Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski in Day Shift (2022)
Photo by Andrew Cooper/Netflix
Vitals
Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski, maverick vampire hunter
San Fernando Valley, California, Summer 2022
Film: Day Shift
Release Date: August 12, 2022
Director: J.J. Perry
Costume Designer: Kelli Jones
Background
When I saw that Day Shift, the latest Netflix action comedy, centered around Jamie Foxx killing vampires while wearing a rotation of Hawaiian shirts, I knew I had to check it out.
Foxx stars as Bud Jablonski, whose job cleaning pools in the San Fernando Valley provides cover for his more serious occupation of hunting the undead. Unfortunately, Bud’s numerous infractions in the line of duty have resulted in his suspension from the local union—yes, there’s a vampire-killing union—reducing him to attempting to sell their teeth to make ends meet. His rent already in arrears, Bud’s situation grows increasingly dire as he needs to help his ex-wife Jocelyn (Meagan Good) raise $10,000 fast for their 10-year-old daughter’s tuition and braces.
Seeking his way back into the union, he enlists the respected services of his old pal John “Big J” Elliott (Snoop Dogg), a cowboy-styled legend who still pulls enough sway in the L.A. vampire-killing community to help Bud get reaccepted by the union. Though he’s to be babysat by by-the-books union supervisor Seth (Dave Franco), Bud earns his chance to work his way back in, though—rather than the coveted and high-paying night shifts—he’s assigned… the day shift. (Though at least he still gets that free app from the Cheesecake Factory!)
What’d He Wear?
Bud Jablonski explains his aloha-friendly sartorial philosophy when Seth arrives for their first day of work dressed in a “juniper green” suit, explaining that “we’re in the Valley… in the summertime” and thus need to dress to blend in.
“How’s the shirt look?” Bud asks Big J as they stride through the union offices on their way to requesting him to be reinstated. Bud’s clearly hoping to make an impression, dressed in a deep teal-green aloha shirt, patterned with chains of orange hibiscus flowers and pineapples. The short-sleeved camp shirt follows the basic aloha design structure, with edge stitching around its wide camp collar, a non-matched breast pocket, and six small green plastic buttons up the plain (French) front.
Foxx’s screen-worn shirt is 100% polyester, made by the brand On Shore. I’ve only been able to find one example of the same pattern and colorway online, available from Ragstock as of August 29, 2022.
The cowboy-styled Big J brings an aloha-shirted Bud back to the union office in the hopes of sponsoring his reinstatement.
With this shirt, Bud wears khaki cotton twill cargo pants, his preferred style likely for the tactical advantages of being able to access the additional flapped pockets on his thighs while in anti-vampire combat. The untucked aloha shirt hem covers much of the top of the trousers, but we can determine that they have a flat front, side pockets, flapped back pockets, and a casually loose fit through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms that gather at the tops of his Adidas sneakers.
While also providing a greater contrast against his shirt than the olive cargo pants he wears later, the lighter khaki cargo pants may be Bud’s “dressy” trousers that he reserves for occasions like talking his way back onto the union’s day shift.
On his first day partnered with the granola-munching desk jockey Seth, Bud dresses for work in another green aloha shirt, though patterned with a unique panel print that depicts a tropical scene of red and green parrots perched among the palm trees and bombera of a white sandy beach scene. The background color is more of a dark teal, with six matching plastic buttons up the plain front. The shirt also has a camp collar and a narrowly welted pocket set-in on the left breast that interferes less with the illustrated tableau than a patch pocket.
Note the set-in breast pocket that avoids the potential design interference of a non-matched patch pocket, particularly important for panel prints like this shirt.
Bud wears another pair of cotton twill cargo pants, though the color is an Army-style olive-green. In addition to the standard trouser side pockets, the cargo pockets over the side of each thigh consist of a large inverted box-pleated patch pocket covered with a flap that appears to secure with two covered snaps—one in each corner. A visible seam extends down the side of each leg, following the placement of the side pocket openings and the cargo pocket pleats.
Bud delivers some wisdom and comfort after a nervous Seth pees through the trousers of his “guacamole suit”.
The following day finds more vampire-killing and another green aloha shirt, this time shaded a very vivid bright green. The all-over floral print consists of white hibiscus flowers with fiery-hued centers and mint leaves. The cloth, cut, and styling of this short-sleeved camp shirt with its non-matched breast pocket echo his first green shirt, suggesting another On Shore product. He also wears the same olive cargo pants as on the previous day.
For Bud and Seth’s most action-packed day, teaming up with the famous Nazarian brothers to attack what turns out to be a vampire ‘hive”, Bud wears another panel-print aloha shirt. The dark blue background reflects the night sky, gradating to a lighter blue then yellow and finally an intense orange to present a tropical sunset, silhouetted by dark blue palm tree shadows and bordered along the bottom by another strip of dark blue. The shirt’s short sleeves reflect the same palm-silhouetted yellow-and-orange sunset, albeit upside-down with the bottom of the scene starting at the set-in shoulder line.
The “sky” is broken up over the chest by designs of white clouds and burgundy birds in flight. The shirt also has a camp collar, set-in welted breast pocket, and six dark blue buttons up the plain front, with the top of Bud’s navy undershirt showing. Bud also continues wearing the same olive-colored cargo pants with this outfit.
Bud and Seth have wildly differing senses of tactical dress: Bud in a cross-body bag and gun belt, Seth in a cervical collar to prevent vampires from biting his neck.
After the hive assault, Bud changes to pick up his daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax), though he sticks to his vampire-killing uniform of boldly printed camp shirts as he now wears a navy rayon shirt patterned with orange dragons. The shirt has a camp collar (with no edge stitching) and five dark blue plastic buttons up the front though, unlike the other shirts, it lacks a pocket.
Once Bud transitions back into assault mode and confronts his neighbor Heather (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), the top of his dark navy undershirt reappears. Ultimately, Bud is still able to recruit the “turned” Seth and Heather onto his anti-vampire team:
Welcome to the motherfuckin’ night shift.
Heather and Seth become Bud’s unlikely allies against the darker forces driving L.A.’s vampires.
Bud continues wearing the same faded olive cotton twill cargo pants, though the heavy action of the sequence shows more of these trousers than we had seen previously, including the “jogger”-style elasticized bottoms and the belt loops through which he wears a plain brown leather belt.
After selling his Nike Jordans to Troy (Peter Stormare) for some much-needed extra scratch, Bud spends the rest of Day Shift wearing a pair of Adidas Superstar sneakers in the classic “Cloud White” colorway with “Core Black” detailing. “Originally made for basketball courts in the ’70s. Celebrated by hip hop royalty in the ’80s. The adidas Superstar shoe is now a lifestyle staple for streetwear enthusiasts,” Adidas describes the iconic sneakers.
Bud’s Superstars have white leather uppers detailed with the signature textured “shell toe” and three serrated black leather stripes on each side, with a gold-foiled “SUPERSTAR” behind them. Black leather collars around the back are imprinted with the Adidas trefoil logo in white. Flat white woven cotton laces are pulled through seven sets of eyelets over each shoe, and the white rubber outsoles are zig-zagged. Bud wears black socks.
Expecting action, Bud briefly pulls on a khaki waist-length work jacket with the distinctive “red tab” against the left pocket that identifies it as a Levi’s product, specifically an iteration Levi’s® Two-Pocket Cotton Military Jacket, with a shell made from a blend of 71% washed cotton and 29% nylon. (Available via Amazon and Levi’s)
The jacket has a brass zipper up the front, with a double brass-snap closure over the standing collar, which also has a brass zipper around the back of the neck. The shoulder straps (epaulettes) contribute to the military-inspired look. The two chest pockets are covered with flaps that each close with a single brass snap, and an additional pocket set in behind the left breast pocket can be accessed through a horizontal brass zipper, reinforced against a darker tan twill tape.
“I’m not exactly a pool cleaner… I hunt vampires.”
Note the red Levi’s tab against the left pocket on Bud’s jacket.
Bud wears unique aviator-style sunglasses that also appear to be a favorite of Jamie Foxx’s as the actor has worn them off-screen, specifically in content posted to his social media accounts as well as at Day Shift opening events. In fact, they may even be a pair from Foxx’s designer collection through Privé Revaux.
The half-rimmed sunglasses have thin nickel silver frames across the top of the blue gradient-tinted lenses.
Bud wears an all-black Casio G-Shock GA100-1A1 watch that’s tough enough to withstand the rigors of his violent profession while also helping him organize his life, as we observe when he uses one of the five available alarms to remind himself to pick up Paige. (The screen-worn watch was identified at Watch-ID. You can read more about or purchase the GA100-1A1 from Casio and Amazon.)
A hybrid of analog and digital functionality, the “three-eyed” GA100-1A1 boasts a trio of sub-dials across the top, four large LCD displays, and lightweight aluminum and minute hands, with a millisecond stopwatch and speedometer in addition to the standard time and date functions. The watch has a hefty 55mm black resin case, offering shock resistance, JIS class-1 magnetic resistance, and water resistance down to 200 meters. The black resin bracelet straps to Bud’s left wrist through a brushed steel double-prong buckle.
Despite his estrangement from Jocelyn, Bud continues wearing his gold wedding ring.
The Guns
Bud carries a TTI Glock 45 Combat Master, significantly modified by Taran Tactical Innovators (TTI), as his signature pistol, named “Snake Eyes” in reference to the hand-painted pair of dice on each side of the stipple-wrapped grips. In conjunction with Day Shift‘s release, Taran Tactical began marketing “Snake Eyes” for between $2,454.99 and $2,675.99, depending on whether it would have the standard 4.5-lb. trigger pull or a lighter 2.25-2.75-lb. trigger pull.
The pistol was built from the Glock 45, a 9x19mm Parabellum pistol introduced in October 2018. To over-simplify, the Glock 45 follows the design of the Glock 19X but in a non-reflective black finish, with a compact Glock 19 slide—albeit with front slide serrations—and the grip of a full-size Glock 17. The Gen 5-style flared magazine well lacks a front lip, thus allowing the Glock 45 to take 17-round magazines.
The TTI customizations most visibly included finishing the slide in a high-polish silver (apropos vampires’ famous vulnerability) with beveled slide cuts rather than the straight serrations of a standard Glock 45.
Due to a desperate financial situation, Bud is forced to temporarily part with “Snake Eyes” when he sells it to Troy.
Bud keeps a backup Glock that he tries to hand to Seth, who explains he doesn’t believe in guns after a traumatizing childhood incident with a squirrel and a BB gun. Based on the unique profile of this Glock, this appears to be the Glock 43 with a distinctive “slimline” subcompact frame that makes the model a popular choice for concealed carry. Developed during the 4th generation of Glock pistols, the Glock 43’s then-revolutionary “slimline” frame made it the first 9mm Glock pistol to feed from single-stack magazines.
Seth doesn’t appreciate Bud’s offer of a backup Glock to take on “vamps” during his first day on the job.
Bud’s arguably most effective weapon for killing vampires is his short-barreled Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun with a pistol grip. The removed stock and 14″-long barrel convert the shotgun into an extremely portable close-quarters combat weapon, with the receiver and magazine tube also finished in silver while retaining the standard blued barrel, blued pistol grip, and glossy walnut slide.
Given vampires’ in-universe wood allergy, Bud loads the 12-gauge shells with beads of panga wood (“strongest African hardwood, not that Ikea shit,” he clarifies) mixed with garlic. He keeps up to six shells carried in black loops against the left side of the shotgun’s frame.
Flanked by the well-armed Nazarian brothers, Bud keeps his shotgun ready for action as he enters a Valley vamp hive.
Bud’s arsenal also includes dozens of knives and “garlic grenades” filled with garlic and sawdust, which he’d never actually had the opportunity to use before his partnership with Seth.
How to Get the Look
Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski in Day Shift (2022)
Bud Jablonski builds a comfortably utilitarian wardrobe for fighting vampires, consisting of cool-hued aloha shirts, olive cargo pants, classic Adidas sneakers, and a sturdy G-Shock that bridge being effectively tactical while also allowing him to blend in while working in the Valley.
- Green tropical-printed polyester aloha shirt with camp collar, non-matched pocket, and plain front
- Olive-green cotton twill flat front cargo pants with belt loops, side pockets, inverted box-pleated cargo pockets, flapped back pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- Brown leather belt with single-prong buckle
- Adidas Superstar white leather sneakers with three black leather side stripes and white rubber zig-zagged outsoles
- Black socks
- Silver-framed semi-rimmed aviator-style sunglasses with blue gradient lenses
- Gold wedding band
- Casio G-Shock GA100-1A1 “ana-digi” watch with 55mm black resin case and black resin strap
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie, currently streaming on Netflix.
Footnotes
- Seth compares his and Bud’s partnership to Crockett and Tubbs, an obvious reference to the pair of detectives on the ’80s TV show Miami Vice but possibly also a nod to Foxx’s performance as Tubbs in the 2006 cinematic adaptation of the series.
- The name Bud Jablonski reminded me of Jock Yablonski, a crusading United Mine Workers leader who was assassinated alongside his wife and daughter in their southwest Pennsylvania home on New Year’s Eve 1969 after he challenged the fraudulent results of the UMW’s presidential election. The Jablonski/Yablonski name and Day Shift‘s union-centric plot may be mere coincidences, but they felt significant to me!
The Quote
Yes, I absolutely am a changed man. I’ve cut out pork and cartoons and minimal white women.
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