The gift of the right sunglasses is instant: better bone structure, less visible fatigue, more mystery, more glamour. 

Conversely, the wrong pair of sunglasses does more damage than a bad haircut: they can it makes a face look wider, smaller, sterner, sleepier or just plain wrong. Too narrow and they pinch the proportions. Too wide and the face disappears. Too round on a round face and everything goes a little boiled egg. 

Round faces want structure, square faces want softening; Oval faces can broadly follow the round-face rules and get away with plenty besides, while heart-shaped faces have enviable room to manoeuvre. 

For everyone else, the trick is simple: balance what nature gave you, then choose the pair that makes you look like you meant it. Here’s what actually works, once you stop choosing by trend and start choosing by proportion.

Round faces usually benefit from definition: square, rectangular and softly angular frames that bring a little architecture to curved features. The trick is width — ideally slightly wider than the cheekbones, so the face looks elongated rather than swallowed. Louis Vuitton’s LV Square sunglasses, Dior’s DiorGlow S1I and Valentino’s rectangular frames all do the job without veering into severe headmistress energy.

Square faces suit round, oval and aviator shapes, particularly in warm acetates or softer gradient lenses that soften a dominant jawline. The goal isn’t to disguise a strong jaw, but to stop the face reading as one hard angle. Cat-eyes work too, provided the upswept edge counters the jaw rather than echoing it. Try Louis Vuitton’s LV GO-14 Oval, Oliver Peoples’ Gregory Peck Sun, Valentino’s oval frames or Dior’s DiorPacific B2I.

Oversized sunglasses exist for one purpose: disappearing — from exes, fans, family who ask too many questions at lunch, and the general burden of being recognised in Duke of York Square. Go dark-lensed, properly framed and airport-adjacent in ambition, even if the only place you’re travelling incognito to is Peter Jones. Skip anything frameless; it drifts fast from glamorous into Eurotrash, and not the useful ironic kind. Try Louis Vuitton’s My Monogram Square, Gucci’s Square Frame or Loro Piana’s Spagna.

Cat-eyes are the fastest route to instant polish: Old Hollywood by way of the Riviera, with the faint suggestion that you might be a slightly imperious lunch guest. The upswept shape lifts the whole face and can look genuinely intimidating, in the best sense — provided the frame stays clean and sharp rather than veering into Dame Edna. Gucci’s Cat-Eye Frame, Dior’s Oblique B2I, Saint Laurent’s Jazz and Prada’s logo sunglasses all keep it grown-up.

Aviators are the closest thing to a universal flattery guarantee, and the best sunglasses for men tend to start here. The right pair can make almost any man look twelve to fifteen per cent more competent — the maths is unofficial but widely felt — without tipping into full Top Gun cosplay. Keep the frame fine and the lens dark. Oliver Peoples’ Sacoye and Saint Laurent’s SL 596 Dune both mean business without shouting about it.

The foolproof way to find frames that flatter? Take your face to Sloane Street and try them on.