#in which our favorite solicitor is all dolled up for some travel some trauma and some terror*

[see-arcane]

Here comes Mr. Jonathan Harker, all dressed-up and dapper.

Overall, I picture him preferring natural tones, leaning into a forest palette when he can get away with it. The few suits he had before this were meticulously cared for, if secondhand and a touch out of date. In honor of the First Big Business Trip, Mr. Peter Hawkins maybe fudged a little extra purely businesslike concern for their office’s image, and maybe insisted on giving his unofficial son favorite young solicitor a trip to the tailor to get a fresh professional wardrobe to meet their noble Transylvanian client in.

A wardrobe that Jonathan ‘Saving Every Cent for the Wedding’ Harker never quite dared to dream of. The little red traveler’s journal was his own personal purchase; a small softcover thing that could easily be tucked into his closest layers for safekeeping. (Small and soft enough that it would go unnoticed in the future during less than consenting changes of clothes.)

The second look comes after…well. You can probably guess. A whole lot of black with only a very small pop of autumnal—one might even say arterial—deep russet red. The scarf that he wears out, always in tandem with high collars and covering cravats. It strikes Mina that he has a strange way of fretting about having his neck uncovered these days. She will have a chilling flash of Lucy when, as he was drifting off, she had asked why he took to wearing so much black. His answer, half-sleeping:

“I cannot know if they had a funeral. Who knows if anyone noted their absence?” His throat locks at the last word. “Someone must mourn. Just in case.”

He sleeps. She strokes the new shock-silver cutting through the dark of his hair and does not ask again.

These are his major ensembles up to a point.

For a minor spoiler, take a look at outfit number three:

An understated style, relying mainly on the power of its accessories and daring hair styling bleaching ???. It sports a hodgepodge of inventory he picks up over the course of the book. A trusty shovel, a wreath of garlic blossoms, a silver cross, a loaded revolver, a lovely statement piece in the very weighty Kukri knife.

All that and a very singular smile.

One that we won’t see for quite a few chapters, but will inevitably leave an impression on its witness. To quote directly:

‘Harker smiled—actually smiled—the dark bitter smile of one who is without hope; but at the same time his actions belied his words, for his hands sought the hilt of the great Kukri knife and rested there.’

It’s a hell of a look on you, Mr. Harker. Can’t wait to see it in action.

#in which our favorite solicitor is all dolled up for some travel some trauma and some terror* #*not necessarily his own #jonathan harker #fashion #dracula #dracula daily