Fit guide

How to read the numbers inside a temple

Almost every frame ever sold has three numbers printed on the inside of one temple, usually like 50 □ 21 145. They are:

Number	What it is	Typical range	What it changes
First (50)	Lens width, the widest point of one lens	44–58 mm	How wide the frame sits on your face. This is the one our sizes change.
Second (21)	Bridge, the gap between the two lenses	14–24 mm	Where the frame rests on your nose. Fixed per frame here.
Third (145)	Temple length, hinge to tip	135–150 mm	Whether the temple reaches behind your ear. Fixed per frame here.

Our frames have nothing printed on the temple, by design. The same three numbers are in the specification table on every product page instead, and in the table at the bottom of this one.

Which size am I?

Every frame here comes in three lens widths. The bridge and temple length do not change between them, so a size change is purely a width change.

Our size	Lens width	Total frame width (approx.)	Your current frame’s first number	Face width, temple to temple
S	47 mm	126–130 mm	47 or less	under 132 mm
M	50 mm	132–136 mm	48–51	132–140 mm
L	53 mm	138–142 mm	52 or more	over 140 mm

Between sizes: down for a thin wire frame, which looks oversized quickly; up for a thick acetate frame, which looks pinched quickly. If you like a frame to sit wide, up in both cases.

How to measure your face

• Face width. Stand in front of a mirror with a ruler held flat across your face at the level of your eyes. Read the distance between your left and right temples – the soft spots just in front of your ears. That is the total frame width you want, give or take 4 mm.
• Lens width from an old pair. Measure one lens straight across at its widest point, outside edge to outside edge of the lens itself, not the rim.
• Temple length. With an old pair on, the temple should run straight back and curve down about 15 mm behind the top of your ear. If it curves before the ear it is too short; if it curves well past it, too long. Every frame here is 140 or 145 mm, stated on its page.

The bridge check

The commonest fit complaint is not width but a frame that slides. That is the bridge, and it comes in two kinds here:

• Adjustable nose pads (all metal frames). Two silicone pads on small arms that an optician can bend in or out in thirty seconds. They suit any nose, including a low or flat bridge, and they are the safe choice if you are unsure.
• Keyhole or moulded bridge (all acetate frames). The frame rests on the nose directly and cannot be adjusted. Do this check: press a finger flat against the bridge of your nose between your eyes. If your finger sits roughly level with the front of your eyes, a keyhole bridge will sit well. If your finger sits noticeably behind your eyes – a low bridge – an acetate frame will slide, and a metal frame with pads is the better buy.

Readers are one size

Ready readers come in M only (lens widths 46–53 mm depending on the frame) and are chosen by power instead. If you already own a pair that works, order the same power. If you do not, the table on each reader page gives a rough starting point by age; an optician’s eye test is the accurate one, and ready readers are not a substitute for it.

Every frame, every measurement

Size M figures. S is 3 mm narrower in the lens, L is 3 mm wider; bridge and temple are the same across sizes.

Frame	Lens	Bridge	Temple	Weight	Bridge type
Round Metal Optical Frame	50 mm	21 mm	145 mm	16 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Square Acetate Optical Frame	52 mm	18 mm	145 mm	28 g	Moulded into the acetate
Half-Rim Optical Frame	51 mm	19 mm	140 mm	14 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Rectangular Acetate Optical Frame	53 mm	17 mm	145 mm	21 g	Moulded into the acetate
Oval Titanium Optical Frame	49 mm	19 mm	140 mm	11 g	Adjustable titanium-armed pads
Round Acetate Optical Frame	48 mm	21 mm	145 mm	23 g	Keyhole bridge, no pads
Soft Square Metal Optical Frame	54 mm	18 mm	145 mm	19 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Thin Acetate Optical Frame, Smoke	47 mm	22 mm	145 mm	17 g	Moulded into the acetate
Round Metal Screen Glasses	50 mm	21 mm	145 mm	17 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Round Acetate Screen Glasses	48 mm	21 mm	145 mm	24 g	Keyhole bridge, no pads
Cat-Eye Acetate Screen Glasses	52 mm	17 mm	140 mm	22 g	Moulded into the acetate
Slim Metal Screen Glasses	49 mm	20 mm	145 mm	13 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Light Acetate Screen Glasses, Poppy	52 mm	18 mm	145 mm	18 g	Moulded into the frame
Thin Gold Round Screen Glasses	51 mm	21 mm	145 mm	14 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Round Metal Readers	48 mm	21 mm	140 mm	16 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Round Acetate Readers	47 mm	22 mm	140 mm	22 g	Keyhole bridge, no pads
Rectangular Acetate Readers	52 mm	17 mm	140 mm	19 g	Moulded into the acetate
Slim Metal Readers	48 mm	20 mm	140 mm	13 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Black Rectangular Readers	53 mm	17 mm	140 mm	17 g	Moulded into the frame
Round Tortoise Readers, Honey	46 mm	22 mm	140 mm	18 g	Keyhole bridge, no pads
Round Metal Sunglasses	50 mm	21 mm	145 mm	19 g	Adjustable silicone pads
Round Acetate Sunglasses	49 mm	21 mm	145 mm	29 g	Keyhole bridge, no pads
Rectangular Acetate Sunglasses	53 mm	18 mm	145 mm	31 g	Moulded into the acetate
Soft Square Acetate Sunglasses, Pine	51 mm	20 mm	145 mm	28 g	Moulded into the acetate

Still unsure?

Email hello@loungeandlenses.com with the three numbers from an old pair, or your face width, and whether you want metal or acetate. We reply with a size, not a shrug.

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