You’re Only One Accessory Away From Being a Movie Star
26 indie(ish) brands making cool sunglasses
I had a scary realization the other day. I think my boyfriend has eclipsed my swag.
You see, it’s all come down to these sunglasses. He bought this c*nty little pair while we were in Australia that make him look like a late ‘90s movie star. You know the vibe — he’s sporting a baseball cap and pretending to avoid paparazzi while so obviously angling his best side to the camera. I’m not too proud too admit that I’m seething with jealousy!
In the same way that I envy how boxy vintage t-shirts fit lanky men infinitely better than they do contorted around my womanly proportions, I envy the way sunglasses can elevate a man’s outfit. It’s a specific kind of rock star glam that always feels just out of reach. But something beautiful happened when I put on his new pair of glasses: I felt the swag gap shut with a boom, like two tectonic plates colliding to form a new, bigger, Swaggier continent.
Even in my swag-deficient black puffer that I reserve for only the coldest and most necessary of occasions, I felt a little bit like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix and a little bit like 1998 Julia Roberts. What more could a girl ask for?
That’s the magic of a good pair of sunglasses. They lend an air of mystery and intrigue that is completely unfuckwithable. On a downtown train barreling toward the East Village at 8 pm, sun long gone from the sky, you’re magnetically drawn to the coolest person in the car. That person is, for some reason, always wearing sunglasses. “What light could they possibly need to block out 50 feet underground in a dimly lit metal tube?”, you wonder, while sneaking glances trying to ID their shoes. They have secrets you’re begging to hear — secrets stored in the sunglasses.
Luckily for those of us in a winter swag deficit, the panache of good glasses isn’t limited to warm weather. Bright white winter skies and glaring mid-morning sun still require protective eyewear, and there’s rarely an outfit that doesn’t look better topped off by the right frame.
I firmly believe you’re only one accessory away from movie star you. And that accessory is definitely on this list.
The Ray-Ban Wayfarer has long held the title of most “movie star” of all the sunglasses (of which I’m a lover and avid wearer), but there are so many smaller brands on the market making interesting and exciting frames. Sometimes you don’t want to be the Marilyn, sometimes you want to be an A24 ingenue.
Last summer I did a State of the Short, taking stock of the shorts landscape beyond classic denim. Consider this a 2026 State of the Sunglasses: an index of styles dominating the eyewear world and 26 brands making them, for both your research and shopping pleasure.
100% of proceeds from subscription upgrades through this letter will be donated to the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund.
1. Szade
The Melbourne-based brand that makes my partner’s above frames. When we tried them on at a local shop, I was delighted to find all the styles I tried on fit around my wide head — a feat rarely accomplished by retro wire sunnies.
Price range: $40-$60 USD
My favorites:
2. Crap Eyewear
This LA brand is another personal favorite of mine and my partner’s. His pair (that I often steal) have lasted so well through years of tossing in purses and grocery bags.
Price range: $69-$129
My favorites:
3. Le Specs
This Sydney-founded brand is almost half a century old with a large celeb client base and cult following. I personally loooove my Le Specs and really appreciate their wide range of price points.
Price range: $20(on sale)-$220
My favorites:
4. Bru Eyewear
A California-based brand focusing on funky colors and slim profiles. Heavy on the Y2K inspiration.
Price range: $135-$145
My favorites:
5. Jimmy Fairly
A hot Parisian eyewear brand making opticals, sunnies, and now, even ski goggles.
Price range: $148-$178
My favorites:
6. Retrosuperfuture
An Italian brand with a wide range of styles and colors with a few luxury collabs under their belt. If you love a nice thick frame, this is the place to be.
Price range: $179-$400
My favorites:
7. GUMI
A small Copenhagen-based brand with two frames and eight lens options.
Price range: $130
My favorites (the only two frames):
8. FORK Eyewear
Making glasses “for the club” in a range of subtly tinted shades.
Price range: $85-$125
My favorites:
9. Meller
This Barcelona brand is one of the most affordable and most followed on the list. And there’s a winter BOGO free sale on at the moment, which makes these $32.50 a piece when you buy two.
Price range: $65
My favorites:
10. Velvet Canyon
VC is crafting glasses from sunny Byron Bay, Australia, including optical and blue light options in the same cute frames as their sunnies.
Price range: $329
My favorites:
11. Moscot
A mainstay NYC eyeglasses brand that’s been operating through five generations of the same family for 110 years.
Price range: $115-$420
My favorites:
12. Research Studio
These athletic glasses have more pizzazz than your average performance-first options, and they recently collabed with one of my favorite running brands, Bandit.
Price range: $220-$270
My favorites:
13. Bonnie Clyde
If you’ve been served half as many Instagram ads for this LA eyewear brand as I have, then you are already intimately familiar with their adorably named frames.
Price range: $260-$360
My favorites:
14. DMY Studios
This British label designs sunglasses and jewelry focused on “modern minimalism.”
Price range: $255-$285 (25% off right now)
My favorites:
15. Lexxola
I would describe this brand’s specialty as “bitchy" frames and chic little travel carrying cases.
Price range: $160-$200
My favorites:
16. AKILA
An LA-based brand that has a frame for everyone including optical and kids options. Recently worn by Timothée Chalamet on his Marty Supreme press run.
Price range: $130-$220
My favorites:
17. THISTLES
This New York City label is a favorite of celebs, models, style icons, and other fab street-goers of NYC.
Price range: $275-$300
My favorites:
18. The Dryads
A Berlin-based showroom offering an insane selection of vintage frames.
Price range: $43-$344
My favorites:
19. Ritual Vision
Another Australian brand my partner wears, their athletic frames are as lightweight as some District Vision options for ~1/6th of the cost (he weighed them against each other lol).
Price range: $60-$70
My favorites:
20. Sub Sun
Founded with a focus on music, this brand recently collabed with Joel Gion of The Brian Jonestown Massacre to recreate a buggy (very Prada SS25) vintage pair of his sunnies.
Price range: $154-$202
My favorites:
21. Carla Colour
A New York City-based brand with a small collection of high end colorful frames.
Price range: $225-$313
My favorites:
22. Sun Buddies
I’m deeply obsessed with these blue frames from this Swedish eyewear brand.
Price range: $40(on sale)-$170
My favorites:
23. Always In Motion
This small UK-based brand specializes in running sunglasses.
Price range: $112-$126
My favorites:
24. Selima Optique
If you’re ever in NYC looking for glasses, their iconic shops in the city are museums of gorgeous eyewear. Luckily we can shop online too (and the website is so fun, they even link to magazine pages where each frame has been featured).
Price range: $425-$540
My favorites:
25. Chimi
A Swedish eyewear brand with a vast range of styles and colors.
Price range: $57(on sale)-$360
My favorites:
26. Gentle Monster
Finishing the list with a heavy hitter: this South Korean luxury label specializes in avant-garde campaigns and funky styles for both sun protection and optical wear.
Price range: $245-$475
My favorites:
And just as an obligatory reminder… there are so many secondhand and vintage options out there looking for a home! Sunglasses can be so finicky depending on face width and shape — they’re an item I tend to do a lot of research on before purchasing.
I hope this list may have led you one step closer to your next great movie star frames. I’d love to hear what your favorite indie(ish) eyewear brand is!
Get in touch with me at mackinley@yeehawt.com if you’d like to work together, browse my shelves here, or find me doing other things on IG <3
the sub sun ones!!
This is sooo good! Thank you!!