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Nifty Shades

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Sunglasses may not be an accessory you wear all year round, but they do an important job and form a key part of your spring/summer/holiday look.

The most popular designs are the classics such as "Jackie-O" oversized, Ray-ban wayfarers and aviators. It's easy to default to the ‘safe' choices but you can make your sunglasses a bit fun and a part of your look too.

As well as a range of variations on the classic styles, you will find a wide choice of colours to choose from. Whatever your tastes, you want your shades to do their job AND look good on you.

Choosing the right shape and scale

Your face shape will dictate the best shape of glasses for you so take your time to work out which styles flatter your face. You also need to consider the dimensions of the frame, and this will depend on both your face shape and size.

Oval face
Yours is the most balanced face, so most styles of frame will suit you. Make sure that the scale of the frames balances with the scale of your face, and avoid frames with extreme angles.

Square face
You need to give width to your face by extending the width of the frames and softening the lines. Try oval or rounded shapes.

Rectangular face
Wider frames with a low bridge will give the illusion of shortening the face. Avoid sharp angles on your frames. Wide arms will 'break up' the length of the face, giving the illusion of shortening the length of your face.

Inverted Triangle
Keep the size of the frame within the width of your face - you don't want the top of your head to look wider. Thin frames are good for you.

Round face
Angular frames are good, as are those that are slightly wider than your face, but avoid heavy rounded frames, which will emphasize the roundness of your face.

Just like regular spectacles, you want your sunglasses to be a good fit. You don't want them sitting uncomfortably or sliding down your nose or hurting the backs of your ears.

Coloured Frames

This season, designers have produced sunglasses in an array of colours from mint to red to two-tone and white. Coloured frames won't appeal to everybody, most of us tend to stick to a neutral colour because it ‘goes with everything'. Coloured frames will stand out, of course, but they can look fabulous if you choose them carefully. You don't have to stick, to the same old brown, black or metal.

If you like to be on trend you will enjoy creating a statement look with your glasses. A creative personality might choose something a bit quirky. Even a more conservative dresser can find a subtle colour of frame that will match their wardrobe, say a deep navy or soft purple. White frames can look really fresh for summer, but they will look insipid on certain colourings.

Ideally, the colour of your frames needs to balance with your colouring (your hair and eye colour and skin tone).

Patterned Frames

Pattern can look a bit busy on the face and can date quickly. Again, certain personalities will embrace pattern. Tortoiseshell and other animal prints are quite popular because they use muted tones so are not too vivid. If you can afford more than one pair then you could have one practical and one fun pair!

Lenses

The colour of your lenses is also important. Most lenses are very dark brown or grey to black but some have a green or yellow tint and some a slight pink or purple tint. Here, as with your frames, you want the lenses to compliment your colouring as much as possible and your skin tone should be your guide. Brown will be warmer as will the deep green tinted lenses; these work best on warm skin tones. The grey and black and pink tinted colours will suit cool skin tones.