Costume Pics from Sherlocked 2016 Pt 14 - Moriarty Skull tie Suit pt 2 close-ups - These are my photos, so please do not repost Anywhere. You may make Edits with these if you wish, but please put a link to this post as credit, thanks!

Click here for more Costume Pictures: (Sherlock’s Belstaff coat) (Pt 2), (Sherlock’s TAB country suit) (pt 2), (Sherlock’s dressing gown), (Sherlock’s grey suit), (Sherlock’s London TAB outfit) (pt 2) (Pt 3), (Mary’s TAB riding outfit) (pt 2) (pt 3), (Moriarty skull tie & grey suit) (Pt 2), (Watson’s coat & shoes) (Pt 2), (Watson’s TAB Country suit) (Pt 2) (Pt 3), (Watson’s London suit) (Pt 2) (Pt 3) (Pt 4), (Hudders blue frock)

ties that bind, socks that hold

Why your socks should match your tie, not your outfit

Intro: John as the body, Sherlock as the heart

After observing their attraction cues and their protests to those attractions, I wrote this post about how Sherlock is uncomfortable with his emotional attraction and how John is uncomfortable with his sexual attraction and vice versa. (x)

TIES

Watching the scene where Sherlock and John have a mock affair, at the encouragement of Mary something struck me,

The repetition of the word, ‘tie’, makes this funny.  They attempt to co-ordinate the excuses for their mock affair and fail, twice.  It’s made funnier by the fact that Sherlock attempts to recycle, 'tie’, each time, in a different context and still fails.

Then, I thought about this show and repetition.  When something is repeated there’s always a reason.  Like, Irene saying, 'I know what he likes’, several times, this is a meaningful clue to us about what Irene’s role is on the show.

So, 'ties’.  What are, 'ties’?  They’re things that go tightly around your neck.  They can be colourful.  Formal, informal.  They can be loose, they can be tight.  They can be a noose.  Then I thought abut the saying, 'the ties that bind’, and, 'cutting off all ties’: 'ties’ are bonds, they’re attractments.

Now, once we have a theory, we can check it against other mentions of ties by Sherlock.  We know that Sherlock fears them and shuns them, literally.  And also,

In this context this association is further cemented.  This comment is against the backdrop of John being what I call, 'first lady John’, he is being incredibly supportive and attentive, like the wife of a public figure.  Furthermore, this case is about a man grateful to be reunited with his family, at last, and we have this Sherlock looking child admiringly giving him this tie pin.  This shot is evocative equally of parent lock as it is of Sherlock’s inner child.  In either possibility, Sherlock is keeping himself insular: he doesn’t do ties.

SOCKS

Then I thought that if ties were symbolic then socks could be, too.  When I thought socks I immediately thought about the Red Hot Chilli Peppers playing with nothing but socks on their penises.  And about men masturbating into a sock.  A sock is a tube.  It is phallic.  It’s a sheath.  It could have a sexual connotation.

So, a penis reference for John and a heart reference for Sherock fits with the idea that this is each of their areas of fear of attraction.

Yet, here each of them is representing them and bringing them up.

Now, if we look at the socks/tie scene again we can see that John wants to get the right, 'socks’.  And Sherlock wants to get the right, 'tie’.  In a relationship one would hope to get both, the right person for your heart and body: someone you love and want, as well.  But, we see each is concerned with a different aspect: sex and love.

Then Mary, goes with John’s idea of, 'socks’.  Why don’t you get the right socks?  Mary agrees you should pick the right person to be with sexually.  i.e. her.

(Mary takes the side of the sexual analogy because in this context she represents sex.  She is the one that John loves who has sex with him, this is her advantage as a potential mate of John’s over Sherlock.  If we theorise that John loves Sherlock even more than he loves Mary then why is he choosing Mary?  Because she will have him [Remember his proposal, ’…if you’ll have me, Mary…  Now, remember Irene saying, 'Have you ever had anyone?’, to Sherlock.  To have = sex].  Simple as that, Mary will have John, sexually, she will be in a relationship with him.  Sherlock closed that door and John went another direction.  Doesn’t make it the right choice, though.)

Now, what are the right, 'socks’, for John?  With whom should he be sexually attached?  Mary?  Or Sherlock?

Here we see John ready to marry Mary and he says that the socks should go with his outfit.  Whereas Sherlock thinks the socks should go with his tie.

OUTFIT

An outfit is the whole of one’s clothed, 'look’.  The totality of all your clothes, one’s appearance.  'Outfit’, is John’s appearance.  

If he picks socks to go with his outfit, he picks Mary.  His appearance is that of a straight man, since he’s never explicitly said he’s bi.  The sexual liaison he is choosing goes with his image.

Sherlock is saying that his socks should go with his tie.  Your penis should go with your heart.  John should be with Sherlock because he loves him more.  

gotta include this one too. <3

Mycroft Holmes and his clothes

I’ve been thinking about Mycroft Holmes’s clothes. I mean, haven’t we all, but I’ve been thinking in a sort of meta way.

I’ve been independently researching menswear as I come into my own androgynous/non-binary/transmasc identity. And I’ve discovered some things about the way Mycroft dresses.

First, sleeve garters. These came into use in the latter half of the 18th century, which make them a perfect throwback for a show that likes to reference Victoriana. In context, though, someone of Mycroft’s station would never have worn them. Sleeve garters were meant for men who wore ready made shirts, men who couldn’t afford to have their shirts tailored to fit. Garters allowed them to adjust the length of their sleeves and prevent their cuffs getting dirty. Men who had the money to tailor their shirts, as Mycroft obviously does, would not have worn them. Sleeve garters would have been a marker of lower–not higher–station.

In modern day, sleeve garters are mostly worn by people who want to seem “old timey,” which may fit Mycroft’s more traditional sensibilities, except that this old timeyness tends more towards shtick than traditionalism. Sleeve garters today are worn as part of casino dealers’ uniform or by barber shop quartets and banjo players. This doesn’t seem to be a group that Mycroft would want to be associated with.

So that makes me think it’s a Victoriana affectation. Since sleeve length is less of an issue now, men don’t wear sleeve garters anymore, and Mycroft can wear them without that “lower class” signal of 150 years ago. It appeals to tradition, emotional security, while also providing a sense of physical security, a presence there on his arms.

Second, tie bars. Tie bars are something I have more experience with. I wear ties two or three times a week and have a couple of tie bars. A tie bar or clip is different from a tie pin or tack in that a tie bar doesn’t actually pierce the fabric of the tie, which can damage it. Instead, it clips the tie in place, holding it to the placket of the shirt, usually between the third and fourth shirt buttons.

The rule with tie bars is never to wear them with a waistcoast. It’s a bit “belt and braces,” if you understand my meaning. The function of your tie bar is to keep your necktie out of your Wheetabix, so if you already have your tie tucked into a waistcoat, that job is done. If you’re wearing it purely for aesthetics, well, you’re sort of gilding the lily, aren’t you?

That’s not to say Mycroft isn’t a peacock, because just look at him, but the thing is, he doesn’t always wear tie bars. Looking back, I’m noticing them more in series 4. It’s also worth noting that a tie bar shouldn’t ever be longer than the width of the tie, either, and just look at whatever’s going on in that gif above. Based on the style and placement, I have to assume the intention is to be big and bold, so it’s likely an intentional choice for the bar to be wider than the tie, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that it’s there at all. Wearing the two together, the tie bar and the waistcoat, is gauche, and Mycroft may be a peacock, but he is not gauche.

Which brings us back to a sense of physical security. In series 4, Mycroft begins–or at least more frequently–to wear a tie bar with his waistcoat, signaling a need to feel more physically secure in his clothing. This giant tie bar was what he chose to wear to Sherrinford. This is armor. This is him preparing for battle.

We’d already seen his ever present umbrella become a weapon, and with these small signals in his clothing, these small additions of accessories, we see his armor.

Or maybe I’m overthinking things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It’s really interesting! Thank for sharing Paula :-)

As far as I’m concerned you can never over think Mycroft and his clothing choices. Fanfics often refer to his clothing as his “armor” and I think you just pointed out how very true this is.

That sense of personal armour is probably true, because we see the tie pin in the first episode, Mycroft a this most intentionally intimidating, but we don’t see him wearing it at his club, a place of more security (and sometimes more interesting suit choices):

And it might be an affectation but it also ensures the tie sits as it should (as opposed to bowing up in the gif above), which might appeal to Mycroft’s very precise sensibilities. Sherlock comments that Mycroft always returns the door knocker to be exactly straight. Perhaps he also prefers having his tie lie exactly as it should and his shirt cuffs to show a precise amount from his jacket sleeves.

Interesting!