When Bad Guys Wore Suits

Great point, Rusty . Before the Baby-Boomer culture reset all the standards, even criminals were more serious and self-respecting, as can be seen in this collection of vintage police lineup photos .

As Jason Toon says:

These natty sharps never would’ve been caught dead in a soiled wifebeater, or a gigantic puffy Chicago Bulls coat, or a pair of oversized pants hanging halfway down their thighs. I’m glad I didn’t have to live through the Depression – but at least that era’s bad men looked like men and not hyperthyroidal first-graders.

Back in the day men knew how to look like men: heroes wore khakis and the bad guys wore six-on-one double-breasted suits with jetted pockets and a pocket square.