
“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!
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
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 Amy!.
So, it’s been a few years since your visit to the site in 2020. Have you checked availability lately? I think you may be surprised to discover that they do indeed have a frame that would likely fit you beautifully. It’s the Kara XS-46; I think I got that correct. Give ’em a look again.
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!
Aww, thanks! *Blushes* – The secret is eyeliner 😉
That sounds like a very frustrating journey! I’ve heard from many women with a similar one – wearing contacts to avoid badly fitting glasses, etc. I’m sorry for your struggles with Lasik.
I hope that you will find what you are looking for here! If not, I always welcome suggestions for new styles. Cheers!
I just wanted to say how glad I am to find this site. I’ve worn glasses my whole life, and have a narrow face (47/48-15/16 is about right), but a fairly “average” temple length (135). To exacerbate the problem, my lenses magnify, so if I get the frames too wide or the lens height is too tall, my eyes and face will expand to fill them up….a look I call Mr. Magoo. My last few pairs have been children’s glasses, and that is okay (if you can find them without neon colors), but the temple length is too short.
It is so frustrating especially with Covid. If I go in a store, I need to look at the SIZES not just the style and color. That means picking up a lot of glasses, and they have to disinfect every pair that I touch, and I hate to cause that trouble. But you cannot read the size without picking them up, generally speaking. When I ask for the petites, they show me a section with 3 pairs in it. When I browse in the children’s, they tell me not to look there, those are children’s glasses.
My glasses are the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I take off at night, so I feel like having them look nice is really important.
I am very much looking forward to getting my 5 pairs in the mail. This is the first place where I’ve read a description of EXACTLY my problem! Thanks so much!
Hi Susan, Thank you so much for sharing your story. I’m so glad you resonate, and I really hope you find a great fit here!
Just had to add, I have received my 5 pairs in the mail and love having them all fit. Kara is the style for me, for sure, a perfect fit, but I now have to decide between the light tortoise and the tortoise! What a joy to have choices!
Wonderful! Kara is my best-seller, actually. I’m so glad you found the right fit. Thank you for circling back with your success story!
I always bought adult frames until my last prescription. I really didn’t like the adult selection, which was an entire wall, and was drawn to the children’s frames on a single rotating rack. Yes, they were all colors of the rainbow. THAT is what I wanted. A statement piece, not some boring run of the mill frame seen on every other adult out there. I tried on a pair and much to my surprise, they fit so well! I mean, they fit so much better than all of my previous adult frames. I picked out frames in lavender. I have since received many compliments. Also, about half the price of adult frames, so yay me! Go with your gut is the moral of the story here, folks. Don’t be afraid of unconventional.
Thank you for sharing! It’s great when you can find something local that suits you. Glad you found a frame that works for you 😉
Any suggestion on a website where to find men’s smaller glasses?
Thanks for asking! I’m fond of Bevel frames for men. I do hope to offer men’s frames in the future, so I’d love to hear what size you need.
Hi. I am so happy to find your website. I have worn glasses for 50 plus years. I HATE shopping for glasses! I put it off until I absolutely need new ones. I have spent the last week going to all the local eyeglass shops. I cannot find anything. The first thing I do is check the size as I know after many years what size I need. Then I have to put them all aside for disenfecting. I feel bad. I end up with about 2 pairs in 47/48. That is it! Then they suggest – try on bigger ones – you might find something. They do not even help me after a few minutes, because I think they know they don’t have anything to offer. Of course, I get sent to the children’s section, all of which do not work for me. They are thick and clunky. Sales associates don’t seem to think it is important to have frames that fit. I wear my glasses from morning until I go to bed. It is important they compliment my face shape, fit my face, and I feel good about wearing them. Oh, forgot to mention…I did find a pair I like. They cost $320 for the frames alone. I am so frustrated. I am going to try and find 5 pairs on your website and hopefully one of them will work.
Drema, I couldn’t have said it better myself. All of that is exactly why I offer this service. Thank you for sharing your struggle. I truly hope you can find a good fit here! Get in touch over email if you need assistance with selection, and I’m happy to help.
I would love if you made the XS Julie petite in a light tortoise, or a cool light brown. It is impossible to find brown frames!
Thank you so much for sharing your color request, Donna!
I’m so happy to find this site. It completely speaks to me. The only glasses I ever found that fit me (and are not kids glasses) were from Japan (Jin’s). I’ve kept them for as long as I can as I’ve never been able to find another suitable pair. Until now … 48-16-133-25 is the dimensions of this pair I love so much. I couldn’t find the exact same dimensions but I saw you had the Debbie range which looks almost close – 48-16-135-29 … do you think that would work?
Hi, thanks for visiting! Yes, definitely worth trying. The difference in lens height is notable (25 in your old pair vs 29 in the Debbie) but this could give a slightly more updated/contemporary look while still staying on the short side. Otherwise, it sounds like a very close match!
I have been watching your site but most of your options are mostly round or have a cat eye type turn up at the edges. I look much better in a square frame with mostly flat top. Would love to see that style!
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much for taking the time to share! I appreciate you keeping an eye on our offerings, and letting me know what you’d like to see in the store.