Designer Paula Donnelly, holding red plastic oval glasses with gray lenses and a frameless pair of gradient glasses with rhinestone accents. (Joseph Fuqua II photos) | ZOOM |

        If you're walking around in those frameless aviator-style sunglasses with pastel-tinted lenses, you may be feeling tres chic.

        But your eyes need more dressing, says Paula Donnelly, sunglass designer for LensCrafters.

        Fashion-forward sunglasses “are not designed to be worn all the time,” says Ms. Donnelly, from Hamilton, who has just finished a line of shades for fashion designer Adrienne Vittadini.

        “In bright sunlight, you need a lot more protection. The all-pastel shades are fine for overcast days, but a gradient lens, darker at top blending into a lighter shade at the bottom, is really better,” and is going to offer more protection from those pesky UV rays.

        The sunglasses she designed for Vittadini reflect a little more feminine twist on the larger aviator specs popularized by the movie Pearl Harbor and the Ray Bans that have been around since 1937.

FLATTERING FRAMES

“The ultimate goal, appearance-wise, of a pair of sunglasses is to make a face look oval, no matter its overall shape,” says Paula Donnelly of LensCrafters.     Here are her tips for choosing the right glasses, using the rule: Opposites attract.     To find out what shape your face is, pull your hair away from your face in front of a mirror and trace the outline of your face with lipstick or a marker that can be easily washed off the mirror.     Round face: If you have a full jaw, wear a squarish-shaped frame.     Square face: If your face is fuller at the top, with a prominent jaw, choose a rounder frame.

        “I took the aviator style and made it a little more in proportion to women's sizes, adding a gray-to-yellow gradient” for Vittadini, she says.

        Creating a line for a designer “is a collaborative effort,” says Ms. Donnelly, who is an optician and has spent time managing LensCrafters' stores and buying frames.

        “You work with the clothing designers and try to design to the image of the line you are working with. For example, gold is really popular now, so we look at the metal against the color of the skin and start from there.”

Traditional aviator frames.

Copper wire frames from the Adrienne Vittadini line.

Feminine aviator style from Vittadini.

Large oval tortoise-shell frames from Vittadini.

Small black square frames laminated in blue.

Vogue 336 cat-eye wraps.

        With the metals available today, there are enough options to make eyewear a fashion accessory, she says. “I have about 100 pairs (of glasses) myself. I choose frames to go with my outfit, like my shoes.”

        Her favorite eyeglasses are brushed silver in an oval shape with a rose tint.

        “I wear a lot of red, and it complements that nicely,” she says.

        For sun, Ms. Donnelly favors plastic burgundy frames that are navy on the back with polarized dark gray lenses to eliminate glare.

        Because of the importance of filtering out UV rays and protecting the eyes, “sunglasses have gone beyond being a seasonal business. They are worn year-round,” she says.

        To find a pair of sunglasses tailored to your needs, consider the frame's fit and the lens' tint.        

The frame

        Plastic: Make sure the frame sits across the bridge of the nose with no gaps. “If there's a gap, you get pressure points and little red marks on the nose bridge,” she says.

        Metal: The nose pad and arms should be adjusted so they lie flat on the side of the nose, not at an angle.

        Fit: The frame should be as wide as your face and slip on easily. If they're too wide or too small, they'll slip off.

        When you have the glasses on, stick your index finger between the edge of your eye and the frame. You shouldn't have more than one finger width of space.

        Temples: Library temples (straight) should rest securely on the top of the ear.

        Wrap temples (curved) should line up with the contour of your ear's curve and rest on the mastoid bone. You don't want it to wrap all the way around and down.

        Special styles: Active folks should choose a wrap design to avoid losing glasses during sports.

        Look for rubberized pieces at the bridge and temple to prevent slippage when you perspire. This is especially important for those who wear glasses when running, playing tennis or taking part in active sports.        

The lenses

        Polarized: Originally for water sports, these eliminate glare. They should be dark enough so that when someone looks at you, they can't see your eyes.

        Safety: Look for the UV sticker on the lenses. “It's just like the sunscreen protection factor on (suntan) lotion,” Ms. Donnelly says. UV400 protection is recommended for summer.

        Colors:

        • Dark gray gives the wearer the truest colors: blue sky, green leaves. It's best for very sunny conditions with a true contrast in colors, water sports for example.

        • A brown tint is best for overcast, cloudy days. It enhances the contrast to make things more visible. Brown would help a golfer, for example, to read the green better, or a biker who goes in and out of the shadows a lot.
       

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