Black Hat and Mirror Shades

The phrase "Black Hat and Mirror Shades" refers to the image of stereotypical image of mysterious government agents, those envisioned in conspiracy theories and the stories and movies spawned from said theories. This "mysterious agent" is generally in a dark (but not necessarily black) suit, sunglasses (mirrored, of course), often with an earpiece (for talking to fellow agents), and sometimes a black (or, again, dark) hat (especially a Fedora). It is not quite synonymous with the closely related term Men in Black, as it implies that they can 1) not be men, and 2) not necessarily wear all black, and 3) still be sinister.
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This term, like its cousin, is modeled on real images of the United States' FBI, CIA, and Secret Service agents—especially members of the latter organization, who protect the President of the United States. However, special agents in other countries look very similar as well, simply because it's a logical look. This appearance makes a person distinct, but nondescript, and the mirrored sunglasses let them look wherever they want without others being able to tell. This image can inspire intimidation and reminds people that there are government protectors around, but without the starkness of a soldier in armor or a uniform, carrying a large rifle.
The small hat, relatively popular in the 1950s and 1960s, started to disappear in the 1970s. This is simply a matter of men's fashion changing in these time periods, not a matter of some dress codes changing. Since the near-disappearance of this hat, the term is often shortened to "Mirror Shades." This, however, causes the image to lose the connotation of "bad guy."
The most controversial part of this image is the idea that it's evil. This "evil" connotation comes from conspiracy theories, many centered around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Movies after this historical event contributed to that image, such as Enemy of the State (1998). (One can argue that the images in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and its association with Kennedy's death strengthened the idea of evil or corrupted government agents.) The Agents in The Matrix (1999) were modeled off this image, and the movie Men in Black (1997) turns this image around to make the agents into good guys again, albeit still with a conspiracy.
This term was also used in the modern fantasy roleplaying game Mage: The Ascension to refer to the Technocracy portrayed in that game, especially their agents used to clean up supernatural messes or eliminate "deviants" (not unlike Agents in The Matrix).
Black hat
A similar image is used in the term Black hat, which refers to a cracker, or hacker who does illegal work.

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