Feist vs. Fossette vs. Frehel: Anne et Valentin’s Three Small Formacolor Frames
In short: Feist, Fossette and Frehel are all Anne et Valentin Formacolor frames — an acetate front with a metal bridge and temples. All three are $545: Feist is 42-22-145, Fossette is 46-22-145, Frehel is 42-23-145. Feist is the only one of the three with stock on hand at Gazal Eyecare; Fossette and Frehel are special order. If you want the smallest front, it is Feist or Frehel. If you want the softest shape, it is Fossette.
Comparing frames across different Anne et Valentin lines is mostly a materials argument. Comparing three frames inside the same line is more useful, because the construction is held constant and what is left is shape, scale and colour. Feist, Fossette and Frehel are all Formacolor, all combination frames, all produced in France — which means the differences between them are genuinely about the drawing rather than about what they are made of.
The numbers, side by side
| Feist | Fossette | Frehel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 42-22-145 | 46-22-145 | 42-23-145 |
| Front width (lenses + bridge) | ~106mm | ~114mm | ~107mm |
| Line | Formacolor | Formacolor | Formacolor |
| Material | Stainless steel and acetate | Stainless steel and acetate | Stainless steel and acetate |
| Price | $545 | $545 | $545 |
| Colorways | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| Availability | 2 colorways in stock | Special order | Special order |
Front width is the two lens openings plus the bridge, before the outer rim edges are counted. It is the number that actually predicts whether a frame will look right on your face, and it is the clearest separation in the table: Feist and Frehel are within a millimetre of each other, and Fossette is roughly 8mm wider than both.
Feist — 42-22-145, $545
Anne et Valentin's description: "FEIST is a cat-eye full of audacity and optimism created for the littlest faces. With a wink to retro, Feist looks firmly futurist, always surprising. Our designers like to think it offers the fleeting elegance of a hovering bird to its wearers."
"Created for the littlest faces" is not marketing hedging — at roughly 106mm across the front, Feist is the smallest of the three and the frame to start with if scale has been your problem. It is also the one with the fewest colorways: three, all built around a brushed brown metal.
Blue/Brushed Brown (U222) and Electric Blue/Tortoise (8A11) are both in stock, one piece each as this is written. Green/Brushed Brown (U136) is special order. If you want a Formacolor frame you can try on today rather than order, Feist is the answer to that question.
Fossette — 46-22-145, $545
Anne et Valentin's description: "FOSSETTE, a soft and penetrating cat-eye that confers almond eyes upon its wearer, working especially well with medium spacing to extend the gaze."
Fossette shares Feist's cat-eye vocabulary and its 22mm bridge, but with a 46mm lens instead of 42 — roughly 8mm more front. That is the difference between a frame built for small faces and one built for a mid-sized one. The shape is softer too: where Feist is described as audacious and futurist, Fossette is "soft and penetrating" and "well-mannered". Of the three, it is the least likely to be the first thing someone notices.
Fossette also has the widest colour range of the three: nine current colorways, from Camel and Cream (25B26) above through to Hot Fuchsia (22B02). Every one is a special order.
Frehel — 42-23-145, $545
Anne et Valentin's description: "FREHEL. A petite, sharply geometric pantos. Straight trapezoidal bridge. Tightened lines for a graphic edge. Round without any softness. Energetic—no, electric. Curious. Daring. Almost pop. Retro-futuristic."
Frehel is the odd one out, and deliberately so. Feist and Fossette are cat-eyes; Frehel is a pantos — a rounded shape with the softness engineered out of it. It matches Feist's 42mm lens and adds a millimetre of bridge, so the front is a hair wider at roughly 107mm, but the visual effect is completely different: small round lenses set wide apart, joined by a straight bridge.
Like Fossette, Frehel offers nine current colorways and is special order in all of them, at $545.
So which one?
Choose Feist if your face is genuinely small, if you want a cat-eye with attitude, and if you would rather try a frame on today than wait for one. It is the narrowest of the three in colour choice, but it is the one with stock on the shelf.
Choose Fossette if 42mm has felt too small. It is the only one of the three built around a mid-size 46mm lens, it has the softest shape, and it offers nine colorways against Feist's three.
Choose Frehel if you want a small frame that is not a cat-eye. Same lens size as Feist, the same nine colorways as Fossette, and a shape that behaves entirely differently from either.
Two of the three decisions come down to shape rather than fit. The one that comes down to fit is Feist-or-Frehel versus Fossette — and the way to settle it is to read the numbers printed inside the temple of glasses you already wear comfortably, then compare them to the table above.
Read the full guides
- Anne et Valentin Fossette: The Soft Cat-Eye (46-22-145), Colorways and Fit
- Anne et Valentin Frehel: The Petite Geometric Pantos (42-23-145), Colorways and Fit
See them
All three are on the site with full photography of every colorway: Feist, Fossette and Frehel. The rest of the range is at the Anne et Valentin collection, which includes the genuine Anne et Valentin case.
More on Anne et Valentin
- Anne et Valentin: Acetate vs. Metal Frames — How to Choose Between the Two
- Anne et Valentin Collections & Frames: How to Choose Your Pair
- The Anne et Valentin Design Story: Why French Frames From Toulouse Look Like Nothing Else
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Anne et Valentin Feist and Fossette?
Both are Formacolor cat-eyes built from stainless steel and acetate, but Feist is 42-22-145 and Fossette is 46-22-145. They share the same 22mm bridge and the same 145mm temple, so the whole difference is the lens: Fossette’s is 4mm wider, which makes its front roughly 8mm wider overall. Anne et Valentin describe Feist as "created for the littlest faces" and Fossette as a "soft and penetrating" cat-eye. Both are $545; Feist has three colorways and Fossette has nine.
Is Frehel smaller than Feist?
No. Frehel and Feist share the same 42mm lens opening and the same 145mm temple, but Frehel’s bridge is 23mm against Feist’s 22mm, so Frehel’s front is about a millimetre wider — roughly 107mm against 106mm. The real difference between them is shape rather than size: Feist is a cat-eye and Frehel is a pantos.
Which of Feist, Fossette and Frehel is the softest shape?
Fossette. Anne et Valentin call it "a soft and penetrating cat-eye", while Frehel is described as "round without any softness" and Feist as "full of audacity and optimism" and "firmly futurist". Fossette is also the largest of the three at 46mm, which contributes to the gentler proportion.
Do Feist, Fossette and Frehel cost the same?
Yes. All three are $545 at Gazal Eyecare. What separates them is size, shape and colour choice rather than price.
Which of Feist, Fossette and Frehel is in stock?
Feist. Two of its three colorways — Blue/Brushed Brown (U222) and Electric Blue/Tortoise (8A11) — are in stock with one piece each as this is written; Green/Brushed Brown (U136) is a special order. Fossette and Frehel are special order in every colorway. Stock this thin moves quickly, so check the product page for live availability rather than relying on this post.