Anne et Valentin Fossette: The Soft Cat-Eye (46-22-145), Colorways and Fit

In short: The Anne et Valentin Fossette is a Formacolor combination frame — acetate front, metal bridge and temples — measuring 46-22-145, at $545. Nine colorways are currently available to order, none of them held in stock: Fossette is a special-order frame at Gazal Eyecare. All nine are photographed on the Fossette product page.

By Andy Tabrizipour, Licensed Optician · Gazal Eyecare

Anne et Valentin describe Fossette in their own words: "FOSSETTE, a soft and penetrating cat-eye that confers almond eyes upon its wearer, working especially well with medium spacing to extend the gaze. Pertinence, romance and a lightness of touch, this is a well-mannered model that keeps its cards close to the chest."

That copy rewards a slow read. Soft is the operative word — this is a cat-eye that lifts at the outer corner without the sharp upswept point the term usually implies. And "medium spacing" is a fitting instruction hiding inside a marketing line: it points straight at the 22mm bridge.

Reading 46-22-145

Three numbers describe any frame's footprint, and they are the most useful thing on a spec sheet:

• 46 — eye size. The width of each lens opening, in millimeters.
• 22 — bridge (DBL). The distance between the two lenses, across the nose.
• 145 — temple length. The length of each arm, hinge to tip.

Do the arithmetic and the design intent appears. Two 46mm lenses plus a 22mm bridge account for roughly 114mm across the front before the outer rim edges are counted. A 46 eye reads as a contained lens on paper, but the 22mm bridge is generous, so Fossette is not a narrow frame overall — the width lives between the lenses rather than inside them. That is exactly the "medium spacing to extend the gaze" the brand's own description points at: setting the lenses further apart pulls the eye outward and is what produces the almond effect they claim.

The 145mm temple is a full-length arm. Temple length is the number most shoppers skip and most wearers feel; at 145mm there is enough arm to reach comfortably back over the ear rather than pressing forward at the temples.

Formacolor: two materials in one frame

Fossette belongs to Anne et Valentin's Formacolor line, and the brand lists its material as stainless steel and acetate, produced in France. In the photographs the split is easy to see: the front is acetate, while the bridge and temples are finished metal in a contrasting color.

That construction is the whole point of the line, and it is also why the Fossette colorways are worth looking at individually. On a single-material acetate frame the color is one decision. Here it is two, and the interesting colorways are the ones where the two disagree.

The nine colorways you can order

Anne et Valentin do not publish names for their colorways — the factory reference is a short alphanumeric code, and the same code can mean different things on different models. We went through the product photography for all nine current Fossette colorways and named them ourselves, keeping the code in brackets so you and our team are talking about the same frame when you order:

• Dusty Rose with Rose Gold Accents (20B28) — a muted rose-pink acetate front with matching rose-tone metal.
• Hot Fuchsia (22B02) — the loudest of the nine, a vivid magenta throughout.
• Tortoise with Coral Bridge (24B05) — dark tortoise front, bright orange-coral metal.
• Tortoise with Blush Pink Bridge (25B14) — honey-amber tortoise acetate against a pale blush-pink metal bridge and temples.
• Camel and Cream (25B26) — warm tan acetate with light neutral metal; the softest palette on the list.
• Burgundy with Peach Bridge (26B01) — a solid burgundy/oxblood front, with peach-toned metal.
• Tortoise with Electric Blue Bridge (8A11) — classic tortoise with bright blue metal; the highest-contrast pairing.
• Tortoise with Turquoise Bridge (U136) — tortoise cooled down by turquoise-teal metal.
• Tortoise with Burgundy Bridge (U78) — tortoise with deep wine metal, the most sober of the tortoise group.

Worth knowing if you have seen a Fossette elsewhere and cannot find it: Anne et Valentin's professional catalogue lists a further nineteen Fossette colorways as discontinued. The nine above are what can actually be produced today, which is the only list that matters when you are ordering.

The tortoise-plus-bright-metal colorways are the clearest expression of what Formacolor is for. From across a room the frame reads as a neutral tortoise; up close, the bridge is electric blue.

Tortoise with Blush Pink Bridge works the other way around — a familiar tortoise front paired with a quiet blush-pink accent, which makes it the more wearable of the two-tone options.

And Hot Fuchsia is the outlier: a single saturated color with no contrast at all, which is an unusual thing to do with a combination frame and reads as a deliberate choice rather than a default.

Who Fossette suits

Working strictly from the measurements, three things are true.

It favors a contained lens. A 46mm eye keeps the lens footprint modest. If 52mm and 54mm frames have felt like they swallow your face, 46 is a meaningfully different starting point.

It is built around a wide bridge. Twenty-two millimeters between the lenses is toward the generous end of the range. This is the single most important number to check against what you already wear — the numbers are printed inside the temple of your current glasses. If your current bridge is 17 or 18, Fossette will sit differently on you than what you are used to.

The 145mm temple is full length. It suits most adult head widths without being stretched to its limit, which matters both for comfort and for how long an adjustment holds.

Price and ordering

Fossette is $545. Every colorway is a special order at Gazal Eyecare — none are held in stock — so the practical route is to pick the colorway you want, place the order, and we will walk you through the production and delivery timeline. Quote the code in brackets and there is no ambiguity about which frame is coming.

How it compares

Fossette is one of three small Formacolor frames we carry, and the differences between them are real rather than cosmetic:

• Feist vs. Fossette vs. Frehel: Anne et Valentin's three small Formacolor frames compared
• Anne et Valentin Frehel: the petite geometric pantos (42-23-145)

See it

Full specifications, all nine colorways and current availability are on the Fossette product page. The rest of the range is at the Anne et Valentin collection. If you are ordering, the genuine Anne et Valentin case is worth adding at the same time.

More on Anne et Valentin

• The Anne et Valentin Design Story: Why French Frames From Toulouse Look Like Nothing Else
• Anne et Valentin Collections & Frames: How to Choose Your Pair
• Anne et Valentin: Acetate vs. Metal Frames — How to Choose Between the Two
• Anne et Valentin Flora 2: How It Fits, Who It Suits, and What It Costs

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Anne et Valentin Fossette measurements?

Fossette measures 46mm eye size, 22mm bridge and 145mm temple length — written as 46-22-145. Each lens opening is 46mm wide, there are 22mm between the lenses across the nose, and each arm is 145mm long. The two lenses and the bridge together account for roughly 114mm across the front, before the outer rim edges are counted.

Which Fossette colorways can I order?

Nine Fossette colorways are current: Dusty Rose with Rose Gold Accents (20B28), Hot Fuchsia (22B02), Tortoise with Coral Bridge (24B05), Tortoise with Blush Pink Bridge (25B14), Camel and Cream (25B26), Burgundy with Peach Bridge (26B01), Tortoise with Electric Blue Bridge (8A11), Tortoise with Turquoise Bridge (U136) and Tortoise with Burgundy Bridge (U78). Anne et Valentin list a further nineteen Fossette colorways as discontinued, so those can no longer be produced. None of the nine are held in stock at Gazal Eyecare — every colorway is a special order.

What is the Fossette made of?

Fossette is a Formacolor frame, which Anne et Valentin build from stainless steel and acetate and produce in France. The front is acetate and the bridge and temples are finished metal, which is what lets most colorways carry two contrasting colours.

Who does the Fossette suit?

Based on its measurements, Fossette suits someone who wants a contained 46mm lens paired with a wide 22mm bridge and a full 145mm temple. The bridge is the number to check first — compare it against the figures printed inside the temple of a pair you already wear comfortably. Anne et Valentin describe the shape as a soft cat-eye, so it lifts at the outer corner without the sharp upswept point the term usually implies.

How much is the Anne et Valentin Fossette?

Fossette is $545 at Gazal Eyecare, in every colorway.