After a long personal debate, I finally gave in to looking for Asian-fit glasses because the a) transitions lenses and b) the unflattering look and fit of my old frames were preventing me from wearing them outside the house. That's a huge problem when contacts run out, or get dry, or if your eyes are just plain tired.
In general, eye frames in the West are designed for Caucasian faces.
That poses a problem for Asians, who typically have lower nose bridges
and wider temples, so these glasses need to always be readjusted. Even
if a frame fits "well enough," it can really impact eye sight and
even give unnecessary headaches if worn for a long time. Also, if you
want a plastic frame (which I did), it's nearly impossible to find one
with those attachable nose pads that they put on metal frames.
A quick Google search led me to TC Charton, the only American-based company that makes Asian-fit eyewear. Now, perhaps the Western market shies away from this niche because it might seem racist to create an ethnically specific product, but I think just like African-American haircare, which has been pretty uncharted territory until recently (as far as I know), there is a clear difference in consumer needs that should be addressed.
I ended up going with the Ana frames in midnight blue (Domo-kun not included.)
Below is a comparison of my old Juicy Couture frames and my new TC Charton frames. My old ones would always slide down and cut across the middle of my eye, which you can imagine isn't too flattering, and also made vision a little annoying in certain situations. I think they were not quite wide enough, so the springy arms had a pushed out look. Plus, the metal just made me feel really serious.
If you look on the inside of the arm, you will see a series of numbers. The first number (53) refers to the width of the eyepiece. The second (16) is the bridge size. With Asians, smaller bridge numbers tend to be better. The last number (135mm) is the length of the arms. My old frames were only slightly off, but the change made a huge difference in fit.
I think the biggest factor is the nose pads, however. They're much more raised than Western plastic frame nose pads. Because they're part of the actual plastic mould, they have to be custom designed and poured - which companies here just don't do.
As for the color, it looks anything from black to blue-ish purple, depending on lighting. The inside has a subtle marbling/tortoise-like pattern, which I really like. These frames fit my personality a lot better - smart, but slightly edgy. When I'm too lazy to put on contacts, these glasses to the dressing up for me.
(Wearing speckled bubble sleeve boucle sweater from Victoria's Secret)
Tips: The TC Charton website gives you a list of ophthalmologists that carry the brand in their shops. I called ahead to the one near my house to a) Confirm that they would accept my insurance, and b) If they had a specific frame in stock. Although they didn't have the one I had been considering, they were able to order it directly from the company since they're already partnered. If I wanted to choose another frame after trying them on, they'd just keep the one they'd ordered in store to sell to someone else. After some back-ordering, I finally got my frames!
