Retire Your Aviators. These Are the Best Men’s Sunglasses Now

Ted Mogtader, owner of Boston-based retailer Lunette Optic, noted that hefty men’s frames have been inching up the trend hierarchy for the past few years. But a couple of factors have accelerated their ascent: Just when we want to dress up again after months spent isolating at home, the ubiquity of meek wire frames leaves us wanting more. Mr. Mogtader reports keen interest in substantial frames by the brand Oliver Goldsmith (which made some of Mr. Caine’s iconic glasses) as well as Los Angeles label Jacques Marie Mage (responsible for the brown, ’60s-inspired frames at bottom center). These glasses are “for the guy who…doesn’t want to look like everybody else,” said Mr. Mogtader, who particularly approves of sizable square or rounded silhouettes.

The key to pulling off these outsize styles is to pair them with classic, pared-back outfits—something Mr. Caine mastered on- and off-screen, as seen in this photo shot on the set of 1968’s “Deadfall.” A dark suit, or even just a crisp white button-down, works beautifully with robust sunglasses; teaming them with the sweatsuit you’ve been lounging in all year, however, reeks of laziness and suggests you’re battling a hangover.

Montreal-based hospitality designer Kyle Goforth, 31, prefers handsome, weighty frames to thin, flimsy aviators. Lately, he’s been sporting a unisex pair from Celine that frequently elicits compliments. “If you’re going to wear sunglasses,” Mr. Goforth advised, “make them count.”

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