The Problem with Children's Glasses (for Adults)
“I’m a grown woman. I’ve got a great career. When people suggest that I look in the children’s section, it definitely gets me in the gut. How can a woman who rocks in all aspects of her life be downgraded to child? I may be petite, but I walk around like I’m seven feet tall.” –Carla
Has Your Optician Fitted You with Kid’s Frames?
Many women with small or narrow faces have been directed to the children’s section at their local eyewear store.
That’s because children’s sizes overlap with adult women’s smallest sizes. Glasses for an older kid will be around lens width 48mm. For a younger kid, around 45 or 46mm. Those would be considered a woman’s XS (Petite) and XXS (True Petite), respectively.
Women’s petite sizes are uncommon – only about 8% of women need them – so most eyewear stores can’t afford to offer a good selection.
Given that, it’s not surprising that women sometimes settle for kid’s frames. Sometimes, they really are the best option that your local store has to offer you.
But there are many reasons why they be unsatisfactory.
Cartoon Logos and Spaceship Colors
Although it is easier to find the right lens sizes in children’s frames, they rarely come in the elegant and fashionable styles that adults wear. The colors are often quite loud, and there may be hearts and unicorns. For many women, this is not the look they are going for.
Thick and Clunky
Often they are thicker. That reduces the chance of breakage but makes them look clunky. This is cute on your kid, of course. But many women with small faces actually prefer a thinner frame because it is less overpowering on a small face, and may give a more refined appearance.
Temples Pinch Behind the Ear
The temples are usually shorter on children’s glasses than adult frames of the same size. This causes uncomfortable pinching behind the ear. Often, they are too short to be adjusted for comfortable wear.
Fortunately, Petite Glasses Are Made for Adult Women
Designed for small or narrow faces, petite frames offer a much better fit. And, they come in the contemporary, adult styles that you see all around you.
What else do you dislike about wearing children’s glasses? Comment below!
Comments (23)
Hi,
This is great to find your website and all your helpful videos! Of course, as I commented on one of your YT videos, you look gorgeous no matter what glasses you tried on. Wish that was so for me, but I have one of the problems you discussed which is that thick glasses just seem to swallow up my whole face. Got so frustrated trying on kids glasses because of that and got contacts instead that I wore for years until Lasik. Well, they messed up one of my eyes permanently so one is seeing differently from the other which is now giving me headaches, so am back in the market for glasses once again but after getting one in-home try-on sesson from another company, am just as frustrated as before. Seems no one (until now – YAY!) has any small glasses. Thank you so much for making the in-home try-on possible especially with the current circumstances and due to the fact that I now have medical conditions that prevent me from leaving the house right now. Can hardly wait to see all the possibilities you have available! Thank you so much!
Hi Amy,
Thank you so much for sharing! It’s very helpful to me to receive frame requests. I get your frustration, and I’m very eager to offer more styles just as soon as I can.
I would definitely recommend trying the new Kimberly frame when it is released. The height is 33, but the metal is so thin that they might still work, especially if you normally wear plastic (since metal frames run small).
I also hope to release a mini version of Kara (my best-seller) in the future. I expect the measurements for that would be around 46-15-130-31. Happy to hear your thoughts on that, if you care to share!
Thanks again,
Hi there. I wear a 45-15 or 46-15 (no larger or my eyes sit in the corner of the lens towards the nose and the lens hangs outside of my head). My problem is horrible! I have a NARROW bridge to boot. AND I have learned anything vertically longer than 31.5 is tooooo long for my face. I would love to support your business but you dont really even offer anything in my size. I always buy at the childrens store and really am tired of plain jane glasses. SIGH. I would love the fancy, rhinestone arms and all but all I get is butterflys, ponies, etc. LOL. Good luck and I will be watching to see what you come up with. Thank you for pursuing this!!!
Amy