Justified – Raylan’s Muted Navy-and-Brown Plaid Sportcoat

Vitals

Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, old school Deputy U.S. Marshal

Harlan County, Kentucky, Fall 2010

Series: Justified
Episodes:
– “The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05, Director: Jon Avnet, Air Date: April 13, 2010)
– “Hatless ” (Episode 1.09, Director: Peter Werner, Air Date: May 11, 2010)
– “Cottonmouth” (Episode 2.05, Director: Michael Watkins, Air Date: March 9, 2011)
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designers: Ane Crabtree (Season 1) & Patia Prouty (Season 2)

Background

Justified took some time to find its footing at the beginning, developing the style of its characters as well as the show’s own format: would this be an episodic “case-of-the-week” procedural or more serial?

Luckily, the show found its place at the perfect intersection of these two as its lead character, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, often had to handle a quick new case with eccentric, one-off criminals all developed against the longer arcs of his feud with the Crowder clan, his romantic entanglements in Harlan County, the consequences of his quick trigger finger, and frustrations with his own family, particularly his father Arlo (Raymond J. Barry) whom we meet in “The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05).

What’d He Wear?

One of Raylan’s boldest unorthodox fashion statements is his frequent habit of wearing a jacket and tie with jeans. Often, the outer layer consists of his black suit jacket, but three episodes from early in the show’s run feature an interesting dark wool sport jacket in muted navy and brown plaid with a subtle red overcheck.

Raylan’s plaid jacket was made by British fashion designer Paul Smith, who celebrates his creations as “classics with a twist.” This sports coat certainly fits that description, incorporating traditional hacking jacket elements like the slanted flapped pockets, ticket pocket, and long single vent with the unique plaid pick-stitched lightweight wool suiting. The equestrian associations of the hacking jacket work in favor of Raylan’s “cowboy” image.

The single-breasted two-button sport jacket has slim notch lapels, four-button cuffs, and a welted breast pocket in addition to the unorthodox welted, rather than flapped, ticket pocket cut just above the slanted and flapped hip pocket on the right side.

All three of the plaid sport jacket’s appearances follow a general formula for Raylan’s shirts and ties. All three shirts are primarily brown and all three vintage ties are dark, slim, and subtle.

In “The Lord of War and Thunder” (Episode 1.05), Raylan wears a plaid cotton shirt that channels the chromatic tones of his jacket but in a bolder brown and taupe with thin blue and gold windowpane overcheck grids. The shirt has a front placket, no pocket, and a seam down the back from the center of the horizontal yoke. His skinny tie is solid dark brown.

Four episodes later, in “Hatless” (Episode 1.09), a beaten Raylan arrives at Wynn Duffy’s office in a subtler ensemble of dark brown cotton shirt and slim black tie. Raylan never removes the jacket, concealing some shirt details, but it has button cuffs, a front placket, and a slim spread collar with 1/4″ edge stitching.

This plaid sport jacket makes its third and final appearance in “Cottonmouth” (Episode 2.05), worn with a brown custom-made shirt with a slim point collar, front placket, button cuffs, and a subtle tonal pattern of mini-swirls that cover the entire shirt.

Raylan wears a vintage black knit silk tie with sets of three staggered light pink embroidered vertical lines. This Knickerbocker Limited Hollywood tie makes several appearances with several different jackets and ties throughout Justified, most often worn with a black suit jacket and black shirt.

“He wears Levi 501 jeans, never anything else,” explained Justified‘s costume designer Patia Prouty in a 2012 interview. Prouty’s statement is consistent with the blue jeans that were auctioned with this outfit on ScreenBid.com, a pair of size 31×32 Levi’s 501 straight-leg jeans, advertised by Levi’s as “The Original Button Fly Jean”. In addition to the Levi’s site, you can pick up a pair of classic 501s from online retailers like Amazon.

In the name of brand consistency, Raylan’s tooled leather belt is also from Levi’s. Described in the auction listing as “a size 34, Levi’s branded belt (brown with a black embossed design),” this belt is edge-stitched along the top and bottom and closes with a steel single-prong buckle.

Raylan’s holster in these early episodes has been confirmed as a Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent®, a thumb break paddle holster that he wears on the right side of his belt for a smooth right-handed draw. It is likely the model #19128 as it fits Raylan’s full-size Glock 17 sidearm.

For details about the difference between Raylan’s Bianchi holster and his later holster, custom made for the show by Alfonso Gun Leather of Hollywood by request from Graham Yost, check out this comprehensive YouTube segment.

Raylan coordinates his brown leather belt to his dark brown Justin anteater boots, even calling out the tooling of the belt with the boots’ decorative stitching on the shafts and vamps.

Raylan’s trademark hat is a “sahara” tan cattleman’s hat made from 200XXX beaver, custom made by Baron Hats of Hollywood for their long-time customer and fan Timothy Olyphant to wear on the show. The crown is 4.25″ with a 3.25″ “Prairie Wave” brim and a 3/8″ hand-tooled leather band that has a steel ranger-style buckle on the left, further evoking the image of an Old West lawman.

“We crafted the crown in the ‘Cattleman’s’ shaping, to express solid-as-a-rock values with a ‘no nonsense’ strength”, explains Mark Mejia of Baron Hats on their site. “This was enhanced with a classic yet simple leather hatband. Nothing fancy, no frills. And a brim that also shows smooth lines, with a raw edge to go with his raw courage and resolve. A hat of its time, and like the character, functional, real and true.” If you’re looking for the real thing, Baron Hats currently offers The RG, based on the exact hat they created for Olyphant.

Although he’s a century removed from the days of marshals on horseback, Raylan evokes that bygone era with a sterling silver horseshoe ring on the third finger of his right hand.

Raylan’s wristwatch throughout Justified‘s early seasons is a TAG Heuer Series 6000 Chronometer on a brushed steel case with a white dial. He alternates between a black leather strap (as seen in “The Lord of War and Thunder”) and a brown alligator strap (as seen in “Hatless” and “Cottonmouth”).

This jacket was auctioned on ScreenBid.com after the show ended, selling for $975 along with other elements of the outfit as it was worn in “Cottonmouth” (Episode 2.05).

How to Get the Look

A sport jacket, tie, and jeans isn’t an orthodox look, but it perfectly fits Raylan’s image as a rugged yet professional lawman who needs to be comfortable – and quick on the draw – in both his office or the back woods of Harlan County, Kentucky.

• Dark navy and brown muted plaid pick-stitched wool single-breasted 2-button sport jacket with slim notch lapels, welted breast pocket, slanted flapped hip pockets with welted ticket pocket, 4-button cuffs, and long single vent
• Dark brown (solid or patterned) shirt with slim spread collar, front placket, and button cuffs
• Dark (solid or subtly-patterned) vintage “skinny” tie
• Indigo wash denim Levi’s 501 Original Fit straight-leg button-fly jeans
• Brown tooled leather belt with squared steel single-prong buckle
• Tan full-grain leather belt holster for a full-size Glock pistol
• Dark brown anteater Western-style boots
• White ribbed cotton sleeveless undershirt/A-shirt
• Baron Hats “The RG” sahara tan 200XXX beaver cattleman’s hat with a thin tooled leather band
• TAG Heuer Series 6000 Chronometer wristwatch with brushed steel case, white dial, and brown alligator strap
• Sterling silver horseshoe ring with braided side detail

Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the entire series. The screenshots featured here are from the first and second seasons.

The Quote

You’re gonna bob and weave out of the path of a bullet? That I’d like to see.