A Study in Suits: Series Three, His Last Vow
Here is my much belated final instalment of A Study in Suits! Previous posts in the Study in Suits series can be found here. The suits of the Empty Hearse can be found here, and Sign of Three can be found here.
His Last Vow gave us a lot of Mycroft, a lot of information to ponder, and many more suits to fawn over!
In this scene, he has just come running over to 221b, umbrella in hand, after receiving John’s phone call.
This could possibly become my favourite of Mycroft’s suits. The black and white check is nice enough, but the flush of pink running through the fabric is just lovely. The blue polka dot tie and matching pocketsquare are also wonderful.This suit is typical of Mycroft’s day-to-day city wardrobe, although certainly on the more dandified side. This isn’t something he would wear to a meeting, so it is likely he’s come from the Diogenes, or some other private location.
Mycroft’s Office, The Diogenes Club
The next time we see Mycroft is in Sherlock’s mind palace but, as the Mycroft of the mind palace seems to always wear the same suit, I think we’ll just move on to the next appearance.
In this scene, we find Mycroft hard at work in his secret office. Lestrade has come to get information regarding Sherlock and his various hiding places across London, but Mycroft barely glances up from his screen, which is focussed on a map of Poland and a mission codenamed ‘Ugly Duckling.’
The light in this scene is very subdued - Mycroft’s subterranean office is not well lit - so it is hard to make out the detail of this suit. It looks very much like the suit he wore to 221b in The Empty Hearse, here. If it is, it is clear that Mycroft tends to save his more stylish suits and showy ties for when he is working from his private office or relaxing in his club.
The Holmes House, Christmas
And here is series three giving me what I always wanted - more country wear! Mycroft is a traditional dresser - visiting his parents out in the country (that house does seem very rural), Mycroft has changed out of his city suits and into some tweed.I love the red windowpane check in the suit, and the blue silk back of that waistcoat is a thing of beauty. This suit is not the same one we saw when Mycroft was at home in Scandal, but the casual check shirt Mycroft is wearing - with the sleeves rolled up, no less! - is likely the same one.
For Mycroft, this is a very relaxed look. Although he still has his pocketwatch, and his tie and pocketsquare are still co-ordinated, his trousers d not match the rest of his suit. Instead, he looks to have opted for corduroys in a similar shade of green, in deference to the informal nature of Christmas dinner at his parents house. The rolled-up sleeves may even mean he was helping his mother with the cooking!
When we see Mycroft later in the evening, after being drugged by his brother, he has thrown on a red patterned scarf that it worth mentioning because it’s rather nice. And it is December, after all!
Unknown location, somewhere in the corridors of power
For his meeting with Lady Smallwood, in which he convinces her to spare his brother prison and send him on a dangerous mission for MI6 instead, Mycroft has returned to his pinstriped suit. The tie is new. The floral pattern is attractive, but the sombre grey fits the tone of the meeting.
As ever, this suit is armour. The charges being brought against his brother are serious and, in trying to help, Mycroft is accused of having “familial sentiment” by Sir Edwin. As ever, Mycroft hides behind the mask of the ‘Ice Man’, a steady bureaucratic presence that makes decisions like these due to pragmatism and not compassion. This suit, a favourite for difficult situations, helps him do that.
In Mycroft’s last appearance until the next series, we see him escorting his brother on to a private plane.
The overcoat Mycroft is wearing is his Crombie, which was first seen in Pink, and then in Scandal. I’m pleased to see its return. What I am enjoying, though, is the pink patterned tie and pink checked shirt. An unusual choice for Mycroft, but one that goes very well with the royal blue scarf he is wearing in this scene. That is, by my count, three patterned scarves we have seen Mycroft in now - two in this episode and one in Scandal.
Although it is likely a few days after Mycroft had negotiated his brother’s mission, he is still wearing his pinstripe suit - a testament, perhaps, to how difficult he is finding the situation. Under the watchful gaze of the MI6 operatives, he cannot allow himself to say a proper goodbye to Sherlock. He has dressed the part of the proper government offical for good reason.
And that’s it. Mycroft is now off to his tailor, until Series Four. I live in hope of many more beautiful suits to come!
