Throughout queer
history and queer fiction, there is a well-developed motif of the “chosen
family”. This concept grew up as an
act of resistance against the traditional notion that we should feel closest
and most loyal to our biological relatives.
Historically, many queer people were disowned, cast out, or otherwise
poorly treated by their relations, so understandably enough, they took refuge
in non-familial bonds. Some of these
bonds grew strong enough to replace the broken biological ones, and these
became the so-called “chosen family”.
The premise was that the family you choose could be more important to
you than the people randomly assigned to you by nature.
In many ways, BBC Sherlock participates
in this queer tradition. As any number
of gifsets have demonstrated, Sherlock has surrounded himself with people who
care deeply about him, despite having no genetic connection to him: John,
Molly, Mrs Hudson, Lestrade, etc. The
show itself seems to canonically cement this point in TFP, when Sherlock
insists that John be recognized as part of his “family”.
MYCROFT: This is
family. SHERLOCK: That’s why he stays.
Chosen family is clearly very
important to Sherlock—both the character and the show. I’d argue, however, that there is a counter-motif
woven into the narrative: the idea that the biological family can be queered as
well.
I need headcanons for when and why Sherlock started dressing the way he does. It’s not how his father dresses (casual, homey, playful) and not how his brother dresses (elegant, finicky, proper). At what point did Sherlock settle on an image? Did he have a few false starts – are their old photos circulating of him trying out leather trousers or tweed jackets or cravats? Did an ex-lover make suggestions, or did he model himself after a celebrity or a magazine spread? How did he pick his tailor, and what conversations did they have about line and colors and textures and fit? When did he first find The Coat? Did it come with the red buttonholes, or were they Sherlock’s idea? Or his tailor’s suggestion?
Basically I need more shoppinglock in my life.
I don’t usually reblog/reply to fandom stuff, but… I have headcanons.
See, I really can’t help but think that Sherlock’s image IS just a look for him, just as much as Mycroft’s elegant, finicky, proper suits are a LOOK for him. Remember- the one and ONLY time we’ve seen Mycroft in a private, at-home setting, where he’s alone and not trying to make an impression on anyone, he was dressed in ill-fitting lycra- hardly the pinnacle of finicky and elegant fashion he generally presents. However, he’s learned that clothing makes an impression on the public. People see a man in a perfectly tailored and expensive suit, and they start jumping to conclusions. This man is wealthy. This man is intimidating. This man is in control. The suit is a costume, designed to present a specific image to the world, and Mycroft pulls it off like a pro.
Sherlock’s regular getup is no exception. We’ve SEEN that he has an entire wardrobe full of, for lack of a better word, costumes. Clothing for all occasions. And Sherlock is unquestionably a master when it comes to gauging peoples’ reactions to different kinds of clothing. I doubt it took him any time at all to settle on a LOOK.
… especially since, I suspect, he settled on it right as he was getting off the drugs.
Think about it. Here’s this scrawny, wild-eyed young man with needle tracks up and down his arms, trying to barge his way into police investigations and be taken seriously. He’d have been kicked out on his ass without question at first. But he knows that there are ways to offset that. I see him trying Mycroft’s style at first. Intimidating, perfectly tailored, expensive suits, and yeah, that got him in, but it also closed off everyone around him. People who are too intimidated are closed-mouthed, guarded, and very untrusting. That isn’t what Sherlock needs.
So he tones it down. He loses the suit jacket, but keeps the long sleeves, so no one can see the needle tracks. He tries out a few different colors of dress shirt, and found that people react well to the darker colors. It’s cold, so he grabs a long coat- the sweeping tails and high collar are very dramatic, like a cape, and he does SO love making a dramatic entrance. He stays formal looking, clearly a man of means and control, but with little casual touches (like occasionally wearing jeans and sticking with a plain scarf and avoiding and waistcoats like the plague).
And, as he gets healthier and gets some weight on him, he just doesn’t bother getting a new wardrobe, because that is BORING, leaving him straining the buttons of every shirt in a roommate-distracting way.
OK, I mostly don’t disagree with this analysis of Sherlock, but every time I see this reblogged I twitch a bit at certain Mycroft-related inaccuracies.
We see Mycroft at home, alone, not expecting company, three times. The one already mentioned. Once in SiB, where he is wearing a full country tweed suit. And once in TFP, where he is wearing a suit, just without the jacket.
The “ill-fitting Lycra” was…when he was interrupted literally mid-workout. I don’t really know anyone who works out in a three-piece suit. I am honestly puzzled that anyone could think we could conclude anything much about Mycroft’s style based on what he wears on the treadmill. (Beyond that he wears a long-sleeved shirt and pants when most people would choose something more abbreviated, which could suggest a higher level of formality.)
Speaking of the three-piece suit, it would actually not be a good costume choice for Mycroft to convey generic wealth and power. While not as wildly unusual as it would be in today’s United States, a suit with waistcoat and pocket watch is still quite an affected look for a contemporary Englishman on an ordinary day. You wouldn’t routinely see it on a City man or government official just going about his business. It’s practically an Edwardian look (see recent photos of Ewan McGregor in the A.A. Milne biopic). Not something you’d wear to the big board meeting or to meet people for pitches or negotiations, if your goal is to look like a Master of the Universe. That’s not why Mycroft wears that kind of outfit.
To me, the function of Mycroft’s outfits for others is two-fold. For those who don’t know who he really is, they serve to obscure him as some kind of fussy eccentric with a “minor role.” For those who do, they emphasize his idiosyncrasy, his flair for the dramatic, and the power he has to indulge both. Because…while Mycroft’s costume is costume, like all disguises in Sherlock, it’s also a self-portrait. He wears a suit drinking at home alone in front of the fire on Christmas Eve because that’s how he conceives of himself.
Agree with everything @harriet-spy said and adding that Mycroft and Sherlock’s clothes are their armor. They share this with Irene, whose nudity is her battle dress. It’s a way the three of them hold themselves at arms length from the rest of the world. It says “look, but don’t touch.”
So,
remember back in TRF, when we though Mycroft had accidentally sold
Sherlock out to dear old Jim? And then came TEH and ah, no, it was a
plan. Big brother and Sherlock working in tandem, no need for
concern, Mycroft would nevah, righ? And that was a twist, and
while there are some of us (coughcoughmecough) who still don’t really
buy into the explanation fed to Anderson in TEH (I mean, yes, I do
think it’s the best we’ll get, as things stand, but ZE
PLOTHOOOOOLES), it was… something laid to rest, yes? Mycroft WOULD
actually never betray Sherlock, because his loss would break his heat
(and that is officially Sweet, and never let it be said I don’t love
me some brother bonding).
Except. Except. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HE DID.
He
knew about Jim’s obsession with Sherlock, he knew about Eurus, and he let them conspire. He gave Jim means to all he needed to know about Sherlock, even if Myc himself said nothing. He did absolutely make that mistake John
accused him of in TRF, just much, much, much earlier. And that came
back to bite him royally in the ass, because while Mycroft post-TRF
is cool as cucumbers, reading that paper in the Diogenes, he’s an
absolute mess in TFP – he did not plan this, he did not expect
this.
And
I dunno if that acutally matter, if it means anything, and maybe
you’ve all already discussed this to death, but… it just occured to
me that it’s the clever negation of a twist several years old – a double bluff! – and
that’s both neat and screaming fridge horror to me.
Also, I love this show, even the bits I don’t like, and I miss it so much.
The location of the Diogenes Club near The Mall may actually help explain why Mycroft has a strange bunker office. The building is right by an area with a number of known underground government citadels, tunnels, etc. The Admiralty Citadel, for example, is just on the other side of The Mall. And the building’s so close to the known portion of the Q-Whitehall facility that the writers wouldn’t even have to try hard to claim the Diogenes bunkers were part of the expansion of those tunnels that’s still locked up as a secret in the National Archives for another decade or so. (And all this reminds me I should really finish that post series…)
TL;DR version: Sherlock asked to be taken to The Mall because it’s a convenient drop-off point for the Diogenes Club, home of Mycroft’s office.
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