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)
Do you sell sunglasses with narrow nose bridge for close set eyes and oval face? No prescription
Thanks for that lovely message, Gail. I’ve only been making frames for a few years, so that may be why you didn’t find this site sooner. Glad you’re here now! I hope you find a great fit.
I am thrilled to find this site! I’m not sure how I overlooked it in years past. In addition to eyeglass frames, I’m in-between adult and kid sizes for hats and COVID-prevention face masks. The comments from the other customers make me feel like less of a misfit. Now, off to order my try-ons.
Thank you for sharing, Alison! I hope you find a great fit here :)
Excited to try the five pairs at home! Like so many others, I have been searching and searching and the current trend towards larger styles is not helping. With a narrow bridge and deepset eyes/high cheekbones it is just so hard to find a good fit, and I simply don’t want the bland neutral metal tones that are available locally.
Hi Deirdre,
Thanks so much for sharing that! I’d be happy to offer some recommendations. I’ll need a bit more information about your size needs, so I’ll follow up over email to arrange a consultation.
Thank you!
So happy to find a place that has glasses for women with small/narrow faces. I have had so much difficulty getting glasses to fit my face. I have bought children’s glasses. One of the drawbacks is the arms are not long enough to go over my ears. It really stinks.. The other problem I have is that I have a very high prescription. So when I am forced to buy the bigger frames, the lenses are pretty thick. Can you offer some ideas on what frames could help me? I need to buy them before the end of this month for my insurance. Great insurance, I can buy three pairs of glasses but torture trying to find any!!
Hi Janis,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all that great information! It’s always good to know what sizes customers need. Perhaps I will release a larger sized Kimberly in the future so they could still have the smaller bridge but a larger total width. It’s a very good idea. Thanks again!
Thank you for designing glasses just for petite women. I can relate to all the things you and others say about how difficult it is to find the proper fit and I have worn too big or children’s glasses for years.
I was excited to see the Kimberly online with a bridge size of 14 mm – just what I need. So I ordered them. I love the shape of the Kimberly but the “tan” color is not right for me, I would call it “new copper” rather than tan and it’s a bit bright for me. I think the online pictures of you wearing the glasses shows a more accurate color than the picture of just the glasses. By the way I think showing pictures of the frames on real people is a very nice touch. Most online sites don’t do this and some only show their frames from one angle. That’s not enough to know if they would be a good style for my face.
Besides not being the right color for me, overall they looked just a bit too narrow. I think my ideal size would be 47/14. I would love the Kimberly shape in size 47/14 and a deeper, not too shiny brown, including brown on the nose clip hardware. The gold stands out too much for me. I’ve noticed this with other glasses I’ve tried. So, unfortunately, I’m returning them.
I know you are just starting out and I wish you the best of luck going forward. Thank for designing for a “special” demographic. I will keep checking for new styles and sizes.
Hi Shaida, Unfortunately for now I ship within the US only. I’m so sorry that I can’t help with your eyewear needs just yet. I do hope to expand in the future, and I have a notification list for that. Email contact@petiteglasses.com to be added to the list. Until then, I wish you luck on your search, and thank you for visiting my store!