History Main / BlatantBurglar

* ''Franchise/Lego'' are known for using this trope to identify criminal minifigures, especially in their City line.

* In ''VideoGame/LegoIsland'' and its sequels, resident BigBad The Brickster fits this trope down to the ground.

* Franchise/SlyCooper wears a dark blue variation on the flatcap-and-prison-shirt motif, with a black domino mask, in spite of the fact that he's a raccoon character whose markings look like that anyway. The outfit is basically just another way of saying, "I'm so good at what I do, I can ''advertise'' what I am and still get away with it."

** To specify: a black ski-cap, though not one pulled down over the face, a black mask covering their eyes, a black-and-white striped shirt, and black pants. In ''The Sims 2'', Sims whose homes are robbed will automatically "meet" the burglar, meaning they can call them up on the phone and eventually befriend or date them. In ''The Sims 3'', this is still possible with the added chance of running into someone around town dressed like this, say, reading a book in the park.

-->'''Frozone''': We look like bad guys! '''Incompetent''' bad guys!

---> Being caught in a bank vault at three o'clock in the morning wearing a suit with lots of little pockets and a sack marked 'swag' could be considered suspicious, so why do it? With the right suit, the right papers, the right preparations, and above all the right attitude, you could walk in at midday and the manager would hold the door open for you when you left.

--> '''Paul''': Which one of us do you think the police are gonna notice, huh?
--> '''Stuart''': My money is on the guy looking like Catwoman on steroids.

-->"I never run around in the bushes in a ski-mask when I'm breaking in someplace. If somebody catches you, whaddya gonna say? You want to look like a legitimate visitor until the very last minute. If you can't look legit, confused works almost as well. Maybe get a soda from the fridge, or a yogurt. If you're caught, you just act confused and apologize like crazy for takin' the yogurt and nothing could be more innocent."

* The Hamburglar from [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds McDonaldland]] wears a variation on the striped-shirt outfit.

* When his clothes and sword were stolen, WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack gave chase and ended up in a peculiar land. He ran into one of these types of crooks, and had to borrow his clothes (mask included... seriously, Jack, this didn't tip you off to anything?). Only later does he find out his mistake, as he'd usurped clothes from a [[IncrediblyLamePun cat burglar]].

** Assassins have the same deal with the Assassins' Guild. They have to [[HighlyVisibleNinja wear all black (like a stereotypical ninja outfit), even when it makes them easier to see]].

* The Beagle Boys from Disney wear their prison numbers ''all the time''. There is also a running joke about how they never take off their {{Domino Mask}}s. The Beagle Boys don't even have actual names, they're only known by their prison numbers. They wear red shirts, though, not the typical white and black striped prison uniform, although they do have the flatcaps.

[[caption-width-right:280:Beagle Boys bungle burglaries bearing bright, blatantly bad boy baggage.]]

* Justified in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': ''Official'' burglars are obliged by Thieves' Guild regulations to wear the full UK outfit, but official burglary is legal, due to the peculiar status of the Guild. So if someone breaks into your house and ''isn't'' dressed as a burglar, you can assume they're unlicenced, and therefore criminals.

* The Beagle Boys from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987''.

[[quoteright:280: [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x7qxbpnk_8808.jpg]]]]

* In the UK, France, and certain older works, the mandatory dress code is a DominoMask, a black and white striped shirt, a flatcap, and a ThiefBag (often marked "Swag" for extra honesty) slung over the shoulder. [[InstitutionalApparel Note that the black and white stripes are trademark old prisoner dress, implying one is dressing like one has already been caught and jailed.]] An even older variation is to give them a prison uniform covered in arrows (which is still popular with [[ComicBook/TheBeano certain children's comics]]).

[[quoteright:280: [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x7qxbpnk_8808.jpg]]]]

* The Hamburgler from [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds McDonaldland]] wears a variation on the striped-shirt outfit..

According to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the striped-shirt burglar originated in the 1888 book [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglar_Bill Burglar Bill.]] [[BlatantLies Another theory is that the disruptive striped pattern enabled the wearer to hide themselves in the tall grasses of the savannah.]]

* The Beagle Boys from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales''.

According to TheOtherWiki, the striped-shirt burglar originated in the 1888 book [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglar_Bill Burglar Bill.]] [[BlatantLies Another theory is that the disruptive striped pattern enabled the wearer to hide themselves in the tall grasses of the savannah.]]