How to Dress Like Hoban “Wash” Washburne

Hoban “Wash” Washburne's style is... unique. It is also surprisingly basic and quite versatile.

Mostly it consists of jumpsuits and Hawaiian print shirts. Which does make putting together a decent Wash vestment surprisingly convenient and inexpensive.

If you’re anything like me, you have probably considered dressing up in a Hoban Washburne costume or just adding a Hoban Washburne outfit to your wardrobe. If you have, then you might have noticed there is a very limited amount of information on the subject readily available in one place.

I have taken the liberty of putting together an in-depth guide to Wash’s stylings for your convenience.

Hoban's Best Vests

Other than the times when he is sporting a Hawaiian print shirt or only his birthday suit, Wash is almost always wearing one of his trusty vests.

Wash has two vests that he is seen wearing most often, the first being his black (some have speculated that it’s dark brown), and the other is an olive green/grayish color. All are outdoor style vests with a ridiculous amount of storage space.

Personally, before putting together my Wash outfit, I have only ever worn vests when an occasion called for it. With the style of vest worn by the reliable pilot of the Serenity, I may have to reconsider.

Honestly it’s just about as convenient as the type of tactical belt worn by Jayne Cobb, only all of the many pockets are right there on your upper torso.

Where Can I Purchase a Wash-style Vest?

Here is a great option for a Hoban Washburne vest. It’s available in various colors to best match whichever specific Wash “look” you’re going for. 

Hoban's Hawaiian Shirts

As I stated previously, Hoban’s top layer of clothing nearly always consists of one of two options. Since we have already reviewed his vests, that really only leaves his flashy Hawaiian print button down shirts for our topic of discussion.

What can really be said about Hoban’s shirts? They’re brightly colored and very loud, but provide a comforting contrast to the cold dark emptiness of space.

Wash’s shirts are also a great visual tool when analyzing Wash’s mentality.

In my opinion, nothing conveys the message that you’re a goofy, fun-loving, laid back, type of guy better than a Hawaiian shirt (well... maybe a Bob Marley shirt).

Where Can I Find a Good Hawaiian Shirt?

Finding a good shirt for your Wash costume or outfit has really never been easier. With the latest advancements in online sales technology, nearly any item you could imagine is within your grasp at the click of button.

With that in mind, I have taken the time to find what I believe are the best Hawaiian shirts.

This color Hawaiian shirt is a great match to Wash’s, and it’s eligible for Free returns.

This shirt was my personal choice. It isn’t an exact match, but it’s very comfortable.

Wash's Red Shirt

From time to time Wash is also seen wearing a red long sleeve button down shirt. It is simple and stylish enough and basically that’s all there is to say about that.

Where Can I Get a Shirt Like Wash From Firefly?

This shirt appears to be a perfect match to the one Hoban Washburn wears on Firefly. Currently, it is in-stock on Amazon and eligible for Free Shipping with Amazon Prime.

Jumping Into Wash's Jumpsuits

Hoban Washburne’s Jumpsuits are the backbone of his wardrobe. Like Captain Mal’s suspenders or Jayne’s cargo pants, pretty much whatever else their style consists of is built around and works with this particular item.

Hoban seems to favor air force style flight jumpsuits, which seems appropriate considering his main purpose onboard the Serenity is to pilot the ship.

He mainly favors his orange jumpsuits of which he possesses two. One with sleeves and one without. Hoban is also seen wearing a few other color jumpsuits including blue and olive.

The Closest I've Found

I managed to track down this flight style jumpsuit that comes in various different colors and it’s nearly identical to the jumpsuits worn by Hoban Washburne on Firefly.

Undershirts

For being a Firefly character with a pretty simple style, Wash ends up taking up quite a bit of closet space I would imagine. The reason for this is simply because he dresses in many different layers. The final layer (at least that we’ll be discussing), is undershirts.

Wash doesn’t own a great variety of undershirts, but it has been documented that he has worn at least a couple different ones.

Wash has been known on several occasions to wear a black or dark brown long sleeve shirt under his jumpsuit. He has also been seen wearing only a white tank top undershirt.

Where to Find Good Undershirts

Wash’s undershirts on Firefly are fairly basic and therefore generally inexpensive and easily obtainable. This long sleeve brown shirt is available right now on Amazon.

I’m certain you could locate a white tank top like this (if you don’t already own one,) but for your convenience, here are some good ones on Amazon.

Wash's Footwear

The footwear seen on the show Firefly being worn by Hoban Washburne was most often an Italian style sneaker boot, either in gray or brown. They are incredibly stylized and almost look as if they are on inside out.

Where to Buy Wash's Shoes

Unfortunately for those of us in the rest of the world, those particular sneaker boots are incredibly difficult to track down. I have heard rumors of a lucky find on Ebay here and again, but for the most part it seems we may be out of luck until this style starts trending elsewhere.

That being said, I have included links to what I found to be the closest matches to Wash’s boots. These gray boots match the color of Wash’s boots almost exactly!

These sneakers are like the long lost cousins to the brown shoes Wash wears and are the closest match I could find.

Wash's Toy Dinosaurs

Wash is seen playing with them from time to time, but for the most part his toy dinosaurs are only for show. As he always keeps them at his pilot station.

Toy Dinosaurs?

If you really want to make your Wash costume authentic, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to play with a few dinosaurs!

Dressing in a Hoban Washburne costume was overall a positive experience for me. On a side note, I found that not only do these items build a pretty accurate Hoban Washburne Cosplay, but I have found myself wearing a single piece here and there just because Wash’s attire is not only stylish but practical as well.

As usual if you notice anything I may have overlooked or have a comment or question, please feel free to post it below.