A quick nerdy note on wardrobe decisions in Elementary

[kaberett]

Spoilers for the first episode of season 2!

Sherlock always wears his suit jackets properly - bottom button undone, all buttons undone when seated. Mycroft does not - bottom button usually/frequently done up. However, Sherlock doesn't wear his waistcoat similarly appropriately; I'm beginning to develop headcanon that this is something he does deliberately to annoy precisely the kind of person who'll notice.

Sherlock, Mycroft and other upper-class Brits wear two-button jackets. Their bodyguards and other people not of the British upper class typically wear three-button jackets, with all buttons done up. (Sherlock wears jacket+waistcoat in the first ep of s2 - when he's in London - but I don't recall seeing him doing so in other contexts. Deliberate class marker/armour? Entirely possible he's dressing up [in contradistinction to "dressing down", rather than the other meaning] given having left Scotland Yard "in disgrace". Hmm.)

I hadn't even registered that I was reading class out of this on first (or even second!) watch-through, but I definitely definitely was. It's just... really quietly and subtly and understatedly done right, no attention drawn to it, and I'm proper impressed by the wardrobe department right now.

... give or take the waistcoat thing. But, hey, see headcanon. I'm contemplating writing the ficlet. ;)

(For, er, probably the majority of my readership that nerds about male-coded formalwear less than I do: the thing about leaving the bottom button undone is reputed to have begun because of a British monarch.)

Comments

[shehasathree]

Thanks for the info! :D

[kaberett]

yw! I am glad my ludicrous nerdery has some audience :D

[silveradept]

I didn't know there was something to read into that, so now I have new information to look at. Thanks.

[kaberett]

I should probably clarify that when I say "I definitely definitely was [reading this subconsciously" what I mean is that I am really sensitive to the connotations of formalwear because it is kind of a hobby.

I am glad this is interesting to you! I am now wanting to rewatch 2x01 and double-check whether the police unbutton their jackets when seated - I thiiiiink they don't.

[silveradept]

It's details like that, though, that can show whether showrunners have done the research or not.

[redsixwing]

Haven't watched Sherlock, but I would've read that much the same way you do.

Thanks for the link about the bottom button. I do that out of necessity, since most waistcoats aren't built for my body shape and can't accommodate my hips, but it's nice to know about the precedent.

Edit: I really need to sew myself some waistcoats, because I love wearing them. That would solve the fit problem.

[fyreharper]

Ooh, interesting!

Manners maket the mannequin

[hairyears]

Class signifiers in late Victorian society, oh my.

Sherlock Holmes (and Watson!) are of the middle classes - Conan Doyle's target readers - and one of the interesting points is that he's *not* the aristocrat-as-hero.

The early Victorians middle class carefully copied the mannerisms of the aristocracy, without the braying excesses, knowing that their lives were precarious in an arbitrarily-stratified society under a capricious overclass who could cast them down at whim.

But later, they developed manners and a culture of their own - still fearful, still paying lip-service to the overclass, and still very aware that arbitrary failures to display the proper class signifiers could lead to 'disgrace' and destitution - but they became their own people with their own distinct manners and mannerisms.

They paid very, very careful attention to manners in dress and speech and greetings, and in the minutiae of 'table manners' - tiny things could change perceptions and ruin your career; or add up over time to the good opinion that powered the increasing social mobility that they achieved.

I would love to read a more detailed account of it and I am fascinated that a period drama team have found some sources.

Also: we are returning to a stratified society. Arbitrary destitution is no longer just a plot device in period drama. Pay attention!

Re: Manners maket the mannequin

[kaberett]

In fact Elementary is set in modern New York and this Sherlock is definitely upper-class (if, one gets the impression, of a somewhat nouveau riche family), but YES ALL OF THIS STUFF IS VERY INTERESTING.

[vass]

*waves Person of Interest at you emphatically*

One of the main characters is a man who would feel completely naked without the correct pocket square, and has Very Strong Opinions about how other people's trouser cuffs should interact with their shoes.