Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens on Justified (Episode 5.08: “Whistle Past the Graveyard”).
Vitals
Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, old-fashioned Deputy U.S. Marshal
Harlan County, Kentucky, Spring 2014
Series: Justified
Episodes:
– “The Kids Aren’t All Right” (Episode 5.02, Director: Bill Johnson, Air Date: January 14, 2014)
– “Good Intentions” (Episode 5.03, Director: Dean Parisot, Air Date: January 21, 2014)
– “Whistle Past the Graveyard” (Episode 5.08, Director: Peter Werner, Air Date: March 4, 2014)
– “The Toll” (Episode 5.11, Director: Jon Avnet, Air Date: March 25, 2014)
Creator: Graham Yost
Costume Designer: Patia Prouty
Background
With the Kentucky Derby upon us this weekend, BAMF Style is returning to Harlan County to check in with one of our favorite residents of the state, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.
Justified‘s penultimate season finds Raylan Givens primarily facing off against the gator farmers of Dewey Crowe’s criminal family, led by his oldest brother Darryl Jr. (Michael Rapaport) who proves to be a much more menacing nemesis than the tragically dimwitted Dewey (Damon Herriman). Fans who first met the hapless Dewey in the pilot episode, irresponsibly brandishing a shotgun retrieved from the trunk of his Cadillac while a gator-tooth necklace clings to his “Heil Hitler”-tattooed neck must have been surprised to see that the scrappy little hoodlum was developed to the point of having such a fascinatingly imposing family, but that’s just the magic of the potential that Elmore Leonard gives to all of his characters.
What’d He Wear?
One of Raylan’s favorite off-duty looks over the entire run of Justified is a plaid shirt layered over a dark T-shirt, naturally worn with jeans as well as his usual lineup of cowboy boots, Stetson hat, and holstered Glock. Throughout the fifth season, Raylan offers a fresh take on a dark upper half by incorporating a gray-on-black plaid shirt over a black T-shirt.
Raylan abides.
Raylan’s outer layer is a black flannel shirt with an all gray tartan plaid overcheck. While a “flannel shirt” is colloquially – and ultimately wrongly – used to describe a plaid shirt, it’s worth noting that flannel actually refers to the softly woven fabric from which the shirt is made. Traditionally, flannel was made from wool, but the growing popularity of cotton, silk, and synthetic fibers in clothing now means that the flannel process can be applied to various materials.
The gray-on-black plaid flannel shirt has a slim collar and black plastic buttons down the front placket. Similar buttons are found to fasten the cuffs and to close the mitred-corner flaps on each of the two chest patch pockets.
Raylan chats up the least repulsive member of the Crowe clan.
Underneath, Raylan wears a plain black cotton short-sleeve T-shirt with a crew neck and a small patch pocket on the left chest. While Raylan seems like the type of guy who would just buy a three-pack of undershirts from Hanes or Fruit of the Loom and call it a day, this shirt more resembles the comfortable and affordable minimalism from a brand like H&M, which offers a similar black cotton pocket tee for $9.99.
Hank Moody would be proud of Raylan Givens.
Raylan wears his tried-and-true blue medium wash Levi’s denim jeans. These (appropriately) bootcut jeans have the usual five-pocket layout of two front pockets, right coin pocket, and two patch pockets in the back.
Yep… Hank Moody would be very proud of Raylan Givens.
Raylan wears his ostrich leg cowboy boots from Lucchese, which the company describes as made from a “cigar” shade of dark brown leather. These distinctive boots can still be found at sites like Sam’s Boot Ranch.
Raylan’s boots are most clearly seen when sporting a similar look – wearing a navy blue and forest green plaid flannel shirt rather than gray-on-black – in “Starvation” (Episode 5.12).
Although most of his clothing is black (suits) or blue (denim), Raylan always wears brown leather accessories. In the fifth season, he wears a well-worn dark brown tooled leather belt with a large steel single-claw buckle. The belt has white stitching along the top and bottom with vertical double-stitching on the belt’s thick front loop.
Fixed to the right side of his belt for a right-hand draw is Raylan’s Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent® thumb break paddle holster in tan-finished full grain leather. Raylan’s holster, model #19128, is fitted for a right-hand shooter carrying a 4.49″-barreled full size pistol like our protagonist’s trusty Glock 17.
Raylan’s Glock remains holstered by his side at all times.
At the end of “Whistle Past the Graveyard” (Episode 5.08), Raylan briefly wears his blue denim Levi’s trucker jacket as an extra layer, recalling the “denim sandwich” look that he manages to pull off unlike so many other men. The stonewashed denim jacket has two patch pockets on the chest that close with a steel button through a pointed flap as well as the handwarmer side pockets that were added to Levi’s denim jackets in 1980. There are six aluminum stud buttons down the front as well as a button to close each cuff and a button-fastened adjustable strap on each side of the waistband.
I forgot just how much swagger Raylan had during the fifth season.
Although known for his distinctive cowboy hat, Raylan tends to go hatless with this outfit, leaving his ranch tan 4X wool Stetson cattleman’s hat at home.
Raylan’s wristwatch is his usual TAG Heuer Series 6000 with a white dial and brushed steel case. The watch is secured to his left wrist on a plain black leather strap.
Finally, Raylan sports his silver horseshoe ring on the third finger of his right hand, a subtle call-out of his cowboy reputation and tendencies.
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How to Get the Look
Raylan’s off-duty casual wear is exactly what you’d expect: ruggedly masculine and comfortably utilitarian… while still just fashionable enough for him to catch the eye of an interested woman.
- Gray-on-black plaid flannel long-sleeve shirt with slim collar, front placket, and mitred-corner flapped chest pockets
- Black cotton short-sleeve crew-neck T-shirt with small patch pocket
- Blue denim Levi’s bootcut jeans
- Lucchese “cigar”-colored brown ostrich leg Western-style boots with decorative stitched calf leather shafts
- Dark brown tooled leather belt with a dulled steel single-claw buckle
- Tan full grain leather Bianchi Model 59 Special Agent® paddle holster for a full-size Glock pistol
- TAG Heuer Series 6000 wristwatch with brushed steel case, white dial, and black leather strap
- Silver horseshoe ring
On a chilly evening, Raylan isn’t opposed to the “Canadian tuxedo” of a blue Levi’s trucker jacket worn with his blue jeans… he would probably refer if you called it a Kentucky tuxedo, though.
The Gun
Both on- and off-duty, Raylan carries his blued Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol, chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum. The U.S. Marshal Service has issued the Glock 22 since 2000 – famously called out as a plot point by Tommy Lee Jones in U.S. Marshals – but that model’s .40 S&W ammunition is more expensive than the 9mm of the Glock 17.
Given the amount of gunplay on Justified and the cosmetic similarities between the on-screen Glock 17 and the actual issued Glock 22, the economical decision of the showrunners to utilize less expensive blank ammunition should be applauded.
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Buy the entire series. This look was primarily seen throughout the fifth season, making its primary appearances in “Good Intentions” (Episode 5.03) and “Whistle Past the Graveyard” (Episode 5.08) with only brief or varied appearances in the other mentioned episodes.
And, if you’re a “rolly coaster” fan like Uncle Jack in “Whistle Past the Graveyard”, do yourself the favor of checking out the mentioned “face-melter” Millennium Force at Cedar Point. It’s a hell of a ride. (One of the first times I rode the Millennium Force shortly after it opened, a pen flew out of my pocket while going down a hill. It briefly lingered near my face before the velocity of the coaster overtook gravity and the hotel pen was relegated to my wake.)
The Quote
Get me out here again, you best remember to ditch.
