Sunglasses are not only a necessity in our sunny state, they are a style statement. Surveys have shown that sunglasses rank among the top five accessories that define a man's or woman's personal style. And, if you're lusting after a high-end designer's logo, sunglasses are often the name brand's most affordable accessory.

This year, the hottest thing in shades are aviators, those oversized goggle-like glasses created by Ray-Ban in the 1930s and popularized by Tom Cruise in "Top Gun."

But aviators aren't for everybody. Debora DeLong, regional representative for Safilo, an Italian firm that manufactures sunglasses for designer names such as Christian Dior, Armani, Gucci, Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss and Marc Jacobs, warned, "Most people can't wear aviators because of their size and the way they go down on the cheek. They can make the face droop."

Another pitfall: They can cause a person with a small face to look like a bug.

We talked about the do's and don'ts of sunglasses with DeLong and several other experts at Dream Vision Eye Care, an interesting new business at 1221 Kapi'olani Blvd., run by the husband-and-wife team of Cliff and Chie Otto. He's an ophthalmologist who sees patients in the back of the shop; she runs the business side of things and helps with style selections, including specialized lines from Japan such as Hoya and Kajihiko.

In an effort to help others avoid choosing the wrong sunglasses, optometrist Leslie Poon of Dream Vision gave us a lesson in what eyeglasses work best with which shape of face.

Here are three examples.

Reach Paula Rath at paularath@aol.com.