It looked like shoplifting at first, just guys grabbing a few pairs of nice jeans and shirts before darting from a store. The crimes evolved from early 2007, though, to organized daytime thefts, after-hours smash-and-grabs and now armed robberies with customers and clerks nearby.

The culprits, dubbed the Blue Jean Bandits, have taken more than $1 million in designer clothes, shoes and accessories from store shelves to create an Atlanta retail theft epidemic that feeds a street-level need for high fashion.

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Police say the bandits are probably three groups, about 36 people, plus copycats and helpers labeled with the same nickname. The Atlanta Police Department have made 21 arrests in 22 cases, and have warrants pending. Two billboards that seek anonymous tips and offer rewards are planned for areas where some arrests have been made. Tips have come from suspects' mothers and girlfriends, police say, and they're hoping the signs will draw more attention to them, "where they lay their heads at night."

The Atlanta police's retail theft task force has more than 25 active cases, plus 50 more believed to be related. The most recent robberies were at downtown's Ginza boutique, and an American Eagle store at Atlantic Station.

The thieves are picky about product, but not location; they've hit wherever designer jeans are sold —- Buckhead, Virginia-Highland, Little Five Points, Castleberry Hill, Decatur and Dawsonville, among others. Their haul ranges from a few hundred dollars to the hundreds of thousands.

"A felony is a felony. Perhaps, in their minds, it's safer than selling drugs on the streets or robbing a bank at gun point," says Atlanta police Sgt. Archie Ezell, who heads the retail theft task force. "The impact on the community is almost as bad as sticking a gun to the head and taking."

As Adrene Boutique in Castleberry Hill prepared to close on June 2, a male customer stopped in, hunting for brand names: Rock & Republic, True Religion, Laguna Beach, all priced between $170 and $350 per pair. He left without buying.

He returned with two more men, grabbed three racks of clothes near the door, hopped into a gold Pontiac and sped away, the police report and shop owner said.

The clerk could barely speak when she called owner Adrene Ashford, who'd opened the Peter Street boutique after seven years running Pieces of Adrene in East Atlanta.

The store reopened as usual, with most of its stock missing. The clerk took a few weeks off. The police patrol the area regularly, and nearby businesses cast a watchful eye on the door.

"Being a new store, having hot merchandise, being a popular neighborhood —- I knew they were watching, waiting for an opportunity," Ashford says.

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A boutique's business plan has to make room for trendy items walking out the door, Ashford says. But it's rare to see thieves so organized, widespread and fashion-savvy.

"Who's to say they're not rubbing elbows with me at a party?" she says. "For men, it's all about having a good pair of jeans. If you have a pair of $350 jeans on, you're in a certain category."

Early cases police attribute to the Bandits often hit Macy's and Marshall's, but tastes have gotten tonier. Polo and Sean John used to be their go-to brands. Now they head to boutiques and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th for Red Monkey Jeans and Citizens of Humanity tops.

"It's a fashion statement, and they can sell it," says C. Dawson, a manager at Urban Fusion, a Castleberry Hill boutique that was hit twice. "If they could steal Benz's, they'd steal Benz's."

Atlanta police say the groups have a gang-like mentality that's part greed, part Robin Hood. Descriptions of the groups usually mention an older man and several younger people in their teens or early 20s, often wearing unremarkable jeans, white T-shirts and hats or sunglasses. They'll check out a store first, then come back with a larger group that zips in and out with as much merchandise as possible.

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They wear what they steal, and sell it to their friends and family members at reduced rates, police say. Police say large quantities of stolen merchandise are sold outside the metro area, but won't say where it's going or how it's getting there.

The Bandits usually have guns, police say, but they're gone so quickly, they've never needed them. The robberies are getting more violent, though: days after hitting Adrene Boutique, one group hit Brazil Fine Italian Menswear on Peachtree Road and Kaleidoscope boutique in Decatur. Workers in both stores were hit with pepper spray; at Brazil, one person was punched.

It was a response to stores adding nighttime security, police say; thieves' only options were to get the goods during the day. Daytime violence could escalate, as "the chance of confrontation is high," Ezell says. Police spend more time watching stores, especially those hit multiples times, and instruct owners on how to deter crime.

Wendy Jackson, owner of Signature 4 Men on Lenox Road, says the changes haven't helped enough. Bandits hit the day the police don't come by. Even after investments in security improvements, an old gray Chevy truck rammed through the window of her store to allow six men in dark hoodies to steal $50,000 of merchandise. Jackson hasn't restocked her shelves, her insurance company won't cover building damage and she'd like to get out of her lease or sell the store.

"It's only a matter of time before they come back," Jackson says. "You can only afford to bounce back so many times."

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And despite the name, it has evolved to more than just jeans. It's one-of-a-kind rhinestone studded hoodies, belts and shoes priced in the thousands. It's any trend spotted on the red carpet or at clubs. The single biggest heist so far nabbed $145,000 from a Pearle Vision store on Lenox Road.

It's the economics of supply, demand, fashion and crime, says Ashford, from Adrene boutique. She calls it greed.

"Hot shades, hot jeans, hot boy," Ashford says. "Everybody wants to be a rock star."

Matt Dempsey and Mike Maciag contributed to this report.

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An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of Atlanta Police Department reports related to Blue Jean Bandit cases followed incidents from January 2007 through June 2008. The analysis does not include cases investigated by other agencies. See ajc.com for a map of thefts and a list of goods taken.

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The billboards are expected to go up next week at intersections of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Metropolitan Parkway in Adair Park and University Avenue and Hank Aaron Drive in Peoplestown. "Stop the Blue Jean Bandits," they say, and offer rewards up to $2,000 for anonymous tips.

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Initially formed to halt the Blue Jean Bandits, police say the task force is likely to be a long-term fixture in the department. It's staffed by three investigators, two officers borrowed from the gang unit and one crime analyst.

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The list of active cases includes incidents at Wish, Kintaro, Blue Gene's and K-La, among other boutiques and department stores.

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The vehicles of choice lately are mini-vans. Before, several witnesses and videos saw Toyota Avalons, Jeep Cherokees, Ford Tauruses and myriad SUVs.

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The Lenox Mall Macy's was hit seven times. The Marshall's store on Piedmont Road was hit six times, and a Marshall's on Peachtree Road was hit once.

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An older man seems to organize the groups, while younger people grab merchandise. At least one woman has been arrested, too.

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Police haven't found stolen merchandise for sale at flea markets, on eBay or by beauty parlor peddlers. Those jeans and purses, Ezell says, are counterfeit. When it is sold locally, the stolen jeans go for about $100; fakes go for about $50.

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To see a surveillance video of the robbery released by Atlanta and Decatur police, visit www.ajc.com/multimedia.

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Customers might notice new gates, updated video systems, buzzers to let shoppers in, plus reinforced racks, hangers facing different directions and more staff members than usual.

A Bandit-related robbery at the store in December 2007 saw $15,000 in merchandise stolen.

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To see footage of the robbed store, visit www.ajc.com/multimedia.