Vitals

Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, proudly old-fashioned Deputy U.S. Marshal

Harlan County, KY, Spring 2010

Series: Justified
Episodes:
– “The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05, Director: Jon Avnet, Air Date: April 13, 2010)
– “Bulletville” (Episode 1.13, Director: Adam Arkin, Air Date: June 8, 2010)
– “The Moonshine War” (Episode 2.01, Director: Adam Arkin, Air Date: February 9, 2011)
– “The Life Inside” (Episode 2.02, Director: Jon Avnet, Air Date: February 16, 2011)
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designers: Ane Crabtree (Season 1) & Patia Prouty (Season 2)

Background

Winona: Brown suit, black suit. One, two, three… four shirts. Two pairs of jeans. Hm.
Raylan: What the hell’s that supposed to mean?
Winona: Oh, just by looking at your closet one would think you were a simple man.

While the sentiment makes sense, Winona clearly wasn’t looking too far into Raylan’s closet when delivering this subtle blow in “The Life Inside” (Episode 2.02). His clothes may be overshadowed by his cowboyish accessories, but Raylan does show plenty of variety in the first season alone.

What’d He Wear?

Evidently Winona skipped over one of Raylan’s most often-seen suits from the early episodes, a dark gray wool suit first seen in “Long in the Tooth” (Episode 1.04) when Raylan and Rachel head out to L.A., though Justified fan and BAMF Style reader Rick explained that this suit looks browner in person; Rick’s “It was Justified” Facebook page has identified the jacket as part of a Banana Republic suit.

The suit jacket appeared again in the next episode, “The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05), worn much casually with a chambray shirt and jeans. This look, repeated again in “Bulletville” (Episode 1.13) and “The Moonshine War” (Episode 2.01, both set on the same day), is very appropriate for Raylan. Although his exterior demeanor is very easygoing and witty, he is a very conflicted man on all fronts. Thus, his “urban rustic” attire of a sharp suit coat with everyday casual wear and cowboy accessories may clash initially, but it all blends together comfortably for a man who can only truly control one thing in his life: his clothing.

Raylan’s single-breasted suit jacket has slim peak lapels that roll down to a single-button front. The lapels have short gorge seams and sharp tips, and the edge stitching is evident on close-up shots.

The jacket fits nicely with narrow shoulders, roped sleeveheads, double rear vents, and a darted front. It also has 4-button cuffs, a welted breast pocket, and flapped hip pockets (including the right side ticket pocket). The ticket pocket is wider than most, extending almost the same length of the lower pocket.

Details like the peak lapels, single-button front, and ticket pocket stand out as surprisingly fashion-forward elements, further proving Winona’s point that Raylan becomes far less simple the more you look at him.

Although the suit does have trousers which Raylan wears occasionally, he is most comfortable in jeans and often pairs them with his suit coats. With this jacket, he wears his usual Levi’s 501 Original Fit jeans in a rich dark indigo denim. The low rise lengthens Olyphant’s torso enhancing the “Western loner” silhouette on his already tall 6′ frame.

Raylan wears a blue chambray long-sleeve shirt, an excellent choice for an anti-dress shirt man who still needs to wear the occasional suit and tie. Although many often mistake it for denim due to the durable mottled blue fabric, chambray is actually a double-ply woven fabric – typically cotton. It has badass origins dating back to the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century and has since become the shirt of choice for smart, tough, and laconic cinematic heroes. Robert Redford sported a snap-down chambray shirt in Three Days of the Condor, and Harrison Ford wore one in The Fugitive; both men paired theirs with sport jackets, ties, and jeans.

Raylan’s shirt has seven white plastic buttons down the front placket. The slim spread collar is held into place by large concealed buttons that remain unseen throughout the first season, only revealed in “The Moonshine War” (Episode 2.01) after Raylan undergoes a particularly trying day. It is likely the same shirt from Merona, the Target house brand, that he wears with a polka-dot Geoff Nicholson tie and a black suit in the series’ tenth episode.

I’ve read that many of Raylan’s shirts are Calvin Klein, but chambray is typically pretty comfortable and durable no matter who manufactured it. The natural pairing with denim and naval origins mean that chambray shirts are typically blue, but other colors have emerged as style continues to evolve.

Raylan’s shirt also has two patch pockets on the chest with mitred corners and button fastening. The pockets enhance the military-styled look while decreasing the formality. The squared cuffs close with a single button and a gauntlet button further up the sleeve.

Raylan never leaves home without his belt and holster, both brown leather. The belt is brown tooled leather with a dulled square clasp. His holster is a tan-finished Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent® thumb break paddle holster in full grain leather. This particular holster would be #19128, indicating that it fits a 4.49″-barreled (“full size”) Glock pistol for a right-handed shooter.

Though he shows no outward tendencies of a dedicated sartorialist, Raylan’s preference for brown leather ensures that his belt and boots always match. Raylan’s Western-style cowboy boots, which he describes as “fairly new” in the pilot episode, are dark brown anteater with decorative stitching, made by Justin Boots and worn for the first two seasons before Raylan switched to cigar-colored ostrich leg Lucchese boots for the third season onward.

“The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05) also offers a rare look of Raylan with his boots off. While getting into bed with Ava, he kicks off his boots to reveal a pair of light brown socks. Nothing thrilling about this, but it shows that Raylan doesn’t adhere to the “white socks is all I wear” policy of fellow badass cowboy boot-wearer Llewelyn Moss.

If you’re really into the details—and many folks are—Raylan wears ribbed white cotton tank top undershirts and, at least in “The Moonshine War” (Episode 2.01), a pair of dark blue plaid boxers.

The most obvious Raylan Givens accessory is his cowboy hat, custom made by Baron Hats for their long-time customer and fan Timothy Olyphant. Raylan’s 200XXX beaver hat is colored in sahara tan with a 4.25″ cattleman crown, a 3.25″ brim, and a slim brown tooled leather band with a three-piece buckle set. If you want your own, you can pony up $700 and pick up “The RG” from the Baron Hats site.

Raylan is also never without the sterling silver horseshoe ring on the third finger of his right hand, further detailed with tapered braiding detail around the band. eBay has some available for around $25 if you’re the sort of cowboy who’s into jewelry.

Raylan’s wristwatch presents a mystery to many Justified fans. He briefly sports a stainless Rolex Submariner in the pilot, but for the rest of the first few seasons—and most of that first episode—he wears a stainless TAG Heuer 6000 Chronometer sports watch with a round white dial on a brown alligator strap that echoes the exotic leather of his boots.

Interestingly, and I don’t know if this is another example of me reading too much into costuming choices, Raylan wears this particular outfit in two first season episodes—”The Lord of War and Thunder” and “Bulletville”. (Yes, he also wears it in the beginning of “The Moonshine War” but that takes place minutes after the events of “Bulletville”.)

We first meet his father Arlo in “The Lord of War and Thunder”, and it is in “Bulletville” that Arlo’s choices affect Raylan’s life gravely. This could be like the Pulp Fiction bathroom principle; if you’re going to wear this outfit, maybe it’s best to stay away from your father (if he’s a convicted felon) for a few days.

Raylan gets a little more varied with his shirts and ties when he wears the full dark gray suit, but he almost always wears the blue chambray shirt when wearing the jacket casually. I’ve noticed one major exception, though; in “The Life Inside” (Episode 2.02), Raylan is getting dressed after spending the night with Winona. She lounges across the room in one of his plaid shirts.

He puts on his jeans, and—perhaps hoping to antagonize her—asks her to remove the shirt as he needs to wear it that day. This shirt, which he had previously worn in the show’s second episode, is a indigo, red, and light gray plaid long-sleeved shirt with Western-style yokes, a slim spread collar, front placket, mitred button cuffs, and button-flapped patch pockets. The white buttons are accented with maroon stitching.

Since he is spending the day in the office, he also wears a slim dark red silk tie. Likely vintage, the tie has a small white triangle on the left side but is otherwise plain.

Go Big or Go Home

Although many residents of the real Harlan County, Kentucky, are quick to point out the show’s exaggeration of its redneck populace, they’ll say in the same sentence just how proud they are that a show like Justified has brought it to major prominence.

Keeping true to its Kentucky setting, Bourbon whiskey is the elixir of choice for most characters. The producers admit that they weren’t very familiar with the setting before the show began, and the accuracies—both in setting and in terms of bourn branding—truly began to emerge with the beginning of the second season. Rougher types like Arlo Givens drink Wild Turkey, and the more refined drinkers like Art Mullen and Judge Mike Reardon drink Blanton’s. Raylan, of course, will happily and easily drink both.

Raylan gets plenty of BAMF moments per episode, both physically and wittily, but one of my all time favorite moments was in “Bulletville”. Raylan and Boyd drive up to Bo’s cabin, voluntarily giving themselves up to save Ava. Bo, clad in a garish American flag shirt and a pair of dad jeans that manage to totally devour his sizable gut, instructs his henchman Rufus: “Make sure and get that backup.”

Although it’s only Bo and two country bumpkins, the Deliverance-like scenario of armed ruthless rednecks is far more chilling than any Bond villain’s volcano lair. The idea of Raylan going in totally unarmed is horrifying, but Raylan approaches with his trademark wit and confidence that he can get out of any situation. (Of course, having Boyd armed and hidden helps, too.)

Raylan and Bo trade quip for quip—

Bo: I hope you know how sorry I am about this, Marshal.
Raylan: Yeah, you seem torn up.
Bo: Well, I ain’t saying I’m gonna throw myself on top of your coffin or anything, but this “bring him in to me alive” shit ain’t quite my style.

—with M.C. Gainey turning in an excellent coda to his performance as the calculating backwoods drug kingpin. Suddenly, the bullets start flying. Raylan seizes the moment, and—in one badass flash of glory—reclaims his own pistol, shoots Rufus with his own gun, kicks the revolver from Bo’s hand, and takes control of the situation.

The Guns

It’s no surprise that Raylan Givens is an expert with firearms. He uses an array of weapons throughout the show, but the most consistent in the Glock 17 he carries after the first episode.

Some have tried to cry error about Raylan carrying different weapons than he did in the pilot, but this is lampshaded in the second season premiere after Raylan is involved in yet another shooting. I don’t know for certain – perhaps an LEO can fill in the blanks for me – but it makes sense that a firearm would need to be relinquished after a shooting incident.

Tim: Relinquishing a firearm can be a very emotional moment, and there always must be another deputy in attendance. Add in some premium alcohol [Blanton’s], what could possibly go wrong?
Raylan: Thank you.
Art: Uh huh.
Tim: What are you gonna get next?
Raylan: Probably the same thing.
Art: You should think about an Uzi.

Thus, it can be assumed that Raylan had to turn in the SIG-Sauer he used to shoot Tommy Bucks and the 1911 he used when he shot Boyd. Both of these incidents were in the pilot episode, so it would make sense that Raylan would adopt a different pistol for the following episode.

As he tells Tim and Art, Raylan indeed re-adopts the Glock 17. Earlier that season in “The Hammer”, Raylan says that he carries a “.45 Glock”; this would indicate a Glock 21. The Glock 21 is cosmetically the same as the Glock 17, but the 17 is chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum while the 21 is chambered in .45 ACP. Close-ups of the pistol and the bore prove that it is the 9mm Glock 17.

Raylan also keeps a Glock 26, also chambered in 9×19 mm, as his backup weapon. He wears it in the rear of his waistband and tends to keep it in his car glove compartment.

As I mentioned earlier during my breakdown of badassery, Raylan also gets his hands on a Heckler & Koch USP Compact carried by Bo’s henchman Rufus. The USP was developed in 1993, and the scaled-down USP Compact was introduced the following year. Like the full-size USP, it is offered in 9×19 mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP, although it can also be chambered for .357 SIG ammunition.

When Raylan gets his hands on the USP Compact, he is able to turn the tables on Bo before anyone can blink. He dual-wields the USP Compact and his Glock until the battle intensifies, and he hands the USP Compact over to Ava.

How to Get the Look

Raylan nails down the urban rustic look. Whether you’re a Deputy U.S. Marshal or just some office jockey who wants to make an impression on casual Friday, carve out your own urban rustic look with a fashionable gray suit coat, dark jeans, and a chambray shirt.

• Dark gray wool single-breasted 1-button suit jacket with narrow peak lapels, welted breast pocket, flapped hip pockets and ticket pocket, 4-button cuffs, and double rear vents
• Blue chambray shirt with slim spread concealed-button collar, white plastic buttons down front placket, mitred button-through chest pockets, and 1-button squared cuffs
• Dark blue denim Levi’s 501 Original Fit jeans
• Baron Hats “The RG” sahara tan 200XXX beaver cattleman’s hat with a thin tooled leather band
• Dark brown anteater Western-style boots
• Dark brown tooled leather belt with a dulled silver rectangular clasp
• Tan full grain leather Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent® paddle holster for a full-size Glock pistol
• Light brown socks
• White ribbed sleeveless undershirt
• Dark blue plaid boxers
• Stainless wristwatch with a round white dial and brown alligator strap
• Sterling silver horseshoe ring with braided side detail

Do Yourself a Favor and…

The entire series is excellent and worth both watching and owning. The episodes used for this post were “The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05), “Bulletville” (Episode 1.13), “The Moonshine War” (Episode 2.01), and “The Life Inside” (Episode 2.02).

The Quote

This is Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens. I’m gonna need an ambulance… and a coroner.