Or maybe it is more like careless behavior by Jef Costello.
This guy goes through so much to plan his alibi. He gets 2 alibis and then goes back to the apartment to be seen by the lady's lover, getting a third alibi. He's so calm and careful and methodical but is he not methodical enough to change his outfit after committing the murder? Bit careless behavior of a 'samurai' in my opinion.
Agreed, especially considering how important his outfit was in the witness testimony. We see him wear a different coat later in the film but not right after the murder...
It appears that Jef Costello may have only owned two coats (His closet looked small, and I did not notice any other coats. He may also have worn one or two suits the entire film), but that would have been due to lifestyle choice (This character is minimalism personified), and not his ability to afford more. His apartment, to most people, would look shabby, and even run-down a little bit, yet I find the place strangely fascinating. It seems just the type of place an assassin might consider for their low-key hideout, in the city, while appearing absolutely ordinary, or below that into poverty. I also think it was a mistake on Jef's part to wear the same exact outfit he had on at the scene of the crime. To effectively outmaneuver the police, all it could have taken might have been a change in coat much earlier than when he begins wearing the dark one. I can accept that Jef is meant to be a highly skilled assassin, and that this film is meant to portray his downfall, though. All it takes, often enough, is one slip, whether anything could have been done about it or not, and everything comes apart for someone's life.
"A New Kind of Man" (John Foxx, 1980):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt4oi-PRbN4
Having witnesses is essential to the story but rather unbelievably contrived in the movie. He is so blatantly conspicuous at the club in that light film noir trench coat outfit amidst all the dark evening wear. He wore the wrong clothes to the job in the first place which does not really make sense in such an otherwise methodical killer. Are we to believe he so values style over reality? The director does.
Another is the white gloves. They serve only to keep finger prints off the gun. If the idea is to also keep gun powder residue off his hands in the event of arrest, it fails since the coat would also test positive but he does not appear to discard it.
CB
Good Times, Noodle Salad