Worn
Frames, jewellery and other things worn on the face. 68 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Worn features are things put on the face and taken off again: glasses and sunglasses, the monocle and pince-nez, the bindi, the nath and other face jewellery. They are chosen for sight, sun, faith, marriage or style, and many carry strong meanings. Some, like the bindi or the nath, also have permanent counterparts, such as a pierced nostril or a tattooed dot.
Eyewear
Glasses are worn by a large share of the world's people for sight, and sunglasses by many more for glare. Frames are fitted by width, bridge and temple length. Older forms, the monocle, pince-nez and lorgnette, show how much eyewear has been about fashion and status as well as sight. Inuit snow goggles of bone and antler are among the oldest eyewear.
Jewellery and marks
The bindi, once a dot of kumkum, is now usually a stick-on in any colour. The nath and other nose rings are held in a pierced nostril; bridal naths can be large and chained to the hair. Maang tikkas and borlas hang on the forehead from the hair parting. Many pieces are passed down through families as heirlooms.
Famous worn face guides
Further reading
WorldHorn-rimmed glasses
Thick-framed eyewear imitating horn or tortoiseshell.Frame · Most faces · 1917
🇦🇹 Austria and 2 moreRimless eyeglasses
Eyewear where lenses attach directly to the bridge and temples without a surrounding frame.Frame · Most faces
🇺🇸 United StatesAviator sunglasses
Teardrop-lensed eyewear designed for pilots and adapted for fashion.Frame · Most faces · 1937
🇫🇷 FranceLorgnette
Spectacles mounted on a handle for holding in place.Frame · 1770
WorldBifocals
Eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers for long and short distances.Frame
🇺🇸 United StatesMirrored sunglasses
Sunglasses with a reflective outer coating that reduces glare and light transmission.Frame · Most faces
WorldScissors-glasses
Eyeglasses with scissoring stems and a ring for a neck chain.Frame · 1750
🇺🇸 United StatesGI glasses
Government-issued eyewear for US military recruits, known by dysphemisms like BCGs.Frame · Most faces
WorldGoggles
Protective eyewear that encloses the eye area to block debris, water, or chemicals.Frame · Most faces
WorldShooting glasses
specialized corrective eyewear for sport shooting competitionsFrame · Most faces
🇬🇧 United KingdomSnooker glasses
Corrective eyewear designed for cue sports to maintain optical alignment while bending.Frame · Most faces · 1938
🇫🇷 France and 1 morePince-nez
Eyeglasses that clip onto the nose bridge without earpieces, popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centurieFrame · Most faces · 1840
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreWayfarer
A trapezoidal eyewear frame designed in 1952 and revived multiple times through film placements.Frame · Oval faces · 1952
WorldCat eye glasses
Eyewear with an upsweep at the outer corners of the frame.Frame · Most faces · 1931
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreSunglasses
Protective eyewear designed to shield eyes from bright sunlight and high-energy visible light.Frame · 1929
WorldGlasses
Vision eyewear with lenses in a frame for correction, protection, or fashion.Frame · Most faces
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePanto glasses
Rounded-oval frames with a flat top edge.Frame · Most faces · 1932
WorldBug-eye glasses
Large-lensed eyewear from the late twentieth centuryFrame · Most faces · 1975
🇬🇧 United KingdomWindsor glasses
Round metal frames with a saddle bridge.Frame · Most faces · 1840
WorldInuit snow goggles
Traditional Arctic eyewear with narrow slits to prevent snow blindnessFrame · Most faces
🇺🇸 United StatesBrowline glasses
Eyeglass frames with a bold upper rim resembling eyebrows.Frame · Most faces · 1947
🇩🇪 GermanyMonocle
A single corrective lens held in the eye socket by one eye.Frame · Most faces · 1830
WorldShutter Shades
Sunglasses with horizontal slats instead of lensesFrame · Most faces · 1950
WorldGroucho glasses
Novelty frames with fake nose and moustache mimicking Groucho MarxFrame
WorldHalf-rim glasses
Eyewear with a top frame and exposed bottom lenses held by wire.Frame · Oval faces
WorldRound glasses
Circular eyewear frames that soften angular facial features.Frame · Square faces
WorldGeometric glasses
Angular eyewear styles for a bold fashion statement.Frame · Round faces
WorldWraparound sunglasses
Curved frames that wrap around the face for full coverage.Frame · Most faces
WorldOversized sunglasses
Large-lens eyewear for sun protection and bold style.Frame · Oval faces · 1970
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sunglasses: Rich Niewiroski Jr., CC BY 2.5, source
- Rimless eyeglasses: Document1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Aviator sunglasses: Paul Evans, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lorgnette: Museum Rotterdam, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nose jewellery: Etan Doronne @ www.myindiaexperience.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bifocals: Not credited, Public domain, source
- Mirrored sunglasses: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Scissors-glasses: eeedeeee, Public domain, source
- GI glasses: Villarte, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Goggles: Joe Schneid, Louisville, Kentucky, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shooting glasses: Francis Flinch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pince-nez: Łeba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Wayfarer: Starman1984, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cat eye glasses: Smithsonian Institution, No restrictions, source
- Monocle: Sobebunny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Glasses: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panto glasses: Kelmaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bug-eye glasses: Nicki Varkevisser, CC BY 2.0, source
- Windsor glasses: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Inuit snow goggles: McLeod, Public domain, source
- Browline glasses: Piercetheorganist at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Horn-rimmed glasses: User:Robin Clement, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Groucho glasses: Mykl Roventine, CC BY 2.0, source
- Snooker glasses: SMcCandlish, CC BY 3.0, source