I’m not sure Miss Sophia Burset of the Litchfield Correctional Facility would describe the orange jumpsuits the inmates are required to wear in the smash hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” as couture, but a sheriff in Michigan seems to think they’re a fashion statement. He thinks this so much so that he took orange jumpsuits out of circulation at the Saginaw County Jail in Saginaw, Mich., according to The Saginaw News. He replaced them with the more traditional black-and-white striped prison ensemble.
It’s because as you see shows on television, like ‘Orange Is The New Black,’ some people think it’s cool to look like an inmate of the Saginaw County Jail with wearing all orange jumpsuits out at the mall or in public,” according to Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel. “We do have our inmates out sometimes doing work in the public, and I don’t want anyone to confuse them or have them walk away.
Uhhhhh, okay. Sure. Because clearly you see people all over the place wearing orange jumpsuits. Maybe that’s a hit in Saginaw, but I don’t think that flies just about anywhere else. Well, unless there’s a fashion trend that I don’t know about–but trust me, I would know. Unless betches be walking down the runway at Fashion Week in shackles and jumpsuits, I’m not buying this.
I will say that Hollywood could definitely be accused of making prison seem somewhat glamorous, as John Oliver brilliantly stated on Sunday night when he discussed the flaws in the United States prison system. He specifically mentioned “Orange is the New Black” as one of the examples of a popular prison TV series, but I don’t think it’s encouraging anyone to seriously jump into a life of crime and police custody.
Also, black and white horizontal stripes don’t make ANYONE look good. Now THAT’S cruel and unusual punishment.
[via TIME]