Glasses for Wide Set Eyes: 7 Frame Features That Fix the Gap
Your glasses look fine from the front, yet something feels off: the lenses seem to sit too far out, with a stretch of bare nose between them.
Photo by Nguyễn Việt Cường / Pexels
The best glasses for wide set eyes have a bridge that fits your nose snugly, a dark or double bridge bar that fills the gap, and a frame PD (lens width plus bridge width) close to your own pupillary distance. Add plain temples and a round, square or aviator shape, and the space between your eyes reads as balanced.
How do you know if your eyes are wide set?
Eyes are usually called wide set when the gap between the inner corners is clearly larger than the width of one eye. It is a proportion, not a medical measure, and it says nothing about your vision. To check, stand at a mirror, look straight ahead and hold a ruler under your eyes. Measure one eye from inner to outer corner, then measure the gap between the two inner corners. If the gap is noticeably bigger than a single eye, your eyes are wide set. Plenty of people land somewhere in between, and that is fine. The call is subjective. For glasses, a second number matters more: your pupillary distance (PD), the distance between the centres of your pupils. Adult PD typically falls between 54 and 74 mm. A high PD often goes with wide set eyes, but not always, so check both. Your prescription or your optician can confirm your PD.
Then look at the inside of the temple arm on the glasses you own now. You will find three numbers such as 52-18-140: lens width, bridge width and temple length, all in millimetres. Those numbers are your shopping filter for everything below.
Shop the frames in this guide
What are the seven frame features that help wide set eyes?
Seven features do the work, and they act on two levels. Some change how the frame looks, pulling attention toward the centre of your face. Others change how the lenses sit, keeping each pupil near the optical centre of its lens. You do not need all seven in one frame. Two or three well chosen ones already make a visible difference, and the optical ones (numbers 1, 2 and 4) matter most because they affect comfort and clarity as well as looks. Most frames in the 200+ range at Lensdy list lens and bridge measurements, so you can screen quickly with a ruler and your current glasses. Work through the list below in order, starting with the features you can measure, then moving to the ones that are about taste.
1. A bridge that fits your nose, not a wider one
Adult bridge widths typically run from about 14 to 24 mm. A wider bridge pushes the lenses further apart, which exaggerates the gap. Go for the narrowest bridge that still sits comfortably without pinching. If your current pair is 20 mm and leaves red marks, do not drop to 14 mm. Try 17 or 18 mm and see.
2. Adjustable nose pads or a saddle bridge
Metal frames with adjustable pads let you move the lenses closer together by a millimetre or two, and they let the pads grip the nose lower and more securely. Acetate frames with a built-in saddle bridge sit on the nose without pads, which gives a steadier position. Both help the lenses stay where they should.
3. A bold or double bridge bar
A thin, transparent or barely visible bridge shows every millimetre of gap. A thicker bar, a keyhole shape or a double bridge fills it visually. Aviator-style frames with a double bridge are the classic example, because the top bar sits near the brow and draws the eye to the centre.
4. A frame PD close to your own PD
Add lens width and bridge width to get the frame PD. A 52 mm lens with an 18 mm bridge gives 70 mm. If your PD is 68 mm, that is nearly ideal. The closer the two numbers, the less the lens needs to be shifted, and the better your pupils line up with the clearest part of each lens.
5. Colour and detail weighted toward the nose
A darker brow line, a contrasting bridge or a deeper tone on the inner part of the front pulls attention inward. Embellishments on the outer corners do the opposite. Think of it as where the frame carries its visual weight.
6. Round, square or aviator shapes over winged cat-eyes
Round and squarish lenses with a fairly even outline keep the focus centred. Upswept cat-eye wings stretch the eye line sideways and widen the look. If you love the cat-eye shape, choose a softer version without a sharp outer flick.
7. Plain, slim temples
Thick, patterned or decorated temples attach right at the outer edge of the front and add visual width exactly where you do not want it. Slim, plain arms keep the frame looking compact.
Does a wide PD make your lenses thicker?
Only if the frame is too small for your PD and your prescription is on the stronger side. A lens is made so its optical centre sits in front of your pupil. If your PD is bigger than the frame PD, the lens must be shifted outward (decentred), and the amount per lens is simply (your PD minus the frame PD) divided by two. With a minus prescription, the nasal edge then ends up thicker, because it is now further from the thin centre. With a plus prescription, the shift means a bigger, heavier lens blank. Small shifts of 1 or 2 mm are invisible. Shifts of 4 mm or more, combined with a strong prescription, start to show in the edge profile and the weight of the glasses.
| Your PD | Frame (lens + bridge) | Frame PD | Shift per lens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68 mm | 52 + 18 mm | 70 mm | 1 mm (inward) |
| 68 mm | 48 + 16 mm | 64 mm | 2 mm (outward) |
| 68 mm | 44 + 16 mm | 60 mm | 4 mm (outward) |
The fix is simple. Pick a frame with a frame PD within a few millimetres of yours, and if that is not possible, choose a higher lens index. As a rule of thumb, a 1.61 index lens helps once a minus prescription goes past about -4.00 D, 1.67 suits stronger ones, and 1.74 is the thinnest option available. Lensdy offers all of these, along with anti-reflective coating, which also reduces the reflections that thicker edges tend to show.
Insight most guides miss: a larger frame does not automatically solve a wide PD. A frame that is too wide for your face puts the lens centres in the right place but makes your eyes look even further apart, because the outer rim sits beyond your cheekbones. Match the frame width to your face first, then check the frame PD.
Which frames are worth a look at Lensdy?
Start with dark frames, because colour weight at the bridge is the easiest way to close the visual gap, then confirm the numbers. Mars Black and Hamburg Black are natural first stops for that reason. For a softer tone, Julian Shell brings a patterned finish, and Starburst is worth comparing as a different silhouette. We have not matched any of them to a specific eye spacing, so treat them as starting points: open the product page, read the lens width and bridge width, add them together and compare the result with your PD. Our full prescription glasses collection lets you filter by material, so you can check metal frames for adjustable pads and acetate frames for saddle bridges. If your prescription is strong, add a higher index lens at checkout and the edge thickness question mostly goes away.
- Measure your PD, or read it from your prescription.
- Note the numbers on your current frame and how it feels.
- Add lens width and bridge width on each candidate.
- Choose a lens index that suits your prescription strength.
free shipping on orders over €59 applies on orders over €59, and most orders arrive within 1 to 2 weeks, so there is time to compare two or three options before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are rimless glasses a bad idea for wide set eyes?
Not bad, but they do nothing to fill the gap. A rimless frame has a thin, nearly invisible bridge, so the space between the lenses stays obvious. If you like the lightness, look for a visible bridge bar in metal or a slightly bolder tone, and keep the frame PD close to your own.
Should I always pick the narrowest bridge available?
No. A bridge that is too narrow pinches, slides up or leaves marks. Comfort wins over styling. Choose the narrowest bridge that rests on your nose without pressure, and use adjustable pads or a saddle design to fine-tune it.
Do progressive lenses work with wide set eyes?
Yes, but the measurements need to be accurate. Progressives depend on your PD and the height of your pupils in the frame, because the reading zone is small and sits at a precise point. Give accurate figures when ordering, and ask your optician if you are unsure how to measure them.
Can a frame that is too narrow cause problems?
It can. If the frame PD is much smaller than your PD, the lenses are shifted outward, edges get thicker with minus prescriptions and the frame may look cramped on your face. A frame PD within a few millimetres of yours keeps both the optics and the proportions in order.
Ready to find your frame?
Take your PD, your current frame numbers and the checklist above, then browse the 200+ frames at lensdy.com. Add affordable prescription lenses in the index that fits your strength, and your next pair should sit centred and look balanced from the first day.