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John Wayne’s onscreen costumes—studied and selected by the actor himself—paid tribute to the West while telegraphing the look of the American cowboy around the globe.
Written by Constance Dunn
A cowboy hat and boots. Blue jeans and a button-up shirt. Don’t forget the gun belt and holster, slung around the waist, and a handkerchief affixed at the neck. These were such staples worn by John Wayne for decades, beginning with his early silent-movie days at Fox Studios, where he appeared in his first role—a Western, coincidentally, titled The Big Trail (1930)—all the way through to the 1970s, when Duke bid a touching film farewell to fans as J.B. Books in The Shootist (1976).
A young John Wayne on the set of The Big Trail (1930).
Over time, John Wayne’s onscreen Western uniform became his signature, like his deliberate manner of walking and pronounced speech. Crafted and designed—with studied intention by the man himself, who worked closely with Hollywood costumers and designers to shape every nuance of his wardrobe. Sometimes the denims would be dusty, folded up at the ankles, or covered in leather chaps. Or swapped out altogether for rough-cloth pants or a Western-style suit. Suspenders might be part of the look, or a leather vest. Wayne’s belt might consist of a simple strip of cowhide or be adorned with intricate tooling and a big silver buckle.
John Wayne in the Shepherd of the Hills (1941).
Why the extra mile when it came to styling John Wayne the cowboy? Accuracy for one, and a peerless level of professionalism that factored into Duke’s Hollywood career lasting for over 50 years. “He was very sensitive about how he’d look on film,” notes son Patrick Wayne. “He was a big man and wanted a certain look. Certain things made him look bad, and he knew that—certain colors and certain cuts.” Opting to wear a vest over a shirt, for instance; and when wearing a calvary uniform, rather than don a jacket, he would just wear a double-breasted shirt and suspenders. Jacket collars were typically positioned up and, adds Wayne: “He always wanted to wear a hat so light wouldn’t cut through his eyes.”
About hats. Wayne’s selections throughout his near-unceasing career run of over 80 Westerns ran the gamut, from high-crowned and Cavalry inspired cowboy hats, to the classic pinched-front variety with curled-up sides. The light grey felt Stetson with a skinny leather hatband that Duke wore in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) is known as the Gus style, featuring a high crown that slopes towards the front. By contrast, the well-worn tan Cattleman-style hat worn in several pictures, including McLintock! (1963) and The War Wagon (1967), is a made-for-action variety with a low crown, a curled brim and a leather chin strap.
John Wayne with John Ford and James Stewart on the set of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).
John Wayne with his son Patrick playing a game of chess on the set of McLintock! (1963).
“He was the most famous cowboy in the world,” explains Wayne’s youngest son Ethan, “and yet he wasn’t wearing fringe, and he didn’t have nickel six-shooters. The stuff he wore was authentic and real. Everything he wore, he wore for a purpose.”
A letter to famed gun leather craftsman John Bianchi is testament to Duke’s level of exacting familiarity with how an item would look, fit and feel. In requesting adjustments to a custom Western gun belt and holster, Wayne sketched out how the gun should sit (“Just below the belt,” he wrote) and asked for reinforced leather on the front of the holster, he explained, “in order to make it handy to get a gun out.”
Yet another reason to get it right was to faithfully capture the look and spirit of the American West, a place of personal veneration for the actor. John Wayne was and is most closely associated with the cowboy, and he took pains to dial in the visuals. Just as he studied intently to ride, rope, fight and speak like a true man of the frontier, Duke also cultivated an onscreen wardrobe that was believably fitting for this quasi-mythical place where anything—hope, danger, death, and romance—was possible, and where he would always appear right at home.
Many of his costumes can be viewed at John Wayne: An American Experience. The award-winning exhibit chronicles Duke’s life in a multi-media space spanning over 10,000 square feet, located in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas.
Inspired by John Wayne’s iconic onscreen wardrobe, John Wayne Stock & Supply features a new line of garments, Western Goods Apparel.
John Wayne with his youngest son Ethan on the set of The War Wagon (1967).
