Glasses frames are a color you wear in the middle of your face, so they follow your color season like everything else. Temperature decides the family: warm tortoiseshell, honey and gold for warm coloring, cool tortoiseshell, gray and silver for cool. Depth decides how dark the frame can go. Clarity decides between solid and blended, glossy and matte. Get those three right and the frame looks like part of your face rather than something placed on it.
If you don’t know your season, the Color Season Quiz finds it. Frame shape is a separate question that depends on your face shape; this page is only about color.
Three rules
Temperature: match your undertone. A frame sits next to your skin and eyes, so the wrong temperature shows the same way a wrong scarf does: a gray or sallow cast for cool frames on warm skin, a yellowish or flushed look for warm frames on cool skin.
Depth: match your brows. The frame is a line across the face at eye level. If it is far darker than your brows and hair, it becomes the darkest thing in view and pulls the eye to the glasses; on deep coloring, a very pale frame can look faint. A frame close to your brow color, or a step either side, looks most natural.
Clarity: match your chroma. Glossy, solid-colored acetate reads clear and crisp, which suits the Bright seasons and the Winters. Matte finishes and blended, mottled patterns read soft, which suits the Soft seasons. A vivid colored frame on soft coloring is the eyewear version of a neon top.
Tortoiseshell: warm or cool?
Tortoiseshell is not one color. Warm tortoiseshell mixes amber, honey and golden-brown, often with a yellowish translucent background. Cool tortoiseshell mixes gray-brown, brown-black and taupe, sometimes with a gray, rose or blue tint. Light “blonde” tortoiseshell sits on the warm side; very dark tortoiseshell can lean either way.
Hold two tortoise frames next to each other in daylight and you will usually see the difference at once: one looks golden, the other smoky. That tells you which one belongs to which undertone.
Metal frames
Metal frames follow the same rules as jewelry. Gold, brass and bronze suit warm coloring; silver, platinum tones and gunmetal suit cool coloring; rose gold sits between and often suits cool or neutral skin that finds yellow gold too warm. Finish matters as well: polished metal for clear coloring, brushed or antique metal for soft coloring. Gold or silver jewelry covers both in more detail.
Frame color for all twelve seasons
| Season | Acetate colors | Metal | Usually avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Spring | Honey, light warm tortoise, translucent peach, light camel | Polished light gold | Black, heavy dark frames |
| True Spring | Warm tortoise, golden brown, warm red, clear turquoise | Polished yellow gold | Black, cool gray |
| Bright Spring | Glossy warm tortoise, hot coral, royal blue, espresso | Polished gold | Dusty, matte, muted colors |
| Light Summer | Clear, soft pink, light gray, powder blue | Silver, rose gold | Black, orange-toned tortoise |
| True Summer | Cool tortoise, blue-gray, rose, navy | Silver, pewter | Golden brown, orange tones |
| Soft Summer | Gray tortoise, slate, mauve, smoky translucent | Brushed silver, pewter | Glossy black, bright colors |
| Soft Autumn | Soft tortoise, olive, mushroom, muted teal | Brushed gold, bronze | Black, bright jewel tones |
| True Autumn | Amber tortoise, rust, olive, forest | Gold, bronze, copper | Icy colors, cool gray |
| Deep Autumn | Dark warm tortoise, chocolate, dark olive, aubergine | Antique gold, bronze | Light pastels, clear frames |
| Deep Winter | Black, dark cool tortoise, burgundy, deep plum | Silver, gunmetal | Camel, honey tortoise |
| True Winter | Black, charcoal, true red, royal blue | Polished silver | Warm tortoise, golden brown |
| Bright Winter | Black, electric blue, vivid purple, hot pink | Polished silver | Muted tortoise, matte earth tones |
The acetate colors come from each season’s palette or sit right next to it, and the avoid column follows each season’s list of colors to avoid.
Try it in the mirror
Hold two candidate frames at eye level in daylight, one at a time, without makeup. Look at your skin, not the frame. The right one makes the under-eye area look lighter and the face even; the wrong one adds shadow or a cast. If your brows or hair have changed, for example with gray hair, judge by how they look now, not by the frames you wore before.
When frames sit between two seasons, a transparent or two-tone acetate that combines a darker top with a lighter or clear lower rim softens the line. For how shape and size interact with your face, see glasses for a round face and glasses frame size.