'Orange Is the New Black,' So a Michigan Jail Needs New Jumpsuits

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Inmates wearing new jumpsuits line up in a hallway at the Saginaw County Jail.

Image: Jeff Schrier/The Saginaw News/Associated Press

By Alex Magdaleno2014-07-23 19:51:01 UTC

Orange may be the new black on Netflix, but not at the Saginaw County Jail in Saginaw, Michigan.

Sheriff William Federspiel said he started buying new black-and-white jumpsuits for inmates after the traditional orange jumpsuits — featured in the Netflix dramedy series Orange Is the New Black — became "cool."

See also: Keep Frenemies Close With These 10 Tips From 'Orange is the New Black'

"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," Federspiel told Mlive. "It's a concern because 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."

Federspiel said that some people in Saginaw had even put "Property of the Saginaw County Jail" on the back of their fake jumpsuits, though it wasn't clear just how many people enjoyed looking like prisoners at the mall.

"When the lines get blurred between the culture outside the jail and the culture within the jail, I have to do something to redefine those boundaries, because they've been blurred far too often in public culture," Federspeil said.

To combat the growing "fad," Federspiel has opted for a black-and-white striped jumpsuit, as he believes it signifies "inmate" more clearly. The new black-and-white jumpsuits are no different than the old orange ones at Saginaw County Jail: both cost the same $11.73, both are made of the same material and both will last the same two or three years.

Some inmates still wear the old orange jumpsuits because there aren't enough new suits, though Federspiel expects new jumpsuits for every inmate by the end of the year — much to the dismay of the inmates who have voiced their dissent about the change to Federspiel. And when they do, Federspiel offers the same candid response.

"If you don't like the clothes that I give you, don't come back," Federspiel said. "I didn't ask you to come wear this uniform."

He continued: "It's not to be crass. We're not trying to embarrass or shame them. It tells me something, though, when the inmates think that it's bad: It's probably good. We don't want them getting too comfortable, feeling like they're productive members of society, when actually when they're incarcerated, they're not."

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Topics: jail, Michigan, netflix, Orange is the New Black, Television, U.S., US & World