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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"It's damn-decent of him to fight in a suit coat; kind of adds a touch of class to the proceeding."''
|''[[Riff Trax]]'' on ''[[The Matrix]]''}}
A [[Badass]] or criminal character will often dress conservatively (suit and tie) to imply that he is a "professional" who knows what he is doing. Generally partakes of a toned-down version of [[Badass Longcoat]] imagery; add [[Cool Shades|Cool]]/SinisterShades to complete the look. The suit will usually be [[Sharp
▲{{quote|''"It's damn-decent of him to fight in a suit coat; kind of adds a touch of class to the proceeding."'' |''[[Rifftrax]]'' on ''[[The Matrix]]''}}
This trope can include women who wear traditionally male attire (read: suits), with the further implication that they are tough enough to make it in a man's world; see also [[Hot Chick in
▲A [[Badass]] or criminal character will often dress conservatively (suit and tie) to imply that he is a "professional" who knows what he is doing. Generally partakes of a toned-down version of [[Badass Longcoat]] imagery; add [[Cool Shades|Cool]]/SinisterShades to complete the look. The suit will usually be [[Sharp Dressed Man|impeccable]].
▲This trope can include women who wear traditionally male attire (read: suits), with the further implication that they are tough enough to make it in a man's world; see also [[Hot Chick in A Badass Suit]].
One easy way of showing that a situation is getting worse or dangerous is to have the previously immaculate suit become messier somehow, generally with bloodstains or just having any unnecessary bits such as the tie or jacket taken off and the sleeves rolled up.
There are a few careers in which this style of dress ranges from common to near-universal: [[The Men in Black]], [[Professional Killer
This trope does ''not'' cover flashy or eccentric suits worn as a fashion statement. Therefore, [[Cowboy Bebop|Spike Spiegel's]] and [[Lupin III|Lupin's]] blue and red leisure suits don't quite count. Jim Carrey's shoulder-padded yellow getup in ''[[The Mask (Film)|The Mask]]'' is about as far from this trope as you can possibly get. Nor does it cover [[Spikes of Villainy|clothes that could probably kill you if you get too close]].▼
▲This trope does ''not'' cover flashy or eccentric suits worn as a fashion statement. Therefore, [[Cowboy Bebop|Spike Spiegel's]] and [[Lupin III|Lupin's]] blue and red leisure suits don't quite count. Jim Carrey's shoulder-padded yellow getup in ''[[The Mask (
A [[Sub Trope]] of [[Stock Costume Traits]].▼
Compare [[Tuxedo and Martini]], [[Coat Hat Mask]], [[Man of Wealth and Taste]], [[Hot Chick in A Badass Suit]], [[Battle Ballgown]], [[Kicking Ass in All Her Finery]].▼
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
▲Compare [[Tuxedo and Martini]], [[Coat, Hat, Mask]], [[Man of Wealth and Taste]], [[Hot Chick in
== Anime/Manga ==▼
* Mr. Chang from ''[[Black Lagoon]]''. Rock also wears suits, but that's because he's an ex-[[Salaryman]].
** Balalaika too, considering her normal wear is a red business top with a long skirt bottom.
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** In the latest chapter, {{spoiler|the whole team gets snazzy suits.}} and it's all [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/katekyo_hitman_reborn/v26/c239/16.html here]!
** Well it ''is'' [[The Mafia]] after all.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120917082048/http://i.animecrazy.net/Katekyo_Hitman_Reborn_wallpaper.jpg See] [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/katekyo_hitman_reborn/v31/c289/16.html these]? I'm pretty sure there's a good reason they're labeled mafia.
* Female example: Rin in ''[[Mnemosyne]]''.
* ''[[Golgo 13]]''
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* Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing in ''[[Hellsing]]'', who despite the "sir" title is also female.
** And her pet vampire [[Dracula|Alucard]] to boot.
* Light Yagami of ''[[
* Campanella Freuling (female) from ''DOGS: Bullets & Carnage''.
* Inspector Verossa Acous from ''[[Nanoha Striker S]]'' is a heroic example.
** The Hückebein family from ''[[Nanoha Force]]'' are a villainous one, however. Apparently, they are good enough at murder that slaughtering an entire facility of mooks in chapter 17 didn't leave a single stain on their badass suits.
* ''[[
** CP9
*** Especially {{spoiler|Rob Lucci}}, complete with the suit getting taken apart as the fight goes on. He also wears a top hat.
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** The entire Strawhat Crew get in on this in the tenth movie (as seen in some manga art); it is frankly awesome.
** Capone Bege and his Firetank pirates all dress like mafia gang; as his name suggests, Capone Bege especially looks the part.
* ''[[
* Goudas goons in ''[[Ghost in
** They aren't very badass though, being trained for espionage, not combat.
** [[Names to Run Away From|The Major]] (otherwise known as Motoko Kusanagi) from [[Ghost in
* Ayame and Kiri-chan from ''[[Ga
* Most of the Magnificent 10 and a few of the good guys from "[[Giant Robo]]" take part in this trope. Alberto the Shockwave is probably the most prominent example.
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': Whenever Roy Mustang is not dressed in military uniform, he wears damn fine period suits. He even wears a dress shirt under his uniform while seemingly everyone else uses more casual t-shirts or sweaters.
** On the evil side, once he is released from prison in the manga and new anime, Zolf Kimblee is [[Moonwalker|such a smooth criminal]] that he always dresses in a snazzy white zoot suit and fedora.
** {{spoiler|Pride aka Selim Bradley}}, who is always (when in human form, that is) dressed in a button-up shirt, a vest and dress shoes, and whom we even see in a suit on one occasion in Father's lair.
* ''[[Darker
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''
** Takamichi Takahata is always seen with his suit and tie even when out on missions. He got the habit from his master, Gateau Kagura Vandenberg.
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** What, no Kurt Godel?
** Even Negi pulls it off, {{spoiler|the suit becomes part of his demon form!}}
* Kitano's parent in [[
* When he isn't {{spoiler|dressing up as his sister}}, Johan from ''[[Monster (
* Valkyrie Lind of ''[[Ah
* ''[[Soul Eater]]'' most obviously has Death the Kid, but Maka's uniform might also count, not to mention the positively Mafia-like black pinstripe suit Soul wears in his [[Black Bug Room]] with the grand piano.
* [[Battle Butler|Sebastian]] from ''[[
* From [[Noblesse]], Raizel and those who side with him always dress in nice suits in combat.
* Tango from [[Tango and Cash]] usually wears expensive business suits. His commander even calls him on that.
* In [[Cowboy Bebop]], this is [[Badass|Spike Spiegel]] usual attire.
== Comic Books ==
* Marvel's Kingpin always dresses in a white suit.
* ''[[Batman]]'''s foe The Penguin and his trademark tux and top hat.
* In the Claremont-era [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] comics, Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the Hellfire Club, always wore the height of [[Fan of the Past|Eighteenth-century fashion]], complete with ruffled collars and sleeves. Most Hellfire high-rankers wore this style while meeting at the club (the men
* Whenever The Minutemen from ''[[
* Sam from ''[[Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'' wears his suit with a striped tie and [[Nice Hat|fedora]].
* [[Spider
** Mr. Negative, one of Spidey's newer foes post-[[One More Day]], wears a white suit and tie with a black shirt. [[Evil Costume Switch|It's actually a photo-negative-colored version of his regular suit]].
* Deconstructed in ''Blue Estate''. Two Italian mobsters are always seen wearing nice suits. Only to have them continually ruined by the work their jobs require (blood, termites,<ref>One was ordered to break into a decrepit house infested with termites.</ref>
== Film ==
*
* Par for the course in ''[[Casablanca]]''. After all everybody who comes to Rick's wears a suit.
▲* EVERYONE in just about any B&W gangster or gumshoe film. The Roaring Twenties, ''[[White Heat]], [[Little Caesar (Film)|Little Caesar]], [[The Killing]], [[The Maltese Falcon]]'', et cetera. People just knew how to dress back then; if you weren't wearing a three-piece suit with vest and overcoat you were practically naked.
* The heroes (and a lot of the [[Mooks]]) in [[Heroic Bloodshed]] films.
* Many of [[Quentin Tarantino|Tarantino's]] characters: most of the cast of ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'' (at least on the day of the heist), Jules and Vincent in ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', the Crazy 88s in ''[[Kill Bill]]''...
* Jason Statham's Frank Martin in ''[[The Transporter]]''. In the second film he even has a spare one in his car to deal with the inevitable (non-[[Fan Service]]) [[Clothing Damage]].
* The Agents from ''[[The Matrix]]''.
** Hell, the entire visual style of the film is built around this. It actually works as a plot point, too, juxtaposing the control of the main characters in the Matrix (both by machines and of themselves) with the desolation of the real world (where everyone is basically in rags).
* ''[[
* Nicolas Cage's character in ''Snake Eyes'' changes from his sharkskin jacket to a suit jacket as a symbol that he's stopped messing about and is serious.
* ''[[Collateral]]'': [[Professional Killer|Assassin]] Vincent wears a steel-gray suit and tie, but loses the tie as the situation grows out of his control. [[Michael Mann]] explains in the DVD Commentary that his look is designed to be as unremarkable as possible. So he's not just a
* Subverted in ''[[The Blues Brothers]]'', where the brothers wear black suits, but it's soon revealed that those are the only clothes they own. They wear them to bed, into the sauna, etc. Unsurprisingly, they smell bad. Lampshaded in the sequel when Elwood tells his new partners why they have to dress the same way.
* ''[[James Bond]]'': James, much of the time at least. He even has the famous "fix my tie" maneuver.
* Jef Costello, the hitman from Jean-Pierre Melville's crime picture ''[[Le Samourai]]'' never leaves his apartment unless he's dressed in a suit, tie, [[Badass Longcoat|rain coat]], and perfectly positioned fedora. For that extra bit of class, he always puts on white gloves before a kill. Jef cares as much about his appearance as he does his alibi.
* In ''[[
* The ''[[Men in Black (
* Henri Ducard
* Justified by the titular ''[[
* Storm Shadow from ''[[G.I. Joe:
* The entire ''[[Inception]]'' team gets into this at various stages, [[Hot Chick in
* ''[[Act of Valor]]'': Invoked by [[Non
* Lao Che in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'' poisons Indy while wearing a suit with a white bowtie, even.
* Frank Lucas in ''[[American Gangster]]'' plays this one almost painfully straight; the one time he goes out in public (under protest) wearing a pimp coat instead of an understated business suit turns out to be his downfall.
* Pretty much the only time that Loki isn't in his Asgardian garb in ''[[The Avengers (
** Another badass in a suit from ''[[The Avengers (
== Literature ==
* Assassins in ''[[Discworld]]''. If they don't wear black, they reason, they might as well just be thugs who kill people for money.
* Subverted in ''[[Neverwhere]]''. Croup and Vandemar are contract killers who wear suits, but the suits look like they were made by someone who had only had a suit described to them and so looked creepily off.
** Not helping matters was that the suits were on Croup and Vandemar.
* Butler from ''[[
* Kit Carson of ''[[
* ''[[The Dresden Files
* Irene lampshades this in the ''[[Belisarius Series]]'' by pointing out that she wears the robes of a Roman Imperial counselor on a diplomatic trip in India, no matter how hot it is because if they see her as a woman they will gawk but if they see her as Roman they will be impressed because after all Rome is a badass country.
**Irene in general is a veritable mistress of using costume for political manipulation.
== Live Action TV ==
* This trope was extremely common in American [[Cop Show|crime]] [[Spy Drama|dramas]] of the
▲* This trope was extremely common in American [[Cop Show|crime]] [[Spy Drama|dramas]] of the 60s and 70s, particularly in representing characters from organized crime, who would never go anywhere, including an outdoor worksite, without putting on a full suit and tie. This trope could easily be called Wise Guys in Ties.
▲** Lampshaded (unintentionally) in "The Frame," a very early episode of ''[[Mission Impossible|Mission: Impossible]]'', where the team infiltrates a mob meeting at the boss's home and a major plot point hinges on one character getting spilled on and being sent upstairs to change into an entirely new suit, which the boss subsequently compliments him on.
* The F.I.R.M. from ''[[Airwolf]]''. Especially Archangel.
* Marcus Hamilton in the last season of ''[[
* ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''
* The Hands of Blue from ''[[
* On ''[[
** The Silence wear black suits.
** The Tenth Doctor's suit and [[Badass Longcoat]], and the Eleventh's tweed and [[Bow Ties Are Cool|bow tie]].
* Ianto Jones in ''[[
* Brother Mouzone in ''[[The Wire]]'' is possibly the epitome of this trope. Not only does he wear an immaculate three-piece suit at all times (with a very sensibly-sized handgun underneath), but also [[Nerd Glasses]] and a [[Real Men Wear Pink|''little red bowtie'']]. But [[Badass Bookworm|do not underestimate]] his ability to ''fuck you up''.
* ''[[
* In
* Michael Westen of ''[[Burn Notice]]'', when not undercover is almost always seen with an Armani suit and his signature designer shades. [[Awesome but Impractical|Never mind that in Miami's weather that suit would probably kill him]], [[Rule of Cool|it just looks that awesome]].
** He
** In one particular episode Michael, Sam and Fiona dress in all
** ''[[Burn Notice]]'' is filmed on location in Miami, and Jeffrey Donovan is a martial arts expert who does most of his own stunts; so he really
* ''[[White Collar]]'' The whole show is this - considering that Peter and Neal are very rarely not in suits when in the thick of action.
* Put simply, villains from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' seem to ''love'' this trope. We have:
** Mr. Linderman, from Season 1
** Adam Monroe from Season 2 (who really pulls it off)
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** Sylar also attempts this in volume 3, and does about as well as Arthur.
** Finally, though this may be stretching it, Danko from Volume 4 wore suit pants with his leather jacket.
* Some of the angels on ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' (Castiel, Uriel, and Zachariah) are always shown wearing suits. Castiel scores extra points with his [[Badass Longcoat]].
* ''[[The Thick of It]]'': Malcolm Tucker looks remarkably un-
* The Gentlemen from ''[[
* He's a [[Man of Wealth and Taste]] but ''[[Smallville]]''{{'}}s [[Magnificent Bastard|Lionel Luthor]] is definitely this as well, wearing his suit the way the [[Superhero
* Barney Stinson on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. Suit up!
* Though they're all [[FBI Agent
* Zig zagged in ''[[The Sopranos]]'' ,the mobsters like to wear vulgar sportswear most of the time but they dress up according to their fancy businessmen status when the occasion requires it.
* Every male character on ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'', in gorgeous [[The Roaring Twenties|20's-era]] three-piece suits.
* In ''[[Person of Interest]]'', pretty much all Officer Carter needs to hear in a situation is "a guy in a nice suit" to know it is Reese's doing.
* Elijah Mikaelson from ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'' definetly qualifies.
== Music ==
* [[
* [[Pitbull]]
* [[Michael Jackson]] is this in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_D3VFfhvs4 the video] for "Smooth Criminal".
== Professional Wrestling ==
* The Four Horsemen were always dressed to the nines when they weren't inside the ring, as they lived the life of playboy superstar athletes.
* [[
* Big Bubba Rogers, the bodyguard of [[Jim Cornette]], always wore a suit even when wrestling. He later became Big Bossman, the [[Wrestling Doesn't Pay|wrestling prison guard]].
== Tabletop Games ==
* Commissars and Inquisitors in ''[[Warhammer
▲* Commissars and Inquisitors in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' favor [[World of Ham|comparatively]] conservative suits and uniforms. The Inquisitors add [[Powered Armour]] and tote an [[Infinity Plus One Sword]], while Commissars add gold epaulets and [[Commissar Cap|huge dictator caps]].
== Video Games ==
* Niko in ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]''. In the later part of the game, the player can buy various high class outfits, a few of them being business suits.
* Agent 47 from the ''[[Hitman]]'' series.
* ''[[
* ''[[No More Heroes]]'': Another Suda 51 character, Henry Cooldown, whether it be a [[Badass Longcoat]] or a black and gray suit.
* The Gman from ''[[Half
* The Turks of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' and ''Advent Children''.
** Except for Reno, who his suit as casually as it can be done.
* Kiritsugu, Maiya and Saber from ''[[Fate
* Shelly DeKiller in ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]: Justice for All'', a professional assassin.
** And Phoenix himself in [[
* The Master of the Four Devas in ''[[God Hand]]'', up until the point where {{spoiler|he transforms into a giant demon fly/worm with his own face }}
* The Spy from ''[[
{{quote|
* Any ''[[Castlevania]]'' game where Ayami Kojima did the designs will have its lead character dressed in the very height of (somewhat) period-appropriate fashion, although special mention must be made of Alucard, both his dandyish dress from Symphony of the Night and his elegant double-breasted suit, complete with red pocket square, from the Sorrow games.
* Oswald from ''[[
* Mr. Burke from ''[[Fallout|Fallout 3]]''. While nearly everyone else in Megaton is a dirty, ragged-looking peasant, Burke is rather snazzy in his white suit, fedora, and tortoise-shell glasses.
{{quote|
* The Crimson Viper from ''[[Street Fighter]] 4'' wears a business suit with lightning generators in her sleeves and rocket boots disguised as high heels.
* In ''[[Suikoden III]]'', of all games, there is a practitioner of this trope: Amidst the medieval-fantasy armor and [[Rummage Sale Reject
* ''[[Tekken]]'': Brothers Kazuya Mishima and Lee Chaolan tend to wear very lavish suits while fighting; Kazuya wears a dark violet suit with long, angular tails, and Lee wears a black tuxedo with a rose on the lapel and silk gloves. It [[Justified Trope|makes some sense]], given their father Heihachi's attire (fur-lined tiger greatcoat with white vest-pants combo). Others who dress in this manner in later games include Baek Doo San (three piece suit and hat), Feng Wei (mafia-style suit and open-collared shirt), and Anna Williams (cocktail dress).
* Nick, the con man from ''[[Left 4 Dead|Left 4 Dead 2]]'' wears what [[Unreliable Narrator|he claims to be]] a $3000 suit during the [[Zombie Apocalypse]]. Whether or not he's telling the truth, he does look snazzy.
* Almost all the mobsters in ''[[The Godfather (
* In ''[[Scarface:
* The first Gym Leaders in ''[[Pokémon
** There's also [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
* ''[[Persona 3]]'' features the option to dress all the male characters in tuxedos.
* ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'':
** [[Hitman
** [[The Hero|Commander Shepard]] as well in his Cerberus officer uniform or the formal wear he procures from Kasumi's mission.
*** Fem!Shepard has a [[Little Black Dress]] instead.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[Perfect Dark]]'', the [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|DarkSim's]] default outfit is this.
* ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' has [[Cultured Badass|Slayer]]
* Bruce Wayne at the beginning of ''[[Batman: Arkham City]]''. Played quite realistically, as the suit coat gets torn along the shoulder seams, demonstrating how restrictive and, well, unsuited to combat a suit can be.
* Albert Wesker in ''[[Resident Evil]]'' games ''[[Resident Evil:
* Pinocchio in ''[[Lies of P]]'' has a variety of outfits that the player can find or unlock, most of them being formal Victorian-era tailcoats, making Pinocchio himself a [[Clock Punk]] genre example of this Trope.
== Web Comics ==
* [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul|Mordecai]] [[Scary Shiny Glasses|Heller]] of ''[[Lackadaisy]]'' fame combines elements of this trope along with [[Sharp
* ''[[
** Each protagonist makes himself new clothes after acquiring enough alchemy ingredients. John gets a rather dashing teal suit, but Dave later one-ups him by making a tuxedo, complete with bowtie!
*** Heck, Dave has at least three outfits that could qualify for this trope, including the tuxedo.
** The Midnight Crew, who live this trope with a healthy dash of noir and more than a touch of sociopathy (although in the case of [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|Clubs Deuce]], the "badass" part is ... debatable).
** Same thing goes for the Felt, especially with Doc Scratch.
== Web Original ==
* Virgil, Bree's Watcher and sometimes Lucy, all from ''[[
* The Shadow and the Watcher from ''[[Kate Modern]]'', and {{spoiler|Tez On Toast}} towards the end of ''[[Grand Finale|The Last Work]]''.
* [[Image Boards|Anonymous]] is often depicted as a hollow tuxedo or black business suit.
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* [[Meaningful Name|Legend]] from the flash series ''[[Xin]].'' In the second half he trades the full suit coat for a waistcoat, and when it's time to get serious he tears it off and rolls up his sleeves.
* Maxwell Lombardi in V4 of ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''. V1 villain [[Made of Iron|Jacob Starr]] also wore a suit in the early part of the game, before replacing the jacket with [[Badass Longcoat|a trenchcoat]].
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[
* ''[[The Perils of Penelope Pitstop]]'' had the Ant Hill Mob, always formally dressed and carrying Tommy Guns like the good little stereotypical mobsters they were.
* Parodied on one episode of ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'': "I love killin' guys in a tux, makes me feel like [[James Bond]]."
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* Charles Foster Ofdensen of ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' is very much this trope.
* General Molotov on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' dresses this way.
* CIA Agent Stan Smith on ''[[
* Bishop in [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 series)|the 2003 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' series]]. He takes on all of the turtles, Splinter, Leatherhead, April, and Casey with nothing but a suit and a tie. Shredder needs his armor, foot army, and Karai/Hun to take on the Turtles alone. Truly a badass.
* ''[[Generator Rex
* Brick in ''[[Young Justice (
== Real Life ==
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**** Keep in mind that they ''were'' on strike at the time. They likely wouldn't be wearing the actual clothes they worked in, opting for regular day-wear (of that time-period).
* Most military services in formal dress uniforms.
* The non-descript gents wearing a dark
* During the days of [[The British Empire]] British were expected to wear nice suits in the [[Honor Before Reason|awfullest climates]] because that was what was expected and you [[Stiff Upper Lip|better be able to hack it]] or you are not [[Master Race|a proper Sahib.]]
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
[[Category:Badass]]
[[Category:Badass
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