Looks Like The Suit Jamie ‘Left’ In The Bachie Mansion Has Been A Series Mainstay Since 2017

The Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise star Jamie Doran yesterday claimed production staff recycled his navy blue tuxedo for the latest season of The Bachelor, effectively handing his beloved suit to newcomer Locklan ‘Locky’ Gilbert.

Taking to his Instagram Story, the 38-year-old said, “Ah, so that’s where the suit I left in the crack house (mansion) went!”

“You’re welcome”, he added, before accusing The Bachelor‘s broadcaster, Channel 10, of budget cuts in the wardrobe department.

It’s the latest broadside from Jamie against Warner Bros. Television and Channel 10, who he has vowed to sue over his portrayal in the most recent season of Bachelor In Paradise.

But a closer analysis of the show casts doubt on Jamie’s claims that the jacket was ever his alone, or that Channel 10 recently cut back on The Bachelor’s costuming.

Instead, PEDESTRIAN.TV has identified a visually identical jacket worn by at least six blokes over four separate versions of the reality TV juggernaut, stretching all the way back to 2017.

Forget the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This is the Brotherhood of the Bachelor Blazer.

What’s the go with the jacket?

Jamie made his Bachie universe debut in 2019, when he appeared on Angie Kent‘s season of The Bachelorette. While he did not win Angie’s heart, he was successful in wearing a sharp navy blue tuxedo, which featured in promotional imagery for the season.

His pointed Instagram Story post features one of his promo photos, next to an image of Locky in a similar outfit. Excluding a matching waistcoat for Locky, the get-ups look nearly identical.

via @jamiecdoran / Instagram

Earlier reporting from PEDESTRIAN.TV remarked on the difficulty of locating other imagery of Locky wearing the jacket; however, the former Survivor star did, in fact, wear a navy blue tuxedo in his premiere Bachelor episode.

via 10Play

Okay, so who has worn the jacket?

Working backwards from Locky and Jamie, at least four other men appear to have worn the same jacket, if not the whole ensemble.

Mobile zoo owner Josh Cox, who appeared alongside Jamie on The Bachelorette, was sent home by Angie at the first rose ceremony.

Notably, he was sent packing while wearing a navy tuxedo with swooping black lapels.

Jamie, who did receive a rose from Angie, did not wear a similar navy tux to that first rose ceremony. Instead, he wore firefighting gear, reflecting his time with the NSW Fire Service.

via 10Play

If the tux is Jamie’s in the Bachie mansion, it may technically have been Josh’s first.

Sports reporter Dan Hobley, who appeared alongside Bachelorette Ali Oetjen in the show’s 2018 season, has also worn a visually similar jacket.

Promotional imagery from the series shows Dan pairing the formalwear with a bowtie – a seemingly essential accessory for the discerning tux-wearer.

The jacket seems to have cropped up as far back as 2017, during Sophie Monk‘s season of The Bachelorette. Eden Schwenke, who was eliminated in the show’s third episode, appeared on-set in the full tuxedo.

via Channel 10

And publican Stu Laundy, who eventually secured Sophie’s affections to win the competition, made his on-screen debut wearing what appears to be the exact same outfit.

via 10Play

This list is not exhaustive. While PEDESTRIAN.TV is very good at expending editorial resources on flippant investigations, this outlet stopped short of scouring every episode of every season for vaguely similar tailoring.

However, the volume of evidence suggests Jamie was not the only person to have worn the jacket (or an identical jacket) on the show.

The fact similar outerwear can be found as far back as 2017 gives lie to the idea that Channel 10 has recently clamped down on wardrobe expenditure. In fact, this may just be business as usual.

Is it weird for reality TV shows to reuse outfits?

Not at all. This isn’t even the first time The Bachelor has been pinged for reusing the same styles; in 2019, Now To Love found the same maroon velvet blazer was worn by several Bachie fellas, including astrophysicist Matt Agnew, who starred in The Bachelor‘s 2019 season.

Given the sheer number of male contestants on each series of The Bachelorette, and the fact many of them don’t hang around too long at all, it makes pure economic sense to maintain a large collection of simple, versatile outerwear for formal occasions.

Speaking to Now To Love in 2019, Channel 10’s official stylist Kim Hurwitz said the production crew secures around 250 individual suits before filming even kicks off.

“Throughout the season we rotate through hundreds and hundreds of suits,” Hurwitz said.

“Some brands will fit certain body types better than others, so I need a range so there is the best fit for each of them. I’d say it would be close to a 1000 suits all up!”

While the Ciarran Stotts and Timm Hanlys of the world may only get one or two wears out of their audacious outfits, it makes sense that a tasteful navy number would enter regular rotation.

What if I want to nab a Bachie suit for myself?

Hurwitz revealed the production team favours suits from menswear outlets Politix, Peter Jackson, and M.J. Bale.

The last retailer on that list does offer a navy tuxedo jacket with black lapels. For $699, you too could own the M.J. Bale Saunders jacket. All that’s missing is a rose, unfulfilled desire, and the promise of a teeth-whitening influencer deal.

via mjbale.com

Notably, some sizes are currently out of stock. Maybe Hurwitz & Co. are already stocking up for the next season of The Bachelorette.

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