Design
Quality of Materials
Value for Money 
Craftsmanship 
Customer Service If it’s the middle of the day, you stop for a Coca Cola in a glass bottle, poured over ice, with a slice of lemon.
And if it’s the evening, well, you get a Negroni for yourself and an Aperol Spritz for the lady.
That’s what travelling through Italy in summer is like. Sure, you spent your day looking at art, but the true reward is in the finer things: kicking back and relaxing with a cold drink.
For me, the cafe-relaxation look is only complete with a pair of sunglasses. I was recently poking through the web (as one does) and I came across the Danish eyewear brand, Christopher Cloos.
While they’re from Copenhagen, I was drawn to their laid back, vintage Italian-style frames. So I picked up a few of their sunglasses and a pair of their new blue-light blocking glasses to give the brand a shot. Keep reading for my full brand breakdown.
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What Is Christopher Cloos?
The story of Christopher Cloos goes something like this:
The founder of the brand was spending a little idle time at the Paloma Beach Club in the French Riviera. They met a man named—wait for it—Christopher Cloos.
Our boy ol’ Cloos loved vintage sunglasses and basically couldn’t be bothered to do anything besides have fun.
An idea took hold in the founder’s mind—create sunglasses that have all those old-school vintage vibes, but make them with the best modern materials at an affordable price.
After all, if your hobby is to hang out at one of the most exclusive beaches, there’s a good chance your shades cost a fortune. So while Christopher Cloos the man had pricey shades, Christopher Cloos the brand has frames with price tags that don’t make your eyes water.
Things to Consider Before Buying Sunglasses from Chistopher Cloos
Before you buy sunglasses from Christopher Cloos (or blue light blocking and prescription glasses), it’s important to consider what you’re looking for in a set of frames.
CC isn’t a trendy brand—their designs are based on timeless classics. So score one point for anyone aiming for a refined look, but lose one point with the Gen Z crowd.
It’s also important to consider your budget. I’ll dive into specifics later in my review, but know up front that Christopher Cloos is playing with high-end materials and they’re not in the bargain basement game.
So if you’re looking for a pair of beater shades to play beach volleyball in and you don’t really care much about build quality or material quality, you may want to search out another brand.
Ready to let the Cloos loose? Translation: Are you ready to wear some sweet, laid back, Italian-inspired sunglasses? Made with some of the world's best acetate, spring loaded hinges, and top quality lenses, the value on these frames is tough to beat.
Christopher Cloos Review
Paloma Sunglasses
I need to kick this review off with my favorite of the three: the Paloma sunglasses. I picked them up in the Bourbon colorway, which is like a light and streaky tortoise shell.
They have a distinctly summery vibe, and I feel the color provides a ton of vintage style.
The Paloma shape really does balance vintage and contemporary, which is perfect if your ideal wardrobe consists of a few excellent casual pieces.
These are the kind of shades you wear when you pack a nice pinot noir for a picnic. Maybe I’m just dreaming of warmer days as I’m writing this in the dead of winter, but the Paloma in Bourbon give off a warm feeling.
Christopher Cloos makes their frames with Mazzucchelli Italian acetate, which has a robust feel, even in the thinner Paloma frame. They feature polarized CR39 lenses, so they’re a good accompaniment for beach days (polarized lenses reduce glare—something you need for long drives or when you’re near water).
I’m really digging the round shape of the Paloma. It’s pretty universally flattering as the “wings” at the top give it enough structure to also work for folks with square jaws.
The brand uses spring hinges in all their models, which helps keep the frames snug and just generally helps durability. You know when you own a pair of sunglasses for a long time and the arms get a bit loose and floppy? With spring hinges, the arms stay secure for much longer because they have a little give in them.
These vintage-inspired frames deliver all the laid-back vibes you'd expect from a Negroni on a Friday afternoon.
Cloos X Brady Sunglasses
Listen, I’ve never been a football fan. But as a red-blooded American, I need to watch the Super Bowl. It’s basically a holiday. My signature move is to get a stomachache on cheese dip and drink just enough beer to have extensive coaching advice for each team, despite the fact I only watch one game a year.
Because I only watch the Super Bowl, Tom Brady is the one quarterback I’ve seen play over and over again.
And he’s teamed up with Christopher Cloos to make a set of frames that compliment guys with more square, masculine jaws.
I picked my pair up in Grey Tonic, which is a translucent deep smoke color. When I’m wearing them, the color appears pretty close to black, but I like the little extra dynamic look from the clear acetate.
The frames are made with biodegradable M49 Mazzucchelli acetate, and have CR39 Polarized lenses.
For all of my frames, the unboxing experience was excellent—Christopher Cloos does a great job setting the tone for their products. It’s not like Cloos throws their nice frames into any old packaging—they set you up for success with a thick microfiber cloth and a handsome clamshell case.
As for the shape of my Cloos x Brady glasses: I like them, but they’re not my favorite of the bunch. They fit slightly large on my face (which seems to happen a lot across several brands).
I don’t think you need an archetypal square face to pull these frames off, but it’s the most flattering if your jaw is a little more squared than mine.
Still, I’ll get good use of these frames, especially because I don’t have anything like the darker Grey Tonic color. That said, I think the Paloma fits my face shape and personal style better.
What does Tom Brady do when he's not slinging pigskins? He's slinging these Wayfarer inspired beauties.
Paloma Blue Light Blocking Glasses
It used to be that working online for a career was uncommon—a little quirky. Who could really make a living online?
Well, when a lot of people started working online exclusively in 2020, things changed. Suddenly articles on the magic of blue light blocking glasses were everywhere.
They sucked me in.
I picked up a pair of blue-blockers in the Paloma frames I liked so much on my sunglasses. But instead of the Bourbon colorway, I got them in Espresso. And now as I write this, I realize that’s how I’d ideally start and end every day: an espresso and a hard day’s work, followed by a relaxing evening with a bourbon in hand.
These aren’t my first blue-blockers—I got a pair from Zenni back in March when I knew I’d be spending a lot more time with my laptop. I can tell you this: there’s a huge difference between the $20 pair of Zenni blue-blockers and my Christopher Cloos’.
The cheap glasses are practically unwearable. They distort the light so much around the edges of the lenses, I get a worse headache than when I don’t wear any glasses at all.
I have much less eye strain now with the Paloma Blue Light Blocking Glasses. However, it’s not all rosy with these frames.
When I first started wearing them, my wife would come into my office and say I looked so different—like she was married to someone else. And she was really jazzed about the whole thing. But besides my shaken confidence, these glasses are great.
I've tried a few different blue light glasses, and these are my favorites. First off, they'll help save your eyeballs if you spend regularly spend 6+ hours in front of a screen. Second, they look and feel fantastic.
What do Other Reviewers Say About Christpher Cloos?
With nearly 400 reviews on Trustpilot, Christopher Cloos has a near perfect 4.9 star average as of writing.
Plenty of reviewers praised the styles, but the comments that stuck out to me most had to do with the brand’s customer service. I didn’t have any issues getting my glasses, so I never had to reach out. But a quick look through reviews show that Christopher Cloos has a fast response time and they prioritize getting you the frames you order.
There were some folks who’d had packages lost or stolen, and rather than ask a bunch of questions, Cloos shipped new frames right away and figured out the rest afterward.
My Thoughts Overall On Christopher Cloos
What I Like
The frames balance tasteful vintage designs and contemporary style
Christopher Cloos uses Italian Mazzucchelli acetate, which both looks and feels fantastic.
Spring loaded double hinges keep the frames snug and also offer more durability.
There are few designs so you’re not overwhelmed with choice, and for each model, you can select sunglasses, blue-light blocking lenses, or prescription lenses.
What I Don’t Like
The frame shapes are all quite similar, and there aren’t many options for people with very angular or thin faces.
Who is Christopher Cloos for?
Christopher Cloos is a go-to brand for anyone who’s looking to get a luxury sunglasses experience with simple, vintage-inspired frame shapes, but doesn’t want to spend a small fortune.
The Verdict
Pareto’s Principle goes something like this: 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions.
I think Christopher Cloos threads this needle with luxury-level sunglasses. I’m sure there are some sunglasses out there that are a little more durable, a little more elegant, made with slightly better materials, etc. But I doubt the cost can justify the minor improvements.
Sitting under $200, Christopher Cloos offers excellent build quality, a rich feel, and a contemporary style for a very affordable price.
I can’t help but compare my Cloos frames to my Illesteva’s (which I love). My Illesteva frames were a big stretch for me when I picked them up at around $250.
I’m still happy and wear them often. But the quality and feel is the same between my ~$150 Christopher Cloos glasses and my ~$250 Illesteva’s. The only difference is that Cloos has double spring-loaded hinges, so they’re actually even better.
I totally understand if spending over $100 on sunglasses isn’t in the budget for you. But if you’re in that middle-range where you have a bit extra to spend on top quality, and you still have to make conscious decisions about what you buy, Christopher Cloos is an excellent choice for sunglasses and frames.
Ready to let the Cloos loose? Translation: Are you ready to wear some sweet, laid back, Italian-inspired sunglasses? Made with some of the world's best acetate, spring loaded hinges, and top quality lenses, the value on these frames is tough to beat.
FAQs
Who are the Christopher Cloos founders?
Christopher Cloos was founded by Julius Langkilde from Denmark.
What sunglasses does Tom Brady wear?
Tom Brady wears his Cloos x Brady sunglasses when he’s out on the town. No doubt.
