular frames
You can then ask which they think suits you,but don't feel rushed. You're spending a lot of money and wearing them daily.
Take someone with you if you can

I use Specsavers and always find them understanding.
My eyes were -10( before I had cataracts done)

Find an optician you trust and who doesn't pressure you. Mine are excellent, and anyway I really trust people who spend most of their working lives looking at people in glasses and giving their opinion. More than I'd trust a friend or my DP, to be honest. I never feel like they're trying to pressure me into buying any old pair; in fact they can be quite blunt, which I apprciate.
I'm very short-sighted, can't wear contacts, and hate pictures of myself, so I just basically press my nose up against the mirror

I've found a shape of frame that suits me and stick to it.
As much as I'd love a pair of cats eye frame or a John Lennon round frame they just look ridiculous on me.
I usually have one pair of tortoise shell colour and another pair where I make changes with colour or metal/plastic.
My current tortoise shells have diamontes on the arms which stops then being boring

What are your eyes now? Interested as my daughter has the same as you before you had your cataracts done

Definitely take photos. You can then put your specs on and see them and also you can have them taken from different distances
I also have a very good optician whose advice I trust. I sometimes send photos of DP or friend but mostly I chose myself

I give up after about 10 minutes of taking glasses off and on. Pick whatever is least worse out of the last couple of pairs.

Most opticians have iPads to use , magnified mirrors .

Yes it’s sale but ethical sales . We see people’s faces all day long , see the glasses on multiple faces .
we are trained in looking at shape style taking prescription into account . It’s not just we are opinionated or are going to recommend the most expensive pair .

lots of people use their own phones too - send pictures to trusted people , but think comfort and what you feel comfortable in . If you tell the staff you hate green we aren’t going to suggest green . The more you tell us what you don’t like about the frame the more we can help .

we also don’t work on commission. I get paid the same if you by an own brand or high end designer.

@Bignanna
My eyesight is pretty much perfect now!
Honestly it is life changing
I was amazed I could read road signs a couple of hours after the op
I'd recommend sunglasses for the first couple of days as I was dazzled in supermarkets
I wear cheap reading glasses
I also have glaucoma which has stabilised since. Apparently the eye can drain better

Anyone can have intra ocular lenses to correct short sight( same procedure) privately if that's ever an option for your DD.

I order my frames online. Sometimes they are as cheap as £5, that was I order like 5/6 pairs and hope for the best. I order once a year or so or when my eyes change so I have about 20 pairs. I think I have maybe 1 frame out of them that I dont like which I use for emergency glasses.

Wow! That’s reassuring. My daughter thought that if she gets cataracts and has them done, she would still need specs, but not as strong. I had both my cataracts done( my sight wasn’t as bad as hers) and while I can manage without glasses now, it’s not perfect as they weren’t only able to completely correct my astigmatism .Nice not to have to worry about glasses and contact lenses now,though.

The consultant raised his eyebrows when I asked how much correction he could get! He said well, from 9.50 down to zero is the aim!
I didn't want to get my hopes up beforehand but was absolutely delighted
I hope that will reassure your DD

That's a bit defeatist! As someone has said, they're right on your face all the time, and they're expensive (at least if your prescription is as strong/complex as mine). It's worth putting some effort in and seeking out expert and/or trusted friends' opinions for something like this.

I've worn glasses since I was a very young child. I know which ones to pick up to try on. I find it incredibly tedious putting glasses back on to look at another section. By the time I start trying them on I've got a good idea of which ones I've narrowed it down to.

If it's any consolation I do wear contact lenses and still never seem to end up with a pair of glasses that I actually like, it seems impossible. Probably partly because my prescription is so strong that even the most thinned lenses look like milk bottle bottoms, my choice of frames is also very restricted and going to be even worse now I need my first pair of varifocals. I had my sight test last month and keep putting off going to look at frames.

You know enough to be able to pick up the right selection of glasses, but then only feel that you're choosing the 'least worst'?
Maybe try a different opticians with a bigger and/or better selection.

I'm varifocal/astigmatic/nearly -10 in both eyes, and I agree even the thinnest lenses look like milk bottle bottoms.
But I'm still offered an OK selection of frames, funnily enough not as restricted as it used to be when I was less short-sighted.
Maybe it comes down to your optician and their stock.

First of all work out your face shape, I had an app which takes a picture of your face and then tells you. Then Google what shape of glasses will suit your face. Then use the virtual try on, on the Specsavers website - you can filter the glasses to the required shape.

My ds and I are the serious spec wearers in our family (dds both wear them but only for tv and driving) and so we go together for eye tests and to help each other pick. He's 23 and very cool so I trust him. I'm amazed he trusts me!!

No, I usually take my prescription around about 10 opticians before choosing. I think it comes down to hating wearing glasses full stop TBH, they are never going to be as good as contact lenses for me. I feel cut off from the world behind them, they get in the way all the time, peripheral vision is limited compared to contacts. I'm -12.5 with astigmatism.

I wear contacts juat for the appointment

After a few years of always defaulting to similar frames for new glasses, I visited an M&S Optician on a quiet day and asked the two young trendy assistants for advice as I wanted a change. They tried loads of frames on me, rejecting some either they, or I, thought awful, with explanation, narrowing it down to 2 different pairs, in styles & colours, I would never have tried, but I loved how they looked. I've had several compliments on both pairs. It was fun and refreshed my look.