Velvet coat - the fittings

Hi, fellow Whovians!

As some of you may have seen from my Instagram account (gallifreycostumes, for anyone who is interested), the velvet coat, apart from a few modifications, is finished!

Before posting detailed pictures of the coat here, I wanted to take you through the process.

As some of you may know, the tailoring process is quite complicated, and it is also very time consuming!

Once I handed in the fabrics, it was a not-so-long wait until I was called back for the first fitting. I was offered this "body" of the coat, with only a handful of things done to it.

Once I put it on, it was pinned in various places to get the A-line fit of the original coat. We also had the chance to get the lapel length right.

I was also asked to try on the left sleeve to decide the length, as well as figure out the cuffs.

as far as the first fitting goes, that was the most exciting it got!

The second fitting was about two weeks or so after. this was much more exciting!

All pins from the first fitting now turned into actual seams on the fabric, and the collar piece and lapel facings were cut. both sleeves were also made. This fitting is when I handed in the buttons.

Apart from coming in a few times to check on the progress, as well as to work out some other small details, it was a torturous wait.

I now have the coat with me, and it is brilliant!

Until I post the final coat, here is a sneak peak! :-)

Day of the Doctor tie!

Hello, fellow whovians!

I'm happy to say that I will be starting the velvet coat on Wednesday! As pattern reference, I am also going to be using some small measurements from the Abbyshot 12 Doctor coat, such as lapel and vent lengths, as they did a very good job on the coat! 

Unfortunately, the price of the fabrics and tailoring  has put a dent in my costume budget, so to compensate that dent, I'm reluctantly selling off a few Doctor Who items that I've decided to let go of, and I'll be slowly posting them across the next month. 

I'll be starting with the St George by Duffer tie from the 50th Anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor. 

These ties were actually what got me into cosplaying, as I heard everyone around me talking about it being used in the episode, and I thought I would get one, so I could boast to my friends that I had the exact tie used by David Tennant himself! 

Later down the year I decided to stock up on the ties, as they were becoming rarer and rarer. 

I have 3 accurate ties that I can sell. I say accurate, as there were 2 versions of this tie, slim and wide, the slim being accurate. 

So if you'd like a tie - do message me, and I'll get back with details! :)

Velvet coat - it begins!

Hello, fellow Whovians!

Sorry for not updating the blog recently, I've been so busy with other projects that i haven't had time to write anything for the blog!

I wanted to give a little sneak peak of what I'll be working on for the next month -

It is, if you haven't guessed, the Doctor's Velvet coat!

As I myself am still inexperienced with sewing, and because of the price of the velvet, I've decided to take this project to the professionals!

My tailors I'm going to be working with are amazing at what they do, and were the ones I trusted to reline my navy coat with the Series 8 lining.

So to help them make the coat as accurate as possible, I've compiled a 4-page document with loads of high quality pictures of the coat that I snapped with my camera at the Doctor Who festival.

I will be using the exact velvet, lining, horn buttons, and the buttons from Cardiff, so this will hopefully be one of the most accurate coats outside of the TARDIS! :-)

For anyone thinking about it, I will eventually be making these coats available for sale, as I have a trade account at Holland and Sherry, and have regular access to the velvet, so if you want a coat out of all the exact fabrics and buttons - drop me an email, and I'll tell you more about time frames and pricing.

I will be starting the process at the start of next week, so I'll be updating with pictures once there's something worth doing photos of!

Until the next time :-)

New Year Goals

Greetings, fellow Whovians! 

It’s a brand new year, and I wanted to wish all my readers a very Happy New Year!

I’ve had fun finding and showing my various findings over these past few months, and I’m really grateful to everyone who takes time to read this blog!  

I’ve gotten to know loads of new and interesting people through here, and I would like to continue doing so in the New Year! 

So to start the New Year, I’d like to tell you about some stuff I have planned to write about - 

Every chance I get, I will be doing an in depth comparison between the original Tennant ties (or colour variants I’ve acquired) to replicas of them made by Magnoli Clothiers, and I’ll be starting off with a tie I’m very proud to have - 

I’ll be doing a few more dyeing experiments, but for a very specific and often unnoticed part of the 12 Doctor’s costume

I’ve been working with my local tailors for a while, and after getting all the details right (and using Budd Shirtmakers collar patterns as a guide), I will hopefully be bringing you a replica of the White Capaldi shirt, using the exact Soyella fabric from Budd! 

I will also be making some special frames with Peter Capaldi in costume, and the appropriate swatches to go with it. I’ve sent a photo of a test version to Ray Holman, and he said “Brilliant”! 

Hopefully later in the year, I will be announcing something very exiting for 10 Doctor tie fans, and it will be something you will not be able to find ANYWHERE else! 

And as usual, I’ll be trying to hunt down the fabrics worn by our favourite hero! 

So I wish you a Happy New Year, health, happiness, and lots of Doctory-costume-goodness :-)

I’ll leave you with this picture of me in one of my favourite Costume variants - 

Doctor Who Festival

Hello, fellow whovians!

Yesterday I went to Day 2 of the Doctor Who festival.

As soon as the first panel was over, I rushed straight to the costumes! After standing in a line for about 20 minutes, I finally got the chance to get up close to the screen used costume variant used for the Magician’s Apprentice and the Witch’s Familiar. I was happy to finally find out that the hoodie worn with this variant is indeed the BLUE variant! 

Thanks, Tristan Maddocks for the photo!

I also had a chance to see those lovely grey check trousers up close.

Moving on from that, I ran to the new velvet variant. Having found the velvet already, I wasn’t to interested about that. I wanted to know three things. First, where the new series 9 lining was from.

Thanks, Tristan Maddocks for the photo!

As you may know, the series 8 lining was quite fragile, and from my own personal experience of handling the lining (and wearing it with my own coat), I can say that it couldn’t hold up to all the action it would need to see on set, so for this reason, as well as the quantity issue, it was changed to a more durable lining that is red shot with black. I have now been given a tip by Ray Holman where this lining has come from, and have now found it.

As usual, if you would like to get some, get in touch!

The other thing I wanted to clear up was the buttons. As you may have noticed, one of the changes for series 9 was the addition of a red button on both cuffs of the coat.

As for the velvet coat, the buttons are actually mismatched, one shiny and one matte!

Ray has also told me where these buttons are from. I have a supply of both matte and shiny ones. Unfortunately, they aren’t available online though!

I was also interested in the new waistcoat worn with the velvet. From promotional pictures, I thought that the waistcoat was a blue colour, and I was shocked to find out it is actually a black waistcoat!

The waistcoat is from T.M. Lewin! After going on their website I have managed to find it! 

While talking to Ray, I managed to catch ModernBoy from instagram for a photo!

I also met with DoctorWhoCollector himself, one of the first clients to receive my Series 8 lining!

I was very jealous to see his screen accurate Paul Smith jumper :-) I also couldn’t resist getting a photo with Ray Holman!

After asking all my questions, it was time for the Cosplay Showcase. After finding out I had got to the final, I walked to the production village. The contest was held by Christel Dee from Doctor Who - the Fan Show. I ended up in the 11-16 age category. She asked me a bit about my costume, and I mentioned that I spent 4 months looking for the exact lining, then custom dyed it. It was for this reason, along with most of the screen accurate items, that I won the contest in my age group!

And if it wasn’t good enough for Ray to approve the costume, I also got it approved by the man himself - Peter Capaldi!

‘Till the next time :)

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 :)