The Check Trousers

Hello, fellow Whovians! 

You may have seen the latest episode "The Girl Who Died". Today, after seeing a tip off straight from Ray Holman, the current designer for Doctor Who, I took a long journey to find the exact trousers worn in this episode! 

We saw the first pictures of the trousers back in May, during filming -

At that time, people where so busy identifying the t-shirt worn by Peter Capaldi, that no one really bothered to look for them. After Ray Holman himself confirmed the shop the trousers where sourced from, I quickly popped over to see for myself.

The place the trousers were sourced from is a small shop called Mendoza Menswear.

Mendozas was founded in 2005, and they take style choices from the late ’60s & early ’70s. I have been told they may have been visited during the time of the 11th Doctor.

Once I entered, I was greeted by a man named Scott. Once I explained my reason for coming, he was very happy to show me the EXACT trousers bought! 

He pulled the trousers from a vast range of different patterns - 

The trousers are made from a wool blend, and a woven with a yellow and "peach" check pattern - 

Although the trousers are already cut to the exact fit pattern, the pockets were altered by the request of the BBC to be at an angle. There was also a 1 inch fold added to the bottom of the trousers.

These trousers can be yours for 180 pounds, but the quality and fabric of these trousers are worth every penny! But from what I have established, these trousers are from an "exclusive range", meaning they will eventually sell out for good, so if you're toying with the idea of getting them - hurry up! 

As these trousers are not on my priority list at the moment, I will be hopefully be getting the fabric separately, and then when I have the money, with the kind help of Mendoza, get them made into the trousers!

I was also shown a sample book, which was shown to the BBC during the time the new look was being decided. We'll have to see if anything else worn on screen might be from this pile!

Also, as a coincidence, the fabric used for the trousers was also used to make a coat! Imagine Peter Capaldi wearing the two together! 

The Velvet Coat

Hello, fellow Whovians! 

I recently bought the latest issue of the Doctor Who Magazine, as I had heard about there being an interview by Ray Holman, the Costume designer for the 11th Doctor, and now for the 12th Doctor. It was a very interesting article, but what I was most looking forward to was the scans of fabric included in the sea of pictures. Or, rather, looking forward to the labels stuck to them. Once I bought the magazine, I ripped open the packaging, and flicked straight to the interview. at the bottom, I saw two samples, a burgundy and a green, of velvet that later was confirmed by Ray himself to be the very velvet used for the new velvet coat seen in pictures.

As the sticker in the picture suggests, the samples are from Holland and Sherry. After googling, I found out that it was not far away from W Bill, where many other Doctor Who fabrics have been sourced from over the years. I was in the area, so I decided to pop in.

Located just next to the shop where “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was filmed, it was quite an easy find. I rang the bell, and came up.

Once I walked out of the lift, I asked the people that worked there if they could show me the sample of the velvet. I was given their book of luxury velvets, and looked inside. 

At first, I didn’t quite believe I was looking at the right fabric, as it appeared way too dark, but after moving it around in the light and comparing it to some photos I had with me, I understood that it was indeed the right velvet!

The fabric itself is made out of a blend of 71% Cotton, and 29% Modal, a semi-synthetic fibre. Modal is used alone or with other fibres (often cotton or spandex) in items such as pyjamas, towels, bathrobes and other things. 

To the touch it is very soft, unlike some other velvets I had seen before this, and I'm sure is a joy to wear once made up into a coat! 

I might be getting a length soon, but until then, I’ll have to do with the samples :)

Dying Batches!

Hi, fellow Whovians!

Just a quick post - 

I’ve been busy getting batches of the lining ready for people, and just wanted to post some pictures for you!

The suppliers I have been getting the fabric from has put the entire remainder of the fabric in reserve for me, and I have bought the last metres of the purple variant, so there is still a good amount of the fabric left, so if you would like some, don’t be afraid to email me! :)

The Time Lord's Shirts

Hello, fellow Whovians! 

Yesterday I had the chance to pop in to Budd Shirtmakers in Piccadilly arcade, not far from where many of the Doctor Who fabrics are bought from.

In the shop, I spoke to James, the man who cut the shirts for Peter Capaldi! He had been telling me that when Peter first came in for his fitting, he had only just been announced as the Doctor, and was very shy and quiet when having his fitting. 

At first, there were about 4 shirts commissioned. When filming began, it was obvious they would need loads more shirts, so they ordered in lots of 4 or 6. James told me that everyday a shirt would be damaged or ruined, so shirts would be sent in for repairs, and often on a short notice! Often shirts were damaged beyond repair, so new shirts would have to be cut. 

A bit later, James took out THE bolt of fabric from which Peter's shirts were cut from!

It's a very thin and luxurious fabric. It's a cotton called Soyella, woven in Switzerland, and is very soft to the touch, almost like silk. After feeling the fabric for a couple of minutes, James proceeded to get the patterns out for Peter's collar.

As you can see in the photo, Peter has a longer collar than normal, ending quite sharply at the tips. These are the templates they used -

Once we finished chatting about the white fabric, James got out probably the coolest scissors I've ever seen, and cut out a long big swatch for me.

I am planning to buy myself a couple metres for commemorative purposes, as well as get a shirt in the same fabric, with the Peter Capaldi collar. If you want to ask for a swatch - don't hesitate to ask me :)

After finding out all I could about the white shirt, he told me that they had also made some other shirts for Peter, but using fabric brought to them by the costume designer. 

Yes, this is the polka dot shirt from Kill the Moon. 

It is believed that the shirt is a black and white shirt. In actual fact, the fabric used is a printed design of white spots on a navy background. 

The fabric itself is a silk twill, woven in Italy, with the design being double printed on. The production team ordered 4 of these shirts (notice the crossed out "Capadil"!)

I think the reason the BBC went through so much trouble to have this fabric printed out, and have the shirts custom made, only to be used for 5 minutes of screen time is because the episode didn't really demand many new costumes, as most of the space suits were reused from previous seasons, so to spend the budget, they had to literally "waste" money on something - hence the shirts. I have a supply, so if you want some - please contact me. 

I do have one last present on the way for me, but I'll have to wait another week for it to arrive... 

Stay tuned! 

'Till the next time :)