Shared from Culture
The best sunglasses brands are infallible sources of stylish UV protection, purveyors of premium eyewear so nice it might actually ruin your day if you accidentally sit on a pair. And sure, the list is stacked with a formidable lineup of the usual suspects—the Ray-Bans, Persols, and Oakleys of the world—but you’ll also come across a few names you might not know, including up-and-coming indie darlings looking to carve out a niche for themselves in the ever-crowded eyeglasses space.
The unifying through line? All of them have proven their dedication to churning out grade-A sunnies at the highest levels of craftsmanship, from sly interpretations of retro-leaning aviators, wayfarers, and clubmasters, to quirky new silhouettes entirely their own. And the surfeit of options doesn’t end there. Because the best sunglasses brands today offer a variety of styles at a variety of price points, which means shilling out top-dollar for a wildly overpriced made-in-Italy option—that, to be honest, you don’t even really like—is officially a ritual of the past.
In other words, there’s never been a better time to snag a high-quality pair of shades that’ll help you look like Hollywood royalty—McQueen-approved aviators, anyone?—and block out harmful UV rays in the process. Not sure where to begin? Put your trust in these 16 eyewear brands, and then never look back—unless, of course, it’s to shamelessly ogle your reflection in the window of a passing car.
Ray-Ban
Ray-Ban’s eyewear pedigree speaks for itself. After nearly a century in the business, the brand’s legendary roster of sunglasses needs little introduction: Dylan’s Wayfarers, Maverick’s Aviators, Malcolm X’s Clubmasters. If you haven’t owned a pair of Ray-Ban’s always-in-style frames at some point in your life, now’s the time to rectify that mistake, STAT.
Persol
There’s a reason Persol’s frames have long been a favorite of pilots, Formula One drivers, and bona fide Hollywood royalty: the brand’s instantly recognizable designs positively ooze old-school Italian elegance, without compromising on the type of durability a race track—or a red carpet—calls for.
Oakley
Oakley isn’t an official sponsor of the MLB, but it might as well be. Its performance-minded sunglasses have long been a favorite of the league’s most stylish stars, who’ve always appreciated what the menswear masses are only now cottoning on to: the brand’s distinct, sport-inspired silhouettes look good on anyone, anywhere—whether you’re shagging fly balls in the park or strutting your stuff on the street.
Carrera
Since their introduction in the ’50s, Carrera’s signature oversized shades have graced famous faces aplenty; the brand helped make Tony Montana a legend in Scarface and has been a perennial go-to for Tinseltown’s A-list ever since. Today, Carrera sells sunglasses designed to help you avoid the papparazzi (or look like someone who might have to).
Oliver Peoples
Oliver Peoples began life as a small boutique on Hollywood Boulevard peddling vintage American shades. Since setting up shop in the late ’80s, the brand has evolved into a serious contender in the eyewear space, churning out handsome sunnies inspired by the retro frames it used to stock, crafted from some of the highest quality materials in the world.
Moscot
For over five generations, Moscot has outfitted discerning New Yorkers—along with an increasingly global customer base—with eyewear that’d make its founder, the Belarusian immigrant Hyman Moscot, proud. The family-run NYC institution makes some of the best sunglasses in the game, and thanks to its expansive online presence you don’t have to be an expert on Lower Manhattan subway lines to get in on the action.
Warby Parker
A little over a decade ago, Warby Parker sent Big Glasses into a panic with its promise of middleman-less, affordable eyewear made with the same standards as its luxury counterparts. In the years since, the DTC eyewear giant made good on its promise to upend the industry by expanding into sunglasses too, causing rival executives no small amount of headache and giving customers across the country plenty of reason to celebrate.
Randolph Engineering
Randolph Engineering has been the prime aviator plug for the Department of Defense since the ’80s. The company is still based in the small Massachusetts town it’s named for, and its sunglasses are still manufactured with the type of military-grade precision that’ll help your eyes withstand the everyday rigors of civilian life—and then some.
Jacques Marie Mage
If the recent Jeff Goldbum cosign didn’t quite convince you, allows us to: GQ has been touting Jacques Marie Mage’s bona fides for years now, gracing the temples of Keanu, Brad Pitt, and others with its top-end frames. Eyewear obssessive Jerome Mage founded the cult-loved label in 2014, and it’s racked up an impressive roster of high-profile clients since. (Loki scene-stealer Jonathan Majors is also a devoted fan.) Yes, these small-batch, primo-quality shades will cost you a pretty penny, but copping a pair of sunglasses that no one else at the beach/party/beach party will have? Priceless.
Lexxola
Lexxola makes retro-inflected shades for the extremely online set, the type of tinted sunglasses algorithmically guaranteed to give you a serious bump in followers. The brand’s unisex eyewear became ubiquitous on Instagram last year shortly after it introduced its now-signature silhouette, a pair of square-frame sunnies that hearken back to the best of ’60s style.
Retrosuperfuture
Since the late aughts, Retrosuperfuture has been hawking unabashedly quirky eyewear that doesn’t compromise on quality—and tends to clock in at less than $200 a pair. Keeping prices low but innovation high is a tricky alchemy the Italian brand has nearly perfected over the years, as its stellar selection of shades attests to. If you’re looking to score some runway-ready sunglasses on the (relative) cheap, you couldn’t do much better than starting here.
Barton Perreira
Barton Perreira co-founders Bill Barton and Patty Perreira share an expertise in luxury eyewear honed over long careers in the industry, including time at Oliver Peoples—Perreira as a designer and Barton as an executive. The duo’s sunglasses are handmade to exacting specifications out of lightweight titanium and plant-based acetates, a standard-setting level of craftsmanship that’ll cost you, but is worth every cent.
Cutler and Gross
After a chance meeting in optometry school, Graham Cutler and Tony Gross set out to make a name for themselves crafting bespoke sunglasses for a roster of high-flying clients—and upended the eyewear industry in the process. Since the late ’60s, the duo have helped elevate what were once considered mere necessities to the realm of grail-worthy accessories using a combination of Italian craftsmanship and unimpeachable design chops. More than 40 years into its run, the brand is still committed to churning out the famously logo-less frames that’ve endeared it to so many discerning customers since its founding.
Garrett Leight
For Garrett Lieght, sunglasses aren’t so much an accessory as a birthright. The son of Oliver Peoples founder Larry Leight, the West Coast native launched his own line of premium eyewear in 2010 and never looked back. (Worry not: the two are still close.) Inspired by the sights and sounds of the younger Leight’s Venice Beach hometown, the eponymous label takes classic styles and updates them with a distinctly L.A. twist. Today, the brand specializes in the type of discrete shades you’d slip on to avoid an awkward fan encounter at Erewhon or shield your eyes from the paparazzi’s flash—y’know, the typical trappings of California livin’.
Matsuda
Matsuda’s carefully handcrafted shades have been an industry favorite since the late ‘80s, when Mitsuhiro Matsuda—a close associate of Kenzo Takada and a trailblazing designer in his own right—launched his debut eyewear collection. A mainstay of ‘90s pop culture, the line was reintroduced under new ownership in 2012, but it remains committed to its founder’s guiding vision: strong, architectural shapes made in Sabae, Japan, a small city in the Fukui prefecture famous for its optical expertise. The brand’s frames merge distinct artisanal detailing with forward-looking designs, a mix Matsuda himself pioneered as a founding member of the Tokyo Designer Six. And thanks to a growing roster of global stockists, its under-the-radar sunnies are now easier than ever to access stateside.
Raen
It makes sense that some of the best sunglasses on the planet would hail from the West Coast (and want to remind you of it at every turn), but Raen wears its California heritage lightly. The SoCal brand founded by brothers Justin and Jeremy Heit crowdfunded its way to overnight success in 2008, and has been hawking cheerful, classic frames designed with a surfer bro’s laid-back disposition ever since. You’d probably be bummed losing a pair in pursuit of a monster wave, but at a little under 200 bucks you can afford to double-up—and order a couple of backups, just in case.
Images and Article from Culture