Notes on "Elementary"

It's pretty rare I take an interest in the clothes TV characters wear. Costume and wardrobe design is something I notice in movies but not in television. I watched the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo again last night and, while the Swedish version is still better and Michael Nyqvist's Mikael Blomkvist  is more satisfyingly middle-aged and world-weary than Daniel Craig's, I did have to admire Craig's beautifully cut overcoat. And the accessory combo of wool hat and scarf with the architect-esque glasses (hung from one ear) is very cool. I would love to wear my glasses like that but, as anyone who wears glasses and can't afford a new pair each year will tell you, it fucks up the hinge and they fall off your face if you do it too often. And the pair he wears are from Mykita Helmut and retail for $500 (CAN). Anyway, back to Elementary...

When the show started the Jonny Lee Miller "Holmes" was fascinating for dressing from a bargain bin. He looked like he honestly didn't give a shit how he was dressed. I thought that fit well with his general anti-social behaviour but others have pointed out the discrepancy between the Miller version and the Conan Doyle version - whose clothes were described as carelessly worn but expensive.

Here is Miller in a crap t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I don't think I've seen clothing this careless since Roseanne went off the air. Maybe one of those reality shows about rednecks from the South who strike it rich, or just act out their insanity in front of the camera. Miller has an endless collection of crappy old t-shirts that make appearances on almost every episode.

In the first season Miller's Holmes had a careful lack of curation in his wardrobe. He was dressed to make a point that he didn't care what he was wearing. When it was cold, he wore absolutely awful sweaters and a really ugly winter coat. When he was at home, practicing single stick, he wore some version of the above - more typically with Levi's 501s and military style black boots (you can find the product name online fairly easily). All durability, comfort, and practicality. In the last several episodes his look has changed. Now he has a very studied formality, a buttoning both down and up that fits nicely with how careful his character is with his words and gestures.

This is fairly representative and nicely detailed. A 6 button vest, oxford shirt with rounded tabs and double buttoned cuffs. If you look at the large version of the image you will see a strange detail - the vest has 4 side pockets. I have to assume it was cut for Miller and isn't a vintage piece but that's a nice detail. The new version of Holmes always has the top button of his shirt done, even when he is wearing a casual plaid. It really calls attention to the fact he doesn't wear a tie, particularly when matched with his new jackets (very fit cut, kind of like the Huntsman signature one-button but in plain black or dark blue instead of a crazy tartan). He frequently wears shirts with buttons on the collar tabs, creating a constellation of buttons that's visible in all his close-ups.

Adding the vest really emphasizes the wrapping, the constriction. When he does wear a jacket, it is usually left unbuttoned and flapping (his pea coat, on the other hand, is always buttoned tight and he emphasizes the constriction by thrusting his hands into the chest pockets, making the whole coat seem to strain at the seams). 

As I noted at the top, I don't think that much about how characters are dressed on television; I'm much more accustomed to thinking of wardrobe being consciously designed in movies - where the characters will be ten feet tall. But this is a nice example of using different means to tell the story and fill out the character. It's one thing television has over books - in a novel this kind of dedication to wardrobe would be a nightmare. 

Of course, the whole thing only works because Miller is as thin as the recovering addict he plays. He might be a recovering addict, or am I confusing his personal life with Trainspotting? No one with even a hint of extra skin around their neck could pull this look off. I'm not overweight but this look would make me seem fat, pale, and hairy. The whole thing works because of the physical indications Miller conforms to Holme's backstory. You can strap a slightly flabby guy into a corset and shoot him in a tight shirt but there's no way to hide a neck roll. 

There is an obvious comparison to the Patrick Jane character in The Mentalist, another modern Sherlock who wears vests without the jacket. I wonder if the two costume designers reached the same conclusion independently or if one is riffing off the other? Doesn't really matter.  

Why write about this? I don't know. I'm a little pissed all my favourite shows are on hiatus until after Christmas so this is my way of getting a fix from that particular fantasy world. This is probably the least useful or interesting thing you will read about a show's wardrobe design. There are a lot of people who write and think about this stuff either professionally or as very keen amateurs. I googled "Daniel Craig girl dragon tattoo wardrobe" and it only took me about 30 seconds to find out who designed his glasses, how much they cost, and where I could get a pair. There are about a dozen blogs/sites dedicated to Daniel Craig's knitwear (which is pretty great). The only thing I couldn't find was the fantastic black coat and I think it was probably bespoke. Some with Elementary although, as you might imagine, Lucy Liu's Watson gets a lot more bandwidth.