Most men default to black frames without ever questioning it. It is the obvious choice, which is precisely why brown is the more interesting one. A well chosen pair of brown sunglasses works with the warm tones that actually dominate most wardrobes: tan leather, olive outerwear, camel coats, raw denim. Black frames can fight all of that. Brown tends to sit with it.

The other thing worth saying is that brown is not one colour. Tortoiseshell, amber, warm honey, deep tobacco. Each reads differently depending on frame shape and lens tint, and the combinations matter more than most people realise. A flat dark brown frame with a green lens is a very different proposition to a tortoiseshell aviator with a brown gradient.

We have been looking at options that hold their own against the better known black frame alternatives without trying to be eccentric about it. These are sunglasses that reward the decision to look a bit further than the obvious.