Consider for a moment, if you will, the fashion sense of the modern criminal.
Torn britches, ill-fitting shirts and stained track pants are the clobber in which many on the wrong side of the law are clothed these days.
While it is understandable the reason for a descent into criminality may be a certain level of poverty, and the often limited fiscal rewards of the career lend themselves to, at best, an inconsistent income, a tendency towards cheap clothing is surely a choice.
Perhaps in the criminal mind a certain identification with the lower classes is de rigueur nowadays - who knows?
Of course, in the early 1960s the criminally-minded aspired to something a little more exclusive.
Take the men behind the great train robbery; imagine them, for a moment, walking with an arrogant insouciance through a grey London parkland, planning their crime.
''Used banknotes - surplus cash from the Scottish banks,'' one says as he explains the target of their crime.
''How much?'' another asks.
''Don't know: rough guess, could be a million; after a bank holiday, maybe more.''
What were they wearing as they casually discussed the crime of the 20th century?
I can tell you, as their modish outfits that day are most pleasingly reproduced - I'm sure accurately - on The Great Train Robbery - A Robber's Tale, on Sky Movies Extra this Thursday week (March 6).
First of all, they were immaculately turned out in fedoras; their headgear turned down in a confidential sort of way at the front, but turned up, raffishly, at the back.
Conservative but tasteful thin ties - one in green, the other in blue - neatly covered the buttons of the clean, pressed white shirts worn by two.
That combo was completed by the most handsome long black overcoats.
The third criminal chose a light brown outfit, with the crowning glory a faux fur collar on a light tweed overcoat that would not have looked out of place on a well-to-do city banker.
How pleasing.
The 1963 robbery of a Royal Mail train heading between Glasgow and London in the early hours of Thursday, August 8, at Bridego railway bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore, in Buckinghamshire (England, of course), is re-created and examined in The Great Train Robbery.
It features excellent attention to detail, some fine acting from a more than competent cast, and an engrossing storyline.
And here's a coincidence - A Robber's Tale was shown for the first time on December 18 last year - the same day Ronnie Biggs died.
Part two - A Copper's Tale - screens on March 13.
All in all, these cinematographs present a lesson in good taste for the underclass, and an enjoyable watch for the rest of us.
Recommended for both reasons.
- Charles Loughrey