When you put on your glasses, you probably don’t think about all the parts that fit together exactly right so you can see clearly. 

Here’s a diagram that shows all the parts of glasses: 

You wear glasses for many reasons, including the vision correction and sun protection that the lenses provide.  

We have several eyeglass lens options to suit your different visual needs:   

• Multi Focus reading lenses have three strengths in each lens to help you see up close, at arm’s length, and a bit farther away.  

• Full-magnification reader lenses have the same strength across the entire lens. 

• Bifocal-style reading glasses have magnification on the bottom of the lens and no magnification at the top. This helps you see clearly up close and without having to take off your glasses when looking farther away. 

• Blue light glasses help filter blue-violet light* from the sun and digital devices. Our blue light glasses are available with no magnification, in bifocal style, and fully magnified. 

• Sunglasses and SunReaders reading glasses have 100% UVA-UVB lens protection and tinted lenses to help you see more comfortable in bright sunlight. 

You can also look for additional lens coatings — such as anti-reflection, UVA-UVB protection, and polarization (on sunglasses only) — to enhance your lenses’ functionality.

The frame holds the lenses and is often the defining element of any pair of glasses or sunglasses. Our frames are available in lots of colors and a variety of materials, including metal, plastic, and acetate.  

Here are the parts of glasses frames:  

This is the part that sits on your nose. The bridge holds most of the frame’s weight and helps your glasses stay on your face.  

The end pieces are on the front of the frame on the outer edges. They connect the temples to the frame. 

Glasses hinges are small, movable joints that allow you to open and close the temples. Standard and spring hinges are most commonly used in frames: 

• Standard hinges are small, interlocking metal loops that are held together with a very small screw. They can open to 90 degrees. 

• Spring hinges are more flexible than standard hinges and can open outward a bit wider than 90 degrees. 

These parts of glasses hold the lenses in place in the frame. We offer glasses with full rims as well as semi-rimless styles, which means the rims don’t completely surround the lenses. 

The nose pads are under the bridge on either side of your nose. They ensure your glasses don’t fall off your face. On plastic frames, nose pads are often built in. And on metal frames, nose pads are separate parts connected to the glasses frame with nose pad arms. 

These glasses parts connect the nose pads to the bridge of the frame. You can adjust the pad arms so your glasses are snug and comfortable. Pad arms are generally found on metal frames.

Screws connect the hinges to the end pieces on the frames. Some frame styles also have screws that hold nose pads in place. 

The temples or arms are the long parts of eyeglasses that extend back and rest over your ears. They are connected by the hinge on each side of the frame.

Temple tips, also called earpieces, are the eyeglass frame parts found at the end of the temples. They’re usually plastic and are designed to make your glasses feel comfortable behind your ears.

The top bar, also called the brace bar, is a decorative element most commonly found on aviator glasses and sunglasses. On styles that have this piece, it is located at the top of the frame between the lens rims.

The parts of sunglasses are the same as eyeglasses. The main difference is that sunglass lenses are colored (or tinted). Our sunglasses and SunReaders reading glasses can be customized with different lens colors, including blue, brown, gray, green, pink, and yellow.  

Now that you’re familiar with the parts of glasses and sunglasses, you can use your knowledge to shop our wide variety of eyewear for men, women, and kids. 

*Blue-violet light is between 400 and 455nm as stated by ISO TR20772-2018. (ISO: International Standards Organization – “Ophthalmic optics – Spectacles lenses – Short Wavelength visible solar radiation and the eye, FD ISO/TR 20772”) 

1. Parts of an eyeglasses frame [diagram]. Readers.com. Accessed January 2024.** 
2. What are the different types of eyeglass hinges? FramesDirect. Accessed January 2024.** 

The sources listed here have been provided for informational purposes only. The citation of a particular source does not constitute an endorsement or approval of EssilorLuxottica products, services, or opinions by such source. 

**Like Foster Grant, Readers.com and FramesDirect.com are affiliates of EssilorLuxottica.