Why Are Petite Glasses Hard to Find?
“There is nothing more frustrating than going into a store with hundreds of pairs of frames and absolutely nothing fits.” -Octavia
Only a Handful That Fit
You run store to store, all over town, trying on glasses.
But each one has only a few options that actually fit you. All the frames you love are much too big. There are children’s glasses, but they don’t look or fit they way you’d like.
You end up with only 5 or 6 pairs to choose from, and you don’t really like any of them.
Have you had this experience? Then you need petite glasses.
8% of Women Need Petite Frames
That’s literally millions of women.
But for your local store, that’s not even 10% of their female customers. It’s even less of their total customers – a measly 5% – since half will be male.
Plenty of women need petite eyeglasses. But at any one location, there are not many people buying them. For any single store, petite frames are not exactly a best seller.
As Much as They Might Like To, Your Local Retailer Simply Can’t Afford to Offer You a Better Selection
Opticians can only stock so many frames. They need to carry what sells well. And of course, the most common sizes – the sizes that fit the largest number of people – are what sells the best.
So, retailers carry a disproportionate number of the most common sizes. That lets them offer the best selection to the largest number of people.
The result? You are flooded with lens width 52 frames – the most common women’s size. But there’s only a handful of the smaller sizes (lens width 45 to 50) that fit best on women like you.
That’s why everywhere you go, the selection is lousy!
Online Shopping Offers the Best Selection
Many women with small or narrow faces are starting to look online for their eyewear.
The selection is so much better than any single store. This makes it easier not only to find a comfortable and attractive fit, but also to find a style that matches who you are.
Have you struggled to find frames you like? Post in the comments!
Comments (48)
Thanks so much for your kind words of encouragement! And thanks also for sharing what you’d like to see in the store. We always love hearing customer requests. We do hope to offer more metal options in the future. We love metal frames for smaller faces due to the overall thinness of the frames.
I understand and heartily agree with so many of the comments posted here; my experience in finding and feeling remotely comfortable in eyeglass frames has been similarly disappointing.
I am hoping you might consider adding more metal frames and more unisex style frames to your offerings. Diverse metal offerings would be helpful for many, along with more full description or disclosure of metals/materials used in frame construction: many folks have various allergies or simply reactions to a variety of substances and need the information in order to know if safe to invest.
Love what you are doing here; the website and the information is long overdue and spot-on! Thank you so much and keep up the great work!
Yes, it is a frustrating problem. So funny to hear that your 11-year-old son needs the same size glasses that you wear! No wonder they send us to the kid’s section.
Thank you so much for letting us know what styles you would like to see in the store. Much appreciated!
I’m so glad your site is bringing attention to this issue! The only other company out there is vogue. Though they aren’t marketing towards this demographic. I would really love to find the right fit for tweens as well. My 11 year old has outgrown the kids glasses, but can’t find the appropriate size for his face. And there are even fewer options for boys with this size. The 135mm temple and 50 mm lens are the right fit. Which also happen to be the prefect fit for me :). I would love to see more unisex options on your site. Metal frames with many different shapes and colors like bronze. That would be amazing!
Hi Kyle, It’s true, there is definitely a need for men’s glasses for small faces. I hope to offer these in the future! Glasses have become so large across the board. Thanks in advance for sharing our site with your wife ;)
I agree that men might not respond as well to a site named “PetiteGlasses.com.” “Petite” is generally associated with women’s fashion, so many men would assume that’s not for them.
Any suggestion on what to call a men’s glasses site? I’d love to hear.
As a man, I have this same problem(my wife too) and I’m sure I’m not alone. I wouldn’t even say my head is small (helmet size large), just small compared to the men that model glasses. I just dropped a lot of money on glasses at a store I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like because it was the only option closest to what I look for. Even when I look at online stores I have the same annoying problem. When I do find something close, they’re “sunglasses”
I’ve been wearing the same pair of glasses for 10 years(53 18 140) because the last pair I bought I just didn’t like, they looked ridiculous on me.
If you ever open a sister company to sell to men (or brother company lol), I think there is a market for it, but might need a different site name for marketing.
I will direct my wife to this site though, thanks :D
Hi Julie, I can’t tell you how common your story is! I hear similar experiences from so many customers. I do hope you will find a good fit here. Julie Petite Glasses in size 46 is one of our most popular options for narrow faces. Please feel free to get in touch if you need assistance with frame selection. And thank you for letting us know that you’d like to see more metal frame options. Feel free to share more details – we love hearing customer frame requests!
I never liked glasses on me but always wore contacts so never gave it much thought until my eyes became too dry for continued contact wear. Now I’m currently trying to find a flattering frame that isn’t too wide for my narrow face. I’m not petite, I’m 5’8 but my current glasses are 49mm lens width with 17mm bridge and still too wide! And I can’t find anything this size or smaller in store. I have a high prescription and the distortion through the sides of the lenses makes me self conscious. So glad to have come across this website. I’m eagerly awaiting my 5 trial pairs! I like the styles you offer, and I think some more metal frames would be cool to see! I was looking specifically for tortoise modern cat eye so if these fit I’ll feel like I hit the jackpot! My only concern is I have large eyes, I hope the lens height is enough.
Cherie – I second this! Cat-eye or any frames where the top is more angled down towards the nose just don’t look flattering on my face. That eliminates even more frames when I shop as a lot of women’s frames seem to have this. Glad someone else feels the same way! :D
Thank you for sharing your petite glasses frame requests! Always appreciated.