Angeline Jolie is an actress, a mother of six, humanitarian, a published author and a gossip-magazine fixture. She's also a fashion icon, inspiring women everywhere with her choices in clothing and accessories even as she makes them burn with envy every time she's pictured with her partner, Brad Pitt. There's a lot to admire about Jolie's fashion choices, from her red- carpet showstoppers to her deceptively simple casualwear, but one item she uses nearly every day is much more accessible to female fans looking to copy her style: designer sunglasses.

When you're stalked by photographers the way Jolie and Pitt are, it's important to protect your eyes, and it doesn't hurt to look good doing it. Jolie's taste in sunglasses shows that she pays careful attention to what flatters her face shape while also clearly favoring cutting-edge designers like Oliver Peoples and Tom Ford.

Style Tip: Choose Sunglasses that Flatter Your Face Shape

Certain styles of sunglasses are better suited to certain face shapes than others. Angelina Jolie has a heart-shaped face-an oval tapering to a point, with prominent cheekbones. While it may be hard to believe, there are styles of sunglasses that wouldn't flatter her face shape-little round lenses, for example, would make her features seem harsh and angular. Jolie tends to stick to two basic shapes: aviator, and oversized, squared-off lenses.

Angelina Jolie and Aviator Sunglasses

While most other Hollywood stars think of aviators purely as fashion items, Angelina Jolie thinks of them in functional terms: she is a licensed pilot.

For her, this popular frame style is not merely flattering but also functional, as aviator sunglasses were designed to provide a clear field of vision for flying aircraft. Aviator sunglasses seen on Jolie include the classic Ray-Bans, along with Dior 0055s and Gucci 2785s.

Sunglasses from Film Roles

Angelina Jolie's forays into action films (Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wanted) mean that she's needed to look tough and cool on-screen. In Mr. and Mrs Smith she and Brad Pitt wore matching Oliver Peoples Nitro sunglasses-a wire-rimmed, rectangular frame with half-toned lenses that manages to look athletic and intellectual at the same time. While Oliver Peoples is a hot brand, it's known for quirky vintage looks. Jolie's stylists chose the sleeker Strummer model for some of the fight scenes in Wanted.

Angelina Jolie's Favorite Designer Sunglasses

Judging from the photographic evidence, Angelina Jolie favors Tom Ford sunglasses by a considerable margin. The choice of brands doesn't necessarily jive with her previous life as a goth-punk hellraiser, but it's still understandable. Tom Ford, in his previous incarnation as creative director for Gucci, engineered a remarkable turnaround of that brand by re-introducing glamour and a sleek, rock-star aesthetic to his pieces. He continues working in this vein now that he's struck out on his own, and his oversized sunglasses for women, including the Miranda, Veronique, and Raquel, have an updated shape that hearkens back to classic 1960s cinema. Think Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn. Also think Angelina Jolie: modern Hollywood royalty.