Making My Tennant Suit

Cristian Lacroix - the hen’s tooth tie

2012-02-16T22:30:00.000Z

Over the past week or so we have been hearing from costume designer Louise Page, who has kindly been sharing her memories of the Tenth Doctor’s ties.

Before she talks about Tie Four - her personal favourite - I’ve got to share with you a recent eBay find.

Tie four is one of the rarest worn by David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

Commonly referred to as the Swirly Tie, it is actually a tie by high-end French fashion house Christian Lacroix.

As you will soon hear from Louise, when she found it at London’s Selfridges, it was the only one available.
Usually she would buy three or four repeats so she had spares for stunt-doubles, stand-ins and damages, but she made an exception with this one because she fell in love with it at first sight.

Later this did cause production problems, but that’s a whole other story for another day.

So it’s a bit of a red-letter day when an original Christian Lacroix tie, abet in a colour way variation, turns up on eBay!

I had been trawling eBay for months and looked at more listings for Christian Lacroix ties than I care to mention – a lot of which in my eyes are pretty horrendous.

So when I spotted this one, it was a pretty special day.

The tie was part of a job-lot of the same label, but there’s no mistaking it there on the right. I almost missed it.

Waiting for the auction to close was nail-biting stuff, but luckily I secured the item with an offer that couldn’t be turned down.

After an exciting couple of days the ties arrived and I carefully unwrapped them.

I’m sure the other two ties were very expensive when new, but they were quickly cast aside to find the prize in the batch.

Now obviously it’s not the correct colourway, but it IS the real deal.

What it does give us is the exact correct pattern and shapes of the design, and reveals what happens beyond the knot – the part of the tie that just isn’t seen on screen.

This proved to be a real surprise to me, as there is basically nothing. It is just blank, black silk with no pattern or design at all.
The tail of the tie does have a rotated repeat of the front, but again this quickly gives way to plain silk.

The whole swirly pattern is part of the weave of the tie, with a vignette from pale pink to magenta, giving it a simulated highlight diagonally across the tie.

Inside some of the shapes the plain fabric has a twill in the weave, giving it a slightly different colour as another thread comes through from the back. These are the patches that have been the subject of much contention.
Having seen this tie for real I understand how this confusion has happened, and I’ll expand on this in the future, so stay tuned.

This really is a rare tie and I feel over the moon to have one in my possession.

It’s as rare as hen’s teeth - and I’ve got chickens. None of mine have teeth.

Louise Page - The Tie Three story

2012-02-14T07:37:00.000Z

So far Louise Page has told us about two of the Tenth Doctor’s ties: the popular Daniel Hechter tie; and the one-off vintage worn in The Christmas Invasion.

The next tie in the Tie Index was another that made only one appearance.

School Reunion had one of the most sombre ties worn by the Tenth Doctor.

Have you ever wondered why?

The next tie Louise will recall is the much envied Tie Four.
Check back real soon, as I have a major scoop to reveal . . . .

Thanks to Kevin Coppa for giving the interview clips the polished look, and enormous thanks to Louise Page for sharing her memories of dressing the Tenth Doctor with us all

Louise Page - The Tie Two story

2012-02-10T09:49:00.001Z

A few days ago Louise Page told us the story behind the Tie One, and how it was an eleventh hour after thought.

Today she will tell us about Tie Two, one of the more popular ties the Tenth Doctor wore.

One of these ties (along with three others) sold at Bonhams for over £1,600.
This sale revealed the label to be Daniel Hechter.

It was used a lot early during publicity photo-shoots, and featured in no less than ten episodes, so it is a very familiar design with fans.

It’s also been the most copied, with Magnoli Clothiers doing three versions to date.

Louise explained to me the story behind the tie, and the unusual pet name she gave it!

Check back soon to hear about the next tie, Tie Three, and why it only appeared once, in School Reunion.

Thanks to Kevin Coppa for giving the interview clips the polished look, and enormous thanks to Louise Page for sharing her memories of dressing the Tenth Doctor with us all

Louise Page - The Tie One story

2012-02-06T09:05:00.000Z

As you will have seen, costume designer Louise Page recently visited me again so that we could do a proper on-camera interview for my blogs, and today I have the first of the clips I will be posting over the coming weeks.

My most popular entry in this blog is by far my Tie Index, so I had to ask her about these for my readers.

The first tie David is seen wearing is a bit of an odd-ball.
It only appears in the closing scenes of The Christmas Invasion, and has never been correctly identified.

As I found out from Louise, there is a reason for this . . .

Check back real soon to hear Louise’s thoughts on Tie Two, the Daniel Hechter tie, or as she calls it, the Doll Tie!

Thanks to Kevin Coppa for giving the interview clips the polished look, and enormous thanks to Louise Page for sharing her memories of dressing the Tenth Doctor with us all

EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION: Ask Louise

2012-02-03T20:42:00.000Z

Today I’m launching a very special competition.

Do you have a question about the costumes of the David Tennant era you’ve always wanted answered?
Well now’s your chance.

You may have read that just before Christmas I had the enormous privilege of meeting costume designer Louise Page.

We had two meetings and I had the chance to chat costumes with her for over five hours!

Earlier today she returned to do a formal interview, which I will be serialising over the coming weeks.

I had lots of questions, but it struck me that I’m sure there are other fans who have more interesting questions to ask.

So I put the idea to Louise, who has agreed to answer twenty questions submitted by my readers, to be put to her during a planned interview this summer.
This gives you plenty of time to think over what you want to ask and submit your question.

I will be shortlisting the best questions, and although can’t guarantee to use them all, I will do my best to put as many as possible.

I will be attending Gallifrey One later this month, as well as both days of the Official Convention in March, so as well as email me you can submit your question in person, if you can catch me!

To submit your question, please email me at tennantcoat@me.com

Please limit your questions to the David Tennant era; be as concise as you can; and above all try and think of something that’s never been asked before.

A very special visitor

2012-01-06T17:25:00.001Z

Today is the final day of The Twelve Regenerations Of Christmas over on the Eleventh Doctor Blog.

As a big finish I posting something rather special. It’s just a picture, but its a good one!

In early December I had an email out of the blue from Louise Page, who had stumbled upon my Tie Index. She found it very interesting, and wanted to share with me a gap in the information I had posted.

This was how I discovered the label for Tie Nine (see left), so it came from a cast iron source.

After exchanging couple of email she expressed an interest in meeting me and talking Tennant suits and coats!

Her timing was perfect, since I currently have the Ultimate Tennant Suit back for some minor alteration, so I suggested she might like to view it.

Just before Christmas she came to visit and we had the chance of a quick photo with the suit.

Louise is so nice and was most impressed with my work, which was the best Christmas present I have ever had!

All tied up

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000Z

if you’re a big fan of the ties worn by the Tenth Doctor, you might want to take a quick look over at my Eleventh Doctor Blog.

I’m running a series of postings under The Twelve Regenerations Of Christmas, and have been sharing a mixture of fun things you might have missed; stuff from my archive; and a few new revelations.

Well today I have news of an update on my popular Tie Index, so do take a look . . . .
Here’s a clue.

Happy Christmas to all my readers!

2011-12-19T22:09:00.000Z

Wow - another year has flown past - and what a year it’s been!

Photo by Scott Sebring

It started back in January with a once in a lifetime opportunity when I made the Ultimate Tennant Suit. To have the chance to put into practice the actual way the suit was made was an amazing experience. The timing was perfect, as I had a couple of months before started learning traditional hand-tailoring techniques, which I put to great use in making the suit.

Photo by Scott Sebring

I had to follow the suit, and with three days notice ended up going to Gallifrey One in LA!
There I met up with a number of my online friends and many of my readers who had no idea I was going. I also had the privilege of arranging a group photograph with four of my Tennant Coat clients, which was the highlight of the trip.

By the end of April news broke that THE Series Six Shetland Tweed fabric had been found, as well as the Series Five Donegal.

It was like the Tennant Suit all over again: making an iconic jacket in the exact fabric. I was lucky to find the correct buttons and elbow patches to finish it off.

In August the culmination of many month work came to fruition when I took delivery of my rewoven Tennant Coat lining. I had been searching for years to find a suitable alternative, but finally took the plunge and commissioned my own recreation of it.

The past few months of the year have been taken up with making a popular new garment in my repertoire - the Green Greatcoat.

I spent a while carefully researching the pattern, fabric and construction until I got it just right.

Then in late November I attended Chicago TARDIS, where I entered the masquerade competition wearing a test version of the Colin Baker Six Frock Coat. I won Best In Show: Workmanship for my tailoring – for which I am very proud.

This was one of three coats I had made, the other two were for the wedding of some close friends which is due to take place just before Christmas.

Looking back it has been an exciting year, with more projects than I could have thought to have taken on.

And as the year comes to a close, an even more exciting development is breaking.

More on that in the New Year, but trust me, it’s gonna be worth the wait . . .

Magnoli replica Giorgio Armani tie - the comparison

2011-12-06T21:47:00.000Z

You will have seen recently that I bought one of the Magnoli replica Giorgio Armani ties.

I think it is great, don’t get me wrong, but I had the chance to compare it one-on-one with a genuine Armani tie, and the results are, to say the least, interesting.

My good friend Kevin, whom I tailored The Ultimate Tennant Suit for, is the lucky owner of a the correct brown version of the Armani tie, that the latest Magnoli is a replica of.

If you looked closely you will have seen him wearing it at a photoshoot at the San Diego Comic Con (see below).

I caught up wit him recently at Chicago TARDIS, and we both happened to have our Armani ties (my replica and his original) so it was the ideal chance to compare them like-for-like.

The real Armani is on the bottom of the picture above, and you can see that the background is several shades darker than the replica.

The pattern of the tie is really pretty much spot on, but the original has a subtle woven ribbing across the background (see right), which is not present on the replica at all (see below).

Looking at the two together, it would have been better to have flipped the background colour with the colour of the circles, as the replica is almost a negative of the genuine tie.

The sky blue rings are a good match for colour and shape.

The weights of the ties compare well, as does the quality of silk that has been used.

It‘s really just down to then colour and finer detail of the weave.

This puts me in mind of the previous replia, the St George by Duffer, or Utopia Tie (see left).

This was stitch-perfect, but the background colour was notably out, being a coffee rather than chocolate brown. Very frustrating.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the Nina Ricci tie turns out when that is completed.

Duffer tie on eBay

2011-11-20T15:31:00.010Z

After a long absence I see another St George by Duffer tie has hit eBay.

As I deviously reported, ties like this have often reached prices such as £92 and £112.

The US seller of this tie was a bit more savvy than previous, and clearly knew what he had and its worth.

This time around there was a bidder’s dilemma – either bid conventionally, starting at $99, or buy it outright for $349.

I noticed that a bidder did both, by placing a maiden bid then revising it to the BuyItNow price, which at £224.94 is by far the highest one of these ties has gone for.

I see it has gone to a good home . . .

Bonhams auction - 15th December 2011

2011-11-18T15:02:00.003Z

Doesn’t time fly!
It doesn’t seem that long since the last Bonhams auction, and the next in December is soon upon us.

The online catalogue has been posted and there 23 Doctor Who items, most of which are from the Tennant era.

Amongst them are some of Tennant’s SUITS! But don’t get too excited – none are the pinstripe versions – they are all relating to Human Nature and Family Of Blood, when The Doctor is incognito as a school teacher.

Bonhams sale 19073
(15th December 2011)
Entertainment Memorabilia

Lots 154a
Seventh Doctor (1987-1989)

Lots 155 - 156
Ninth Doctor (2005)

Lots 157 - 184
Tenth Doctor (2005-2010)

Lots 185 − 191
Eleventh Doctor (2010 - date)

There is one item for sale dating back to the mid sixties, and is a sketch for the cover of a Dalek Annual.
Interestingly the full artwork that this sketch relates to was sold at a previous Bonhams auction for £3,600!

Lot 154
Doctor Who: The original preliminary design artwork for ‘The Dalek Book’, 1964, watercolour and gouache on paper, unsigned, mounted on board, 11½ x 15 inches (29 x 38cm)

Estimate: £500 − 700
Sold for £1,500

Here are just the lots relating to the Ninth and Tenth Doctors

Lot 155
Doctor Who - The Empty Child, 2005
Richard Wilson as Doctor Constantine: A complete costume, comprising; a white cotton lab coat, with grey/ white coloured buttons to front, a brown tweed three-piece suit, labelled inside Richard Hope, Oct 2001, a pair of oxblood coloured leather brogues, a cream coloured cotton shirt, together with a tie (not visible on screen) (8)

Estimate: £400 − 500
Sold for £813

Lot 156
Doctor Who - End of the World, 2005
An Adherent of the Repeated Meme costume, comprising: a cloak, full length tunic and over hood, all of woven cotton mix fabric, the tunic inscribed inside A2, the hood labelled inside ‘Atelier Caraco-Canezou, Paris’ (3)

Estimate: £250 − 300
Sold for £750
Footnote:
The Adherents of the Repeated Meme are used by Cassandra O’Brien during the episode.

Lot 157
Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion, December 2005
A partial Sycorax costume, comprising: a full length red velvet robe, with split side-seam for arms, and hook and eye fastenings to back; a pair of gauntlets with rubberised metal effect wrist braces and gloves coated in plastic shards giving stone effect, both labelled inside Sycorax Leader Gauntlets; a pair of boots being shoes with coarse wool fabric over upper and to leg portion and fibreglass metal effect boot covers, one labelled inside KARL; together with a brown leather belt, with square cut detail and brass buckle (6)

Estimate: £350 − 450
Sold for £563

Lot 158
Doctor Who - New Earth, 2006
Sister Jatt or Novice Hame: A tunic as worn by the Sisters of Plenitude, of cream and white coloured cotton fabric, full length, with full length sleeves and turtle neck, with white coloured panel section to front, together with a white coloured rope belt

Estimate: £200 − 300
Sold for £875

Lot 159
Doctor Who - Tooth and Claw, 2006
A maid’s costume, as worn by Queen Victoria’s staff, comprising: a black cotton dress, with button front with lace effect collar and cuffs, together with a fine net and lace belted apron

Estimate: £100 − 150
Sold for £400

Lot 160
Doctor Who - Tooth and Claw, 2006
Tom Smith as The Host: A black cloak, full length with hood, of wool

Estimate: £150 − 200
Sold for £475

Lot 161
Doctor Who - Tooth and Claw, 2007
A Guardian monk’s robes, of brown wool, including robe and hood, with rope belt

Estimate: £200 − 300
Sold for £438
Footnote:
This garment featured in the recent Doctor Who, Cardiff Exhibition.

Lot 162
Doctor Who - The Girl in the Fireplace, 2007
A complete Clockwork Droid costume, comprising: a military style coat, of navy blue wool, with applied gold braid and brass buttons, with red cuffs; a dark blue coloured waistcoat with gold coloured trim and brass buttons; a pair of dark blue velvet trousers, with silver fabric applied to hem and silver buttons; together with a cotton shirt, similar to that used on screen, a white cotton scarf and a pair of shoe labelled ‘Exhibition’ (6)

Estimate: £300 − 400
Sold for £5,000
Footnote:
This Droid costume features in the Versailles ballroom scenes.

Lot 163
Doctor Who - The Runaway Bride, December 2006
Two Roboform costumes, one believed to have been David Tennant’s disguise costume worn during the episode, each outfit comprising:
a black hooded cape of wool, with Velcro® fastening and split side seam, together with a black wool jacket/coat, the costume attributed to Tennant with a pair of black loafer shoes and a black leather effect belt with large buckle, the other with belt only (2 costumes)

Estimate: £400 − 500
Sold for £438

Lot 164
Doctor Who - Smith and Jones, 2007
A Slab guard costume, comprising: a two-piece black leather biker type outfit, the leather jacket with geometric detail to top of sleeves with a pair of trousers, both labelled ‘Hein Gericke’ the jacket with label inside inscribed ‘Matt’, together with a pair of leather gauntlet/ gloves and a black cotton T-shirt (5)

Estimate: £300 − 400
Sold for £225
Footnote:
The Slab guards protect the Plasmavore, Florence Finnegan whilst she is on Earth.

Lot 165
Doctor Who - The Shakespeare Code, 2007
Christina Cole as Lilith: A nightdress and slippers, the dress of cream coloured cotton, heavily pleated to chest, with embroidered collar detail, together with a pair of satin pump type shoes (2)

Estimate: £150 − 250
Sold for £325
Footnote:
Lilith can be seen wearing this nightdress during the balcony scene.

Lot 166
Doctor Who - The Shakespeare Code, 2007
Dean Lennox Kelley as William Shakespeare: A complete costume, comprising: a brown suede doublet, with buttoned front, linear seams and v-shaped motif to back; a cream cotton shirt with lace to neck and sleeves and sash applied to waist (not visible in episode); a pair of black cotton breeches; a brown leather purse and satchel applied to belt; a pair of black leather boots, with BBC type inscription inside ‘Shakespeare’; a brown leather flat hat with feather to brim, together with a ruff, not believed to have been screen used (8)

Estimate: £400 − 500
Sold for £1,625

Lot 167
Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks, 2007
Andrew Garfield as Frank: A complete costume, comprising; a flat cap, of brown tweed, a khaki wool jacket, with pleated breast pocket, a cream shirt with blue and brown stripe, a pair of fingerless gloves, a cream coloured cotton vest bearing several labels inside, a pair of brown wool trousers with braces and a pair of brown leather boots with inscribed label inside ‘Frank’, with original BBC returns bag (11)

Estimate: £500 − 600
Sold for £400
Footnote:
Although relatively unknown when starring in this 2007 episode of Doctor Who, Andrew Garfield has more recently starred in The Social Network and Never Let Me Go. He will also be starring as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man in a new film due for release in 2012.

Lot 168
Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks, 2007
Miranda Raison as Tallulah: A complete costume, comprising:
a dark purple dress with pink satin effect petal shaped collar, together with matching belt, pink slip and a pair of brown leather ‘Dolly’ shoes (5)

Estimate: £150 − 200
Sold for £688

Lot 169
Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks, 2007
Ryan Carnes as Laszlo: Human and Pig Slave costumes, comprising; an old mauve coloured boiler suit, of cotton, with shaped metal buttons, white stitched detail over painted black, with ribbed black elasticated cuffs, label inside inscribed ‘LASZLO’, and a pair of brown lace up boots, together with a human costume, comprising; a pair of brown herring-bone tweed trousers, a pale blue and pink pinstripe shirt, a grey coloured waistcoat, a pair of braces, a pair of brogue shoes in brown and white leather, a grey herring-bone tweed flat cap and a chestnut tweed peak cap

Estimate: £300 – 400
Sold for £475

Lot 170
Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks, 2007
Two Pig Slave costumes, comprising;
one old mauve and one pink coloured boiler suits, of cotton, with shaped metal buttons, white stitched detail over painted black, with ribbed black elasticated cuffs, one with label inside inscribed ‘ADAM’ the other ‘PAUL’, and two pairs of brown lace up boots

Estimate: £250 − 300
Sold for £500
Footnote:
The reference to ‘Paul’ in the costume is believed to refer to the actor Paul Kasey. Kasey, has appeared in numerous Doctor Who and Torchwood episodes as monsters and featured as the “Hero Pig” in Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks episode.

Lot 171
Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks, 2007
Eric Loren as Mr. Diagoras: A complete costume, comprising;
a black/blue coloured full length wool coat, with velvet detail to collar, a red, black and grey scarf, two black cotton shirts, a black suit, with mauve and grey pinstripes, a pair of black and white brogue shoes, a black tie with red and white motif, and a pair of braces

Estimate: £200 − 300
Sold for £438

Lot 172
Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks, 2007
Hugh Quarshie as Solomon: A complete costume, comprising;
a brown wool three-piece suit, the trousers with braces, a blue cotton stripe shirt, a patterned brown and orange silk tie, a brown wide brim hat, a pair of fingerless gloves and a belt

Estimate: £250 − 350
Sold for £250

Lot 173
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor: A three-piece suit, shirt and tie, being the principle character costume, worn during the sequence where the Doctor is hiding under the persona of the Teacher John Smith, the brown tweed suit, with orange and black coloured thread, comprising jacket, waistcoat and trousers, bearing ‘Total Look Costumes’ label inside, together with a white cotton shirt with removable collar and a brown bow-tie with circular motif, together with a black teachers cape, with inscribed label inside ‘Smith’, a square academic hat (mortarboard), of black cotton, and a pair of black leather boots (9)

Estimate: £1,000 − 1,500
Sold for £2,125
Footnote:
The suit part of this lot features during the Dance sequence onward, and in the promotional photographs for the episode.
The cap and gown feature during the school sequences. The label inside is typical of modern BBC television labelling.

Lot 174
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor: A three-piece suit,
worn during the sequence where the Doctor is hiding under the persona of the Teacher John Smith, comprising a grey/ blue tweed suit with brown/ cream plastic buttons, together with a brown paisley type tie, all items bearing 1980s Morris Angel & Sons Ltd. labels (4)

Estimate: £500 − 600
Sold for £938

Lot 175
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor: The Doctors sleepwear - a pair of pyjamas and a dressing gown,
worn during the sequence where the Doctor is hiding under the persona of the Teacher John Smith, the pyjamas of cream coloured cotton with blue pinstripe, with wide and narrow stripe, the dressing gown of checked brown wool mix fabric, with red rope edging and details to cuffs and sleeves, together with a pair of slippers

Estimate: £400 − 600
Sold for £1,125

Lot 176
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor: A grey/brown 3/4 length overcoat, hat and scarf, featured during the outdoor scenes,
the coat of tweed with large plastic buttons, with black masking tape applied over interior label; a grey and orange wool scarf, with a black trilby type hat, of black fabric with synthetic trim, together with a pair of red cotton pyjamas featured in the scene where the Doctor is an old man

Estimate: £300 − 400
Sold for £1,125

Lot 177
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones: A complete maid’s costume, together with coat, comprising;
a black dress, of nylon and wool mix fabric having a white cotton floral motif collar and matching cuffs, hook and eye fastenings to back, a white cotton pinafore, and a white cotton apron, with shaped top and floral motif, together with a grey checked coat with round collar, a wine coloured bobble hat, a pair of plum coloured leather gloves and a brown handbag

Estimate: £300 − 400
Sold for £1,000

Lot 178
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
Harry Lloyd as Jeremy Baines/ Son Of Mine: A complete costume, comprising:
a black jacket with matching waistcoat, of wool, with a pair of black and grey pinstripe trousers, a white cotton shirt with detachable collar, a black wool tie and a pair of black leather boots, the jacket with ‘Bermans & Nathans’ label (8)

Estimate: £200 − 300
Sold for £625

Lot 179
Doctor Who - Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood, 2007
A collection of Villain costumes and The Headmaster costume, including: Lauren Wilson as Lucy Cartwright/ Daughter of Mine/ Sister of Mine, Rebekah Staton as Jenny/ Mother of Mine/ Wife of Mine, and Pip Torrens as Rocastle, the girls costume comprising; a pink coloured coat, with knitted trim, a pale pink coloured full length dress, with button fastening front and a cream coloured knitted scarf with matching hat, and a pair of brown leather boots; the mother costume comprising a black synthetic dress with white cotton trim, together with a white cotton apron and petticoat; the Headmaster (Rocastle) costume comprising a white cotton collarless shirt, a blue three-piece suit, of wool the trousers with braces, a blue and brown stripe tie, a black gown/ cape, of cotton, inscribed inside Rocastle, a mortarboard, white collar and a pair of black leather boots (quantity)

Estimate: £300 − 400
Sold for £1,063

Lot 180
Doctor Who - Utopia, 2007
Paul Marc Davies as the Futurekind Chieftain: A complete multiple layered costume, comprising;
wrist braces, a pair of shin protector, leather body armour, suede effect hood applied to heavy cotton tunic, further leather tunic, grey leather gauntlets, knitted cotton tunic, suede trousers, leather leg guards, and a pair of grey suede boots (quantity)

Estimate: £400 − 500
Sold for £600

Lot 181
Doctor Who - The Fires of Pompeii, 2008
Phil Davis as Lucius Petrus Dextrus: A complete costume, comprising; a cream coloured cloak, with Greek key motif braid edging, a robe of beige coloured fabric with fawn coloured lining and a cream coloured tunic with panel to centre of purple coloured fabric with Greek key edging, together with a pair of sandals and a CAE logo slave tag, worn by the slave character featuring in the episode (6)

Estimate: £300 − 400
Sold for £375

Lot 182
Doctor Who - The Fires of Pompeii, 2008
Francois Pandolfo as Quintus Caecilius Iucundus and Peter Capaldi as Lucius Caecilius Iucundus: Two costumes, comprising:
the Quintus outfit including a tunic, of plum coloured wool, with gold pattern motif to sleeves and hem, together with a pair of sandals, a pair of wrist braces and belt; the Caeilius outfit including a full length gold coloured tunic, with applied gold braid, a red coloured robe, with suede edging and shoulder seams and a stripe fabric hem, a gold braid waist tie belt, together with a further costume comprising cream coloured tunic and robe, a further beige coloured robe and a belt, worn by an unknown character

Estimate: £400 − 500
Sold for £688

Lot 183
Doctor Who - The Sontaran Stratagem, 2008
A Unit Trooper part costume, comprising: a body armour type utility vest, with ‘U.N.I.T.’ motif badge applied to breast pocket; a black wool jump suit, with zip to front and a pair of black military style boots

Estimate: £200 − 300
Sold for £563

Lot 184
Doctor Who - The Next Doctor, 2008
Velile Tshabalala as Rosita: A complete costume, comprising: a velvet and silk boned corset/bodice, with laced back; a cream cotton blouse; a heavily embroidered full length skirt with petticoats; a red coloured chenille shawl; and a pair of heeled laced boots

Estimate: £250 − 350
Sold for £1,375

Magnoli replica Giorgio Armani tie - review

2011-11-15T16:25:00.002Z

Over the past few years Magnoli Clothiers in New Zealand have been releasing a series of replica Tennant Ties; from the original Daniel Hechter (see far left); to the iconic Christian Lacriox (see left, middle); as well as the St George by Duffer (see near left).

All good ties, but the one which was worn the most, the Giorgio Armani, as been a long time coming.

Today the postman brought me a narrow, thin, long package . . . my Magnoli replica Girogio Armani tie!

Carefully opening the packaging, I found it wrapped in cellophane. The tie inside looked great!

The Girogio Armani tie is Tie Seven in my Tie Index, and although I don’t own an original, I have seen one close-up, and from what I recall this is a pretty good replica.

I cannot vouch for the weave and scale of the design, but it has been worked directly from an original - abet blue version - so the shapes and proportions should be spot on.

From what I gather the darker brown circles of the original have a narrow twill or pinstripe, which it has not been possible to replicate accurately.

This is a minor point, and the rest of the tie far out-weighs this shortcoming.

At $60 it is well worth the money to fill in a gap in your tie wardrobe.
The original Armani tie was worn in no less than twelve episodes (Love And Monsters, Army Of Ghosts, Doomsday, Smith And Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Fires of Pompeii, The Family Of Blood, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, Planet Of The Dead) so it’s possible now to cosplay a good quarter of the Tenth Doctor’s adventures with ONE tie!

Rock on!

Repica Giorgio Armani tie

2011-10-25T19:01:00.002+01:00

I was looking around the net this evening, and came across a new item on the Magnoli website - a replica Giorgio Armani tie!

This is Tie Seven from my Tie Index, and from the single detail image looks to be quite a good reproduction of the design.

How well it looks close-up remains to be seen, but it is due for shipping in late November, so we shall see.

Me And My Tennant Suit - Evert Joosse

2011-10-24T20:50:00.000+01:00

It’s been a while since I have run a Me And My Tennant Suit, but we’re back with a Ten from the Netherlands.

PROFILE
Name Evert Joosse
Age 36
Location Oosterbeek, the Netherlands
Favorite Doctor Peter Davison (Five)
Maker of my suit Magnoli
Colour of suit Brown with blue pinstripes

Evert got his Magnoli Tennant Suit in January 2011. “I had wanted one for a lot longer than that, but that was when everything finally came together”, he told me. He has also had very good experiences with Magnoli Clothiers in the past, so decided to go with them.

Tennant isn’t his first Doctor. “From about the age of ten I have been a massive Doctor Who fan.” he explained. “At that time I used to watch Peter Davison, who is still very much my doctor. And I have always been in to wearing suits, as I find them both stylish and comfortable.”

From that early age he always wanted to dress like the Doctor, which in his case meant cricket sweaters and a penchant for beige clothing! “Which is fine when you are a child,” he says, “but when you grow up people expect you to dress differently. Therefore it was a happy day for me when the Tenth Doctor came around, looking great and stylish, but in a way that you can get away with.”

This gave him an excuse to get a suit like David Tennant’s Doctor to wear in everyday life. “Doctor Who isn’t as big in the Netherlands as in some other countries, so I can get away with it over here!”

“As I was looking for every day wear, I asked Steven Ricks for advice on which material would be the best option.”
I did my best to advise him, telling him that if he intended investing in a suit to wear a lot, he would be best to go for wool, as the more screen-accurate cotton will not wear that well in the long term.

“The suit fits quite well”, he told me of his Magnoli suit, “Although it is a roomier, more comfortable fit than the one David Tennant wears. But that’s just fine with me.”
The generous fit seems to be something consistent with the fit of these suits, as I have seen this in a number of Magnoli suits, mine included.

But how often does he get the chance to step out in his suit? “I tend to wear it most occasions that I can get away with wearing a suit, so weather permitting, so quite a lot.”
“As I am a primary school teacher, I don’t wear it to work though. The children in my class have however did get me to dress up as Peter Davison’s Doctor for carnival once, but that was mostly for fun!”

Evert then revealed a hidden side to himself: “I have been a historical re-enactor for years wearing all sorts of historical clothing, but it was only after I had ordered my suit that I came in to contact with the Cosplay phenomenon. Before that I always just though of it as dressing up.”

Recently Evert was invited by the Dutch Doctor Who Fan Club, the DTTA, and he decided to wear the suit for that occasion. They loved it.

I asked him what he liked most about his suit, and what he thought could be improved. “Well first of all, I have the feeling that the suit looks good. And when you feel that you look good, you feel good.”
There’s the knowledge that he knows it is a Doctor Who suit, but most people in the street don’t. “I love the suit. The only thing that I could possibly improve is the price tag. If these would be cheaper I would have bought several by now, but I certainly intend to have a blue version done in the near future.”

But what does Evert think of the new kid on the block - Matt Smith? “Don’t get me wrong, I believe Matt Smith is doing an excellent job, but his style really isn’t my style. Personally I always used to dress a bit like Jarvis Cocker anyway…”

With thanks to Evert for sharing his thoughts and Tennant suits with us.

If you have a Tennant suit and would like to share it too, please get in touch by emailing me at tennantcoat@me.com.

RIP Textile King

2011-08-18T18:35:00.001+01:00

I had a genuine feeling of deja vu today.

In September 2010 I reported the closure of Soho Silks, a fabric shop I used to visit quite a lot. It was secretly there that I found the rolls of genuine Blue Tennant Suit fabric hidden away in their basement.

Well today I was in town, and discovered the closure of not one, but TWO further establishments I used to frequent – one a great loss the other a deserved closure. But more of that later.

Textile King

This was not the most pretty of shops from the outside, but it hid a treasure trove of suiting and tailoring materials which I found myself returning to again and again.

The brown fabric I used for Ian Cummin’s Frock Coat (see left), as well as another I did him in a navy blue were sourced here.

More recently I found it was the perfect place to get the buttons for my Matt Smith Shetland Tweed Jacket, and had reason to believe it could we have been the original source for these.

I was told on more than one occasion that Ray Holman, the costume designer for series five, had frequented there and bought the material for Captain Jack’s shirts when he worked on Torchwood.

The proprietor had been shown a sneaky preview of the Matt Smith costume well before it was launched and I gather at one point even Russell T Davis had been a visitor when he was Executive Producer!

So the shop does have a bit of a special place in the Doctor Who lore.

It just so happened I caught the owner, who told me their reason for closing – which had been a snap decision – was due to the hike in rents in the area, which has been forcing out a lot of the small establishments.

All the stock has been put into storage, and he plans to relaunch at new premises when something suitable can be found, or at the very least with on online presence.

I do hope this comes to something. There was an old-fashioned slant to their fabric buying and the stock they carried, much lacking in other shops.

Schwenk

One of my reasons for hitting the West End today had been to track down some buttons for a project I am working on.

As well as popping into Button Queen, Kleins and MacColloch & Wallis, I planned to drop by a company called Schwenk.

Their premises, on the 3rd or 4th floor of an office building where you have to be buzzed in, had high chests of shallow draws filled with buttons of every conceivable variety. They source buttons from all over the word, many hand-made and totally unique.

They are often used by the stage, film and television industry for costume work, and I know their buttons are on garments seen in the Harry Potter films for a start.

Now I don’t go to Schwenk very often, as I plain and simply do not like the owner.
When I was looking for horn buttons on Ian’s brown frock coat, I found myself there and was close to choosing some buttons with the shop assistant. The owner came over and asked what was going on and we explained I was buying some buttons for a coat. “No, no, no, no no”, he said. “We don’t do that sort of thing: one-off buttons. We sell in bulk to the trade. If I pay my staff to sell one button here and one button there, I won’t make any money.”
He then insisted I leave and not make my purchase. I don’t think I have ever been treated quite like that before!

Anyway, today was the first time I ventured back, with the intention (if I found the right buttons) of buying a good 100 to 200 in one go. That should make him happy.
I found the premises and could not see their name on the buzzers. Had I got the wrong location?

Two men came out the door, and started chatting about the entrance. I asked them if I had the right place and they said Schwenk had closed for good about two months prior. Oh.

I returned to Soho and was speaking to a shop owner there who shall remain nameless. I mention Schwenk and he had a very interesting tale to tell. Apparently the owner (the one I didn’t like) took a very suddenly and unexpected dislike to the whole business and decided in a matter of days to close down after 84 years of trading. The final day of trading ended with him dumping his entire stock out onto the street to be collected by the bin-men!

Somehow I wasn’t entirely surprised – he had a pretty fiery temper the couple of times I had been in there. But I was also quite sad as it brought to market a kaleidoscope of buttons made from all manner of materials: from horn to glass, from wood to metal, and as I said before, many hand crafted rather than mass manufactured.

Still, I am here to bury Schwenk, not praise it.

Ultimate Tennant Suit does SDCC 2011

2011-07-27T08:04:00.003+01:00

This past weekend was the San Diego Comic Con.

It’s one of the biggest conventions in the US, and is a major draw for the cosplay community. All manner of costumes from every show you can think of and as many you have never heard of get to be paraded around the venue.

One costume you will know if you read this blog is the Ultimate Tennant Suit, worn by Kevin Coppa.

During the weekend he had the chance to get some great portrait shots taken by Lydia Chen.

Here are the photos she took, while Kevin picks up the story to the photoshoot.

So I got to take the Ultimate Tennant suit to The San Diego Comic Con 2011. Steve had done an incredible job as always and after he and I both got to show it off in public for the first time at Gallifrey One 2010, it was time to take it to it’s sophomore geek-gathering.

I have to say the reactions I got were unlike any I’ve ever received before- and while I don’t mean to sound pretentious by any means, I am used to getting attention for the accident of looking similar to the popular Tenth Doctor... Just not like this! I’m convinced Steve’s suit and flawless coat mixed with the hair style (which finally worked perfectly for me for a change!) really made people do a lot of double takes & kept me inundated with photo requests.

I met up with a good friend of mine, Lydia Chen for a photo shoot on the new foot bridge that was built on the southern end of the convention center just this year. She chose it herself since (at least to us Yanks) it looked awfully close to some of those in major cities of the UK or if nothing else, at least it looked similar to the shiny, glassy architecture often seen on the show.

That bridge was covered with people from Comic Con but she really made it look isolated! The wind was also blowing pretty hard up there too. Usually that freaks me out since my "Who hair" and wind don't often mix well, but for once I think it actually helped a lot!

Again, I can’t say enough good things about Steve’s work and think the proof in the pictures.

You can see more of Lydia Chen’s work
with the following link:
pinkcravat on deviantART

I spy with my little eye

2011-07-14T19:07:00.001+01:00

Over the past few year, Magnoli Clothiers in New Zealand have been progressively working through the canon of Tennant Ties.

So far they has tackled Tie Two, the Daniel Hechter (see below, left); Tie Four, the Christian Lacroix (see below, centre); and Tie Ten, the St George By Duffer (see below, right)

Known to be in the pipeline are two popular ties: Tie Seven, the Giorgio Armani; and Tie Eight, the Nina Ricci.

Well, if you take a look on the Overstock Section of the website, there is a Tennant Suit jacket for sale (see below).

If you look very closely the photograph is taken with an early test version of the Tie Eight!

The petals read a bit light, but the design seems pretty good.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this tie comes out . . .

Mystery of the fourth tie - SOLVED......?

2011-06-28T18:19:00.001+01:00

I had a very exciting email form one of my clients this week relating to the Rocha John Rocha tie, one of which had been sold at the Feb 2010 Bonhams Doctor Who auction.

The sale of the tie, along with three others, had been the part inspiration for my Tie Index, and when I was compiling it I fully expected all the ties to surface at some point. I was suprised the to have one left over - the Rocha John Rocha tie.

Having established it's non-show on screen, I did keep an eye open in case a supporting actor had worn it and it had been wrongly attributed for the auction. Still no luck there.

It was looking like the Mystery of the Fourth Tie would never be solved . . .

Anyway, so now the new lead.

My client was in Great Ormond St Hospital last week visiting his nephew (he was in and out overnight and is doing so well, you’d never even know he’d had an op!).

Anyway, on the wall at the end of the corridor on Tiger ward, in amongst the pics of the various celebrities who’ve visited the children, he saw a photo of when David Tennant visited in full costume.

After doing the nerdy thing of standing exactly where he stood, he took a couple of pictures of it on his phone.

It was only when he uploaded it he got a bit excited because seeing it on a full size screen it looked like he had tracked down the mystery fourth tie!

Using a Doctorish (but non-screen used) tie for public appearances would make a certain sense due to the potential value of screen used items.

Unfortunately there aren't many pictures of David Tennant making public appearances in costume, so there's not a great deal of other evidence to substantiate this theory.

But just to confirm either way I went the the hospital today to see the photo for myself, and took my Fourth Tie with me to compare.

I found Tiger ward, and after explaining my request to the puzzled reception staff I was taken through to the corridor concerned and the pin-board of photos.
Sure enough, down the bottom right is the photo of David Tennant on his ward visit.

Staring intensely at it I could see it WAS the Rocha John Rocha tie! I took a couple more photos, but it is quite a small picture, and it's quite hard to get a decent representation of it in a photo. Still, I CAN confirm it IS the tie and we can finally confirm it was at some point worn by David Tennant as The Doctor - just not in a broadcast episode!

Another TWO alternative ties on eBay

2011-05-15T21:35:00.004+01:00

If you missed out on the recent eBay auctions of two St George ties, an Armani and a Thomas Nash – then it’s worth noting that keeping an eye on the new listings can turn up some pretty good near-best alternatives.

Personally I found a Paul Smith (see left) tie that was a dead ringer for Tie Eleven in my Tie Index (see right).

Well, one of my readers had some similar success with another from Ten’s wardrobe.
He spotted this tie on eBay.

Aquascutum

Luckily the seller had a couple on offer, so I was able to bag one for myself.

It’s not perfect, but it is a pretty good stand-in for the tie worn in The Doctor’s Daughter, Tie Twelve in my Tie Index.

Okay! So the tie is only worn in that one episode and for most of it the lighting is so dark you can hardly see it – but it is a nice tie to go with either suit (though it belongs with a blue Tennant Suit rather than the brown as I have shown).

Daniel Hechter

Another tie I found on eBay recently is a dead ringer for Tie Eight, one of the most sought after ties the Tenth Doctor ever wore.

Ironically it is by Daniel Hechter, the maker of Tie Two in my Tie Index.

The pattern is quite regular, but once tied into a traditional knot with the light catching it, it doesn’t look too bad.

Thomas Nash tie -target acquired!

2011-05-05T07:35:00.001+01:00

Confession time.

When I wrote about the latest couple of ties to appear on eBay, I knew who had bought one of them – me!

I decided that although the Thomas Nash tie,was only seen in one episode (The Idiot’s Lantern, see left), it is a distinctive design I wanted to add to my collection.

I only stumbled across the listing while looking around for other things, and how anyone else found it with the title dr who prop tie, I don’t know!
But find it they did and it had risen to over £200 not long after it started.

I held back, and didn’t bid until the dying seconds of the last minute of the auction, and put in a killer bid. Luckily for me it only pushed the price up £5 from where it was, and the tie was mine!

My PayPal account was notably lighter though!

Replica Daniel Hechter Tie -Magnoli Third Incarnation!

2011-05-01T17:44:00.001+01:00

Last month saw the release by Magnoli Clothiers of a third, and much improved version of their Time Lord (now Hechter) Tie (see below).

Here is my review of it,
plus the previous incarnations leading up to it.

Since David Tennant took control of the TARDIS console back in late 2005, his fashion sense inspired a generation of cosplay enthusiasts to dress like him.

In the early days there was the Honest Dragon Suit and Coat, which could be easily accessorised with a suitable pale blue shirt and the right coloured Converse All Stars.

The one slightly more elusive item was the correct tie.

One tie received a lot of exposure, having been worn in David Tennant’s first photocall in July 2005 (see right).
It was not worn in his debut story, but was seen in the Christmas Red Button story, Attack Of The Graske; before appearing in the Season Two opener, New Earth. It was subsequently worn twice more in Series Two.

We later found out was a Daniel Hechter tie (Tie Two in my Tie Index) but this was not known at the time.

In late 2006 Magnoli Clothiers stepped into the breach with the TimeLord Tie – a printed silk tie based on what could be fleetingly seen of the tie in episodes and stills.

At the time it was the only option available, so was better than nothing. It did leave a lot to be desired though.

The colours was almost cartoon-like, with a red-chesnut background and electric blue detailing.

By late 2009 things had moved forward, and a new, revised version became available.

This time around it was woven rather than printed, and the colours were vastly improved.
This gave it a much more realistic sheen and look, but sadly the design itself had not been updated and the shapes were badly off.

That said, seen in isolation it looked very good, and registered much better against a good Tennant Suit.

The Bonhams Doctor Who Auction in February 2010 afforded me the ideal opportunity to put these two ties to the test, as an original screen-used version of the tie was up for sale.

I took both along to the viewing and was able to compare them. Even the new woven version was no match to the real deal.

Now to be fair, I have often seen original costumes and only when you get up close do you find that it is either darker in colour than you thought; smaller or bigger than you imagined; not made from the fabric type you had in your mind; or just simply not hat you expected at all.

Anyway, the pictures I took were forwarded to Magnoli and from them it was possible to raise the bar even higher and this last month saw the release of the latest incarnation of the Time Lord (now Hechter) Tie.

We have waited three years for a decent replica of this tie, and now we have it!

The colours are now even better than the last woven version, and the pattern has been accurately followed this time.

It is undoubtedly a welcome addition to any Doctor’s wardrobe.

Congratulations to Magnoli for finally getting it right!

Idiot's Lantern tie on eBay!

2011-04-29T18:13:00.002+01:00

Only last week, a friend of mine secured a pair of GAP Trousers from the French version of eBay.

Prior to that we saw the sale of a Giorgio Armani and a St George by Duffer tie on eBay.
The Armani tie achieved US$144.50 and the St George GB£112.

St George by Duffer - Tie Ten in Tie Index

Well, if you missed that chance, maybe you were more lucky when another St George tie popped up last week.

From the same seller as before, it had a similar £3.50 opening price, but only scraped £92 when it closed on 21st April following a frantic three-day auction.

Most of the bidding was on the last day, when it saw the sale price nearly quadruple!

Thomas Nash - Tie Five in Tie Index

Then this week saw a rare chance to grab a Thomas Nash tie.

The tie had been identified following the sale of an original at the Bonhams Doctor Who Sale in February last year.

Although Tie Five in my Tie Index it only appeared in one episode, The Idiot’s Lantern, I think it is quite a popular one to find.

As far as I know it has been a long time since one of these ties (if ever) has been available for sale on eBay, so this was an opportunity not to be missed, as four bidders can attest to as they slogged it out over the seven says of the auction.

How anyone could find it is a mystery, as it had the shortest listing title imaginable for such a desirable item. It was simply called dr who prop tie.

Anyway, after reaching £250 in only three days, it stuck there until the last minute when it was sniped for £255!

I wonder who got it . . . . ?

GAP trousers –see, it does still happen

2011-04-22T18:49:00.001+01:00

The Ultimate Tennant Suit I made recently resulted in a fair bit of interest regarding the original GAP trousers.

I have had a number of emails from people who greatly appreciated knowing where the fabric was sourced from, stating that all they needed to do now was find the requisite number of pairs to make themselves a similar suit.
Annoyingly however, they were only a single-season garment from way back in 2005, so there is zero chance of walking into a branch now and finding a pair – even on their reduced to clear rail.

The only realistic option is eBay – which is how my client, Kevin Coppa, came by so many pairs himself. It was a lot of patience, and many hours trawling listing that eventually paid off.

And just to show it was NOT just a one-off, another client of mine, Jonathan Le Targat from Paris, has recently found another pair, this time on the French eBay site (see below).

The listing was also accompanied by a number of detail photographs of the trousers, including the label, which shows the trousers 36 waist and 32 inside leg (see below).

Being a large sized pair they are perfect for making the front panels of the jacket and set Jonathan on his way to assembling pieces of his suit jigsaw – only five pairs to go!!!!

Finally, here are some pictures Jonathan took on receiving his trousers.

Tie: Utopia!

2011-03-18T22:03:00.002Z

Just to prove that it does happen, there has recently been a couple of ties on eBay which are identical to the ones worn by the Tenth Doctor!

Giorgio Armani - Tie Seven in Tie Index

Last month a Giorgio Armani Tie (Tie Seven, in my Tie Index) came up (see above). Based in San Francisco in the US, it had a $4.99 starting price, and ultimately sold for $144.50.

The description was as follows:

You are bidding on a beautiful Giorgio Armani (white label) necktie. Although pre-owned I am very confident in saying that it is in near mint condition without even the most minimal of fraying at the tips. It has been worn 2-3 times maximum and treated with the utmost care in a smoke-free home.

The base color is rich chocolate brown with blue undertones; pattern is brown circles with blue squares inside. 100% silk of course.

As I need to make room for new purchases, my wardrobe clearance is your chance to win this and other items at a fraction of their original cost. New Giorgio Armani ties now retail $145 on average, however I will start the bidding on this item at a low $4.99.

The tie looks quite blue, but I think this is down to the lighting and setting on the camera used.

The seller kindly posted some great pictures of the tie, including the label on the reverse (see right, top) and a tight detail shot showing the interesting weave (see right, bottom).

St George by Duffer - Tie Ten in Tie Index

Then, this past week, a St George by Duffer tie (Tie Ten in my Tie Index) also popped up on eBay.

Initially it was listed as a 7-day auction, with a £3.50 starting price. The Title was QUALITY Brown Tie with Floral motif ST. GEORGE by DUFFER. No mention was made of the Doctor Who connection (see above).

However, within a few hours of its listing I gather the seller had a number of approaches and revised the listing to a 3-day auction with a new title: DR WHO- Brown Tie with Floral motif ST.GEORGE by DUFFER. A photo from The Sound Of Drums was also added (see below).

Well, the auction closed this evening and it sold for a princely £112!
If you’re the one who got it – well done, it’s a nice tie.

Ultimate Tennant Suit -ultimate photo-shoot!

2011-02-19T20:24:00.002Z

My deadline for the Ultimate Tennant Suit was to make sure it was ready for Kevin Coppa to wear at this year’s Gallifrey Convention.
With just a few days to spare I got it done, and he was able to proudly show it off for all to see.

The convention has several trails you can follow, depending on your personal interests. As part of the cosplay events over the weekend, Scott Sebring brings his professional camera equipment along and offers a free portrait service for anyone in costume!

Kevin had his chance to get get some great pictures of him wearing his Tennant Suit, as well as a Tennant Coat I had made him.

First they did some portrait shots of just the suit (see below).

All photos by Scott Sebring

Then they did some more action-type shots – Kevin showing off his Tennant poses! (see below)

All photos by Scott Sebring

Finally, they did a batch adding the coat, with a mix of portraits and action, the latter ones getting quite wild! (see below)

All photos by Scott Sebring

Out of all the shots taken, the follow three stand out.

Photo by Scott Sebring

This final shot is a clever mix of the lower half of one shot (better for the coat) and the upper half of another (used as Kevin’s hand had obscured his face).
Isn’t Photoshop a wonderful thing!?

Photo by Scott Sebring

Ultimate Tennant Suit -trajectory: Gallifrey 2011

2011-02-16T21:30:00.000Z

Time for a little confession.

The Ultimate Tennant Suit I have made over the past couple of months wasn’t actually for me – it was a commission from a US-based client, Kevin Coppa.

He is quite an active cosplayer and regularly attends the North America conventions dressed as Ten (though until now in a Magnoli suit and Honest Dragon coat).

He recently was featured in the SFX Magazine Special, showing off his pet wasp! (see above).

The suit has now been delivered in time for him to attend the Gallifrey Convention in Los Angeles this coming weekend (18th to 20th February 2011) where if you are going you can catch up with him and see the suit for yourself.

Kevin will be part of the TARDIS Wardrobe: Costuming as the Doctor panel at 5.30pm on the Friday, along with fellow cospalyers Bob Mitsch, Lizz Dial, Van Donovan and Scott Sebring.

I’ll be getting a report on how this went after the weekend, and will post details of it here soon after.

In the meantime, some rough-and-ready pictures of Kevin in his new suit are shown here, giving a decent enough result to create the composite at the start of this entry!

Like the rest of you – I’m jealous too!

Ultimate Tennant Suit goes global

2011-02-15T23:23:00.003Z

The photos of the finished Tenannt Suit have caused a bit of a buzz.

To bring the pictures to a wider audience, I posted them on a couple of forums, one of which within a couple of hours had received over 20 responses!

This also drove a fair bit of traffic back to my blog, which was hoped, but unexpected.

I was able to look at the internet traffic to my blog and was astonished by the spike of hits I was getting.

Below you can see the traffic for the week, ending with the increased level only hours after I posted the pictures.

I then became aware that a lot of traffic was coming through a posting on David Tennant Treat 4 Today! (see left).

It was exciting to think I was getting some recognition for what I had made.

Looking deeper into the referral URLs also turned up that I had been spotted by a Russian Doctor Who site! Yes – RUSSIAN! (see below)

Now my Russian is not very good – okay, so it’s non-exisitant. But I put the headline and intro text through a few translation sites, a lot of which chucked back

In general, блог the guy, which сшил a suit of 10-th Doctor, that, brown in a strip).

Not very helpful.

But one gave me the following, which seems a little better (see below).

Thanks goes to everyone who’s looked in to see the story behind the Ultimate Tennant Suit – I hope you found it interesting.

Ultimate Tennant Suit - FINISHED!

2011-02-12T16:42:00.001Z

Yippeeeee!!

After several weeks sewing – a year gathering trousers – a couple of years knowing the fabric originated from GAP – the day has finally dawned when The Ultimate Tennant Suit is FINISHED!!!!

I can’t hide that I am pretty cuffed about how well it has come out. I have spent a lot of time researching and studying the suit, as well as testing how to make it, all of which appears to have paid off.

Here are some detail pictures of the completed jacket.

Ultimate Tennant Suit - setting sleeves, lapels and collar

2011-02-10T19:48:00.001Z

The jacket of The Ultimate Tennant Suit is coming together well, and next I need to set the sleeves.

Assembling the sleeve is pretty straight forward - just stitch up the two seams! It’s what you do with it next that makes or breaks how well a sleeve looks on.

Once the sleeve is assembled, I stitch two parallel lines around the sleeve-head. I use a very strong thread, with my machine set to a very slack tension. This allows me to pull the threads through to gather the head of the sleeve and shape it, creating a roll to it. Great care has to be taken to not gather too much and make puckers; or to not do it enough and nothing happen.

Next I fix the gathering and stabilise the sleeve opening by stitching a line of pre-shrunk cotton tape (see above). This sets the gathering so it can’t slip before sewing; and stops the underarm area sagging through repeated wear.

Next I need to turn attention to the lapels and the inside pockets.

I have patterned a special panel for the lapel facing and the lining, which when joined together equal the shape of the fronts (see above).
Into this I set the necessary welted pockets.

I am doing three in total: one narrow one very high up to take a sonic; below this a wider standard pocket; and on the other side ranged in the middle a further wide standard pocket.

I need to set the sonic pocket very high as it needs to be accessed without undoing the top button (see left). A point easily overlooked.

In the meantime I have also assembled the lining for the sleeves; as well as the back, which are also joined to the side panels.

The collar is made from black melton for the lower-collar and the fabric I cut from offcuts from Cutting The Sleeves. These are sewn together along the collar edge (see above, left); and the front edges overlocked to stop them fraying (see above, right). The reason for doing this will become apparent later.

The part-assembled collar is set with the lapels and the lining across the back of the neck is sewn. When I cut the lining for the back I added a good inch to the top of the seam. This becomes a pleat at the nape of the neck, giving a capacity to the lining. Nothing is worse than having a lining in a garment that is tighter than the outside body. It can distort the shape and be uncomfortable to wear.

Other patterns necessitate attaching sections of lining inside and then closing these up to complete the work.

For this jacket I have kept things simple by assembling the entire lining the installing it in one go.

The lining is installed by first sewing the lapel edge from the notch point, around the lapel corner, and down the front of the jacket to about two-thirds the way down. This has to be done very carefully since a pinstripe must run precisely along the visible edge.

I now need to check that I have cut the pattern for the collar correctly and that the work I have done building the under-collar is doing it’s thing.

I do this by pinning the under-collar in place around the neck of the jacket and putting it on my mannequin to see how it sits (see right). Luckily all looks good and very little adjustment is needed. The collar and lapel points look a bit distorted, but this is solely down to the pins that ripple the fabric where they are inserted. Trust me, it’s fine!

The only thing I want to revise a bit is the edge of the collar, which I think is a little long. It just needs 10mm taking off at the collar tips, blended into the back of the neck. Still - better the need to remove a little material rather than be short and have to recut from scratch.
I do not finish the collar at this point as it leaves me an access portal to finish the jacket.

Next the lining is attached to the vent at the bottom of the back.

This is where I have kept things particularly simple, enabling me to install the lining with ease. Suits often have a sideways jump of the seam at the top of a vent to allow for the misalignment it has with the back seam. This can be difficult to accomplish well. I did it in my burgundy test suit, but I felt it over complicated things, so this time I have allowed for a bit of extra lining so the seam can still be misaligned, but without pulling excessively. I can then simply sew the lining from the top of the split to the edges of the vent (see left).

Next is sorting the cuffs. This is very simple on this jacket, as it has no vent.
The sleeve is folded and pressed to length, and the lining cut to match the sleeve, less around an inch.
Pulling the sleeve and lining inside out through the open collar, the cuff is stitched, making sure the corresponding seams are lined up between the two. It is so easy to confuse the two and end up with the lining spiralling inside the sleeve.believe me - I’ve done it before!

Lastly I need to hem the jacket, including the curved front corners.
To start I press the hem to length horizontally around the entire jacket, defining the line.
Because I was so twitchy about cutting the jacket wrong - after all, recutting would encroach into an additional pair of precious GAP trousers - I left shaping the curve of the fronts until the last possible minute. Although I included it in the pattern, cutting the fabric to the 'right shape' straight off would not leave me any useful offside to work with, so I reasoned it may as well be cut square and shaped in-situ in case of errors.

With that in mind I had actually done the same with the calico test. On that occasion I used a side plate as a template to get the curve right (see right). That was successful, so I repeat the same procedure here, chalking a line between the front vertical edge around to the pressed level of the hem, which is around 2 inches short of the seam allowance I have given it.

Again pulling the work up through the open collar-line, I pinned the lining in place to make sure nothing slipped, before stitching from where I left off from sewing the lapels; down around the curved chalk-line I just marked; and then gently changing track to the lower edge of the seam allowance of the hem, creating a capacity and give to the lining inside the jacket; ending back at the hem level to meet the bottom corner of the vent tails at the back. Phew!

Once I have done that on both sides it essentially completes all the machine stitching (bar the buttonholes) on the jacket.

I can now close off the the lining by carefully pinning the under-collar to it’s final position before whip-stitching the edge in place. The front edge of the collar is wrapped under the Melton and sewn in place. I had overlocked the edge to keep things neat (see left).

Finally I sew the buttonholes. The top one is level with the centre of the breast pocket; the bottom one with the top line of the outer pocket flap; the two remaining buttons are equally spaced between in the gap (see right).

Finishing touches are then all that's required - some time consuming hand-stitch work to sharpen the edge of the jacket; to keep the hem from falling; the same with the cuffs; and finally to sew the buttons on.

Check back real soon. Once I’ve done all this you'll see the Ultimate Tennant Suit finally finished!!

Ultimate Tennant Suit - cutting phase two

2011-02-06T09:16:00.000Z

The Phase One of the cutting gave me the fabric to circumvent the body of the jacket, as well as all I needed for the external pockets (see right).

Everything went well, so it’s time to return to the cutting bench and prepare some more pieces for assembly.

Pair 2 -
Size 34 x 34

I am cutting the sleeves for the suit now, and its a pretty forgone conclusion that the lower sleeves will be cut from the fronts of the trousers due to their width at the shoulder (see left, top); and the upper sleeves are cut from the backs (see left, below).

I need to angle the sleeves such that the top parts are on grain, and the forearms are a little bit across the grain. when I get to the assembly of the sleeves I’ll show why I have done this.

I have positioned the upper sleeves as low as possible, leaving me a decent piece of off-cut.

When I first cut fabric from the GAP trousers, I had quickly realised that I would not get fabric wide enough to cut the collar in a single piece. I concluded that the screen used suit must have a join at the back of the neck, so I will use this piece of left over to cut my collar.
I cut this just before I needed to set it, to make sure I cut it to fit correctly.

Pair 1 -
Size 34 x 30

I’ve returned to the pair that gave me the back of the jacket to cut the lapel facings.

While I’m on the cutting bench and have the pattern pieces to hand, I also cut what I need for the lining.

Most a straight repeats of the body of the jacket, but with a little adjustment to allow for movement and capacity inside the jacket.

The backs are cut with the vent allowance (see above); and a special panel is shaped and cut to cover the front panel, minus the lapel facing.

This is pretty much everything I need now to complete the Ultimate Tennant Suit!

Ultimate Tennant Suit - making body

2011-01-30T14:43:00.001Z

Now I have cut the first panels of the jacket I can get onto some real exciting stuff – making it up into the Ultimate Tennant Suit!

First I had to correct a minor problem with the back of the suit, which involved re-cutting a new panel for the area above the belt. I was trying to get round it, but had to bite the bullet.
Here is where I cut it from:

Pair 3 -
36 x 34

I used the fronts from the pair that had provided the front panels of the suit.
The reason I recut was to correct the grain direction of the fabric, which should run slightly diagonally from the waist to the shoulder, not the centre back.
You live and learn.

Anyway, that out of the way I can at last start sewing some real GAP fabric!
I start with the front panels, and stitch the chest darts, which run vertically from the upper chest down to just above the pockets (see right - the first line of stitching!).

Once this is pressed out, and the fronts are interfaced as per the Hand Tailoring I outlined recently, I can think about making and setting the breast pocket.

It is sewn on the surface of the jacket with a separate flap above. The pocket has a box pleat on the front.
This has to be constructed very carefully, as it must span precisely three pinstripes.
The trick is to stitch up the centre behind the pleat at just the right place so a pinstripe lines both front edges of the folds (see left, top).

I then press the edges under, again lining along the pinstripes, with a one inch roll-fold at the top.
This is then pinned in place, aligning it with the pinstripes on the body of the jacket (see left, middle).
There is a level of compromise here as the chest dart expires under the pocket. This means it is possible to square the pocket to the pinstripes on one side only (take a sneak at the finished pocket and look at the right-hand edge to see what I mean).

Finally the pocket is top-stitched in place, with a sort of stretched triangle of strengthening at the top corners (see left, bottom).

I then need to do the breast pocket flap. This is quite simple really.

First I sew the flap together from two pieces of fabric, leaving it open at the top (see right, top).
This is then clipped at the corner points and the seams graded before turning and pressing it flat.

To stop the attaching edge bulking, I overlock the open end (rather than double-fold it) and then stitch it in place above the pocket (see right, bottom).

Once flapped into position I then firmly press the edge and it happily sits in the right place.

Here is the finished, pressed and crisp result (see left).

The white stitching around the pocket is tack stitches I have put to keep the body of the jacket and the horsehair interfacing together while I work – these will obviously be removed before I finish!

Next up is sewing the two outer pockets.

After I have joined the fronts with the side panels (the pockets need to span the join) I then prepare the pocket welts/flaps.

I do love the design of these pockets. To start with their construction had me foxed, as they have a curious faux flap behind which you gain access to the pocket itself – very unusual. But once I work it out I found that it is almost more fiendishly simpler to sew than a conventional suit pocket.

There is a little trick I like to do to make the flaps fold and hang nicely so they do not curl at the corners.
Firstly I press the top-side of the flap with the fold (see above, left); I then pin the under-side of the flap on top, with pins pointing towards the four corners (see above, middle); once sewn, clipped turned and pressed (see above, right) the under-side runs a little shorter, keeping the fold and the corners keep their position.

I then chalk-line the level of the pocket opening (which is around one inch below the top level of the flap) and sew the flap in place (see right, top).
It’s slightly complicated to explain, but it is sewn as if the flap has flopped down the side of the jacket!

I then sew a pocket facing above this. I have stiffened this with interfacing to give the pocket some structure, and you can see this face up as I sew it in place (see right, middle).

Once the pocket opening is slit and the welts/flap are turned, I can then attach a pocket bag inside (see right, bottom).

The flaps are then sewn up into their final position with a rectangle of top-stitching on either side. This also catches the raw edge of the pocket opening, neatening and strengthening in one go.

Here is one of the finished outer pockets (see below).

Next is assembling the back.

First I unite the newly cut upper back panels with the tails I retained from the old version. Notice how the grain runs vertical on the tails, but diverges up the back (see left).

I then need to make the back belt strap.

This is cut so when pressed with a seam allowance, precisely four pinstripes are visible (see below, left); I then pin this in place across the back, centred over the horizontal seam (see below, centre); finally this is top-stitched in place, sewing just inside of the pinstripes so as to not obscure them (see below, right).

Once this is all done, it completes the work on the individual pieces that make up the body and they are all ready for uniting!

You can see the front panels here (see left) with the tack-stitching spiralled around the outer edges, keeping the interfacing in place underneath.

The back panel also has a section of interfacing covering the shoulder area (see below, right), helping to smooth the upper back when worn.

I cut this on the cross to give it some stretch across the shoulders, and as I explained in my Hand Stitching posting, it extends to just under the arms, giving further support to the seam between the body and the sleeves.

Here is the assembled body of the jacket, put up on my mannequin for the first time.

It’s looking pretty good and I am very happy with how things have gone.

The practice I have gained from making numerous tests has paid off.

You can see the pad-stitching I have done on the under-side of the lapels, which help keep them folding at just the right point.

Next up I need to cut and set the sleeves before moving on to the lining.

Check back real soon to see how things go.

The negative Doctor

2011-01-27T19:43:00.003Z

For those that don’t know, the Radio Times holds an annual party at rthe beginning of the year to celebrate those celebrities who have adorned their covers the previous year.

There is a certain cache for appearing on the cover, and as a prize each subject receives a presentation famed print of “their” cover to treasure!

This years event was hosted by ex-Doctor David Tennant and he had the pleasure of presenting the covers to Karen Gillan (see above), as well as a whole host of other notables including Aiden Grimshaw, Keeley Hawes and the Downton Abbey cast.

The evening is rounded off with a party – not quite in the league of the Vanity Fair Oscars bash – but we like to think it’s up there with the best of the rest!

David was, as ever, impeccably dressed in a curiously reminiscent two-piece suit looking not dissimilar to his classic brown or blue pinstripe he wore as The Doctor! (see right).

He was like a negative Doctor!

A number of pictures from the event appear on the Radio Times Website, as well as in the current week’s (29 jan - 4 Feb) issue.
Here are the ones feature David.

Radio Times editor Ben Preston and David Tennant, carrying his first post-Doctor Who cover

Above: Radio Times editor Ben Preston, Karen Gillan and host for the night David Tennant

Above: David Tennant with Coronation Street’s Helen Worth, ex Who producer Phil Collinson, Barbara Knox and Ben Preston

Right: David Tennant larking around with Helen Worth as Barbara Knox, Ben Preston and Phil Collinson look on

Left: a reunion of Doctor (David Tenannt) and producer (Phil Collinson)

Right: Silence In the Library’s Steve Pemberton catches up with David Tenannt as Siobhan Finneran looks on

Above: Steven Moffat and David Tennant

Left and below : Ben Preston, Rob Brydon and David Tennant

Left: Ben Preston, Montserrat Lombard and David Tennant

Right: Ben Preston, Sharon Small and David Tennant

Left: David Tennant and Terry Wogan

Right: Ben Preston, Goldie and David Tennant

Left: Ben Preston, Alex Jones and David Tennant

Right: Ben Preston, Ben Miller and David Tennant

Left: Ben Preston, Lambing Live's Kate and Jim Bevan and David Tennant

Right: Ben Preston, Aiden Grimshaw and David Tennant

Left: David Tennant and Ian Hislop

Right: David Tennant with Downton Abbey cast Michelle Dockery, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Ben Preston and Hugh Bonneville

Left: Ben Preston, Nick Park and David Tennant

Right: the Upstairs Downstairs cast Ben Preston, Ed Stoppard, Keeley Hawes, Jean Marsh (of Battlefield fame) with David Tennant

All images (© Radio Times)

Ultimate Tennant Suit - cutting phase one

2011-01-25T11:53:00.000Z

This past weekend marked the start of cutting the GAP fabric for the Ultimate Tenannt Suit I am making.

I have been planning this for a while, and at long last the day has finally come :)

So far I have harvested fabric from three of the pairs trousers:
Pair 1 (Size 34 x 30);
Pair 3 (Size 36 x 34); and
Pair 6 (Size 33 x 32).

This will be enough to get the body of the jacket made, including all the pieces for the pockets and more than enough to get me started.

It’s gonna be funny looking at the finished jacket and know that that was a back of a leg and that was a front!

I think it will change my view-point on the suit next time I see an episode – which will be interesting!

It’s fascinating to see the reality of how they are cut, so here is a breakdown of how the pairs were dissected and what parts of the jacket they each provided.

Pair 1 -
Size 34 x 30

I choose the waist 34s pair to cut the back panels as they just fit, leaving minimal waste.
What is left over still doesn’t entirely go to waste, as I then used it to cut the breast pocket flap and the back strap.

Pair 3 -
Size 36 x 34

The front panels of these trousers are the widest pieces of fabric I have, which is just as well since they need to cover from the lapel edge to the apex of the shoulder.

The small area of waste at the top gives me enough to make the facings of the outer pockets (the piece you see at the back of the pocket when you look inside it).

Pair 6 -
Size 33 x 32

finally I need to cut the side panels, so to preserve as much of the fabric as possible, I have dropped to the narrowest waist I have.

From these I have used the fronts of the trousers are the narrower of the harvested panels available.
I can still happily get the panel I want out of here, leaving a decent chunk of waste from where I cut the breast pocket and most of the pieces I need for the outer pocket flaps.

This completes the cutting I need for the body of the jacket, meaning work can start in earnest . . .

iPad stitching

2011-01-24T12:52:00.000Z

Now I have finished the calico test for the suit I am making, I thought I’d take a brief break and show you some of the new techniques I have used in making it.

I have been slowly drifting away from “home-sewing” and steering towards more professional, traditional techniques. The test I have made (see right) contains absolutely no fusible interfacing. Instead it uses a variety of non-fusible stiffening materials, much more appropriate for a suit of this nature.

To learn the use of these I made a half-scale sampler of a tailored jacket during the autumn term at college, using a very helpful text book for guidance (see left). Doing the jacket in half-scale speeds up the process and makes it a handy reference piece. Only one side is made – since it is a mirror of the other – and by not closing it off completely, it will allow for inspection so it can be an on-going reminder of how it was made.
A sampler like this can become as involved as you like, with outer and breast pockets, linings and inside pockets – but I’m concentrating on the collar and lapel construction so will limit myself to this – I won’t even be setting a sleeve.

While working on numerous projects, you inevitably accumulate left over fabrics or buy materials with good intentions that never get used. This happened with some moleskin I bought years back (pre-dating my blogs), planning to make my then MkII Tennant Coat with it. Before work could start, I found the Malabar, which I still use today. The moleskin went to stock, but I did then try to use it to make an Inverness Cape, but that proved to be a very unsatisfactory exercise.

More recently, while sourcing potential fabrics for my Six Coat, I bought some green baize from a John Lewis remnants box (see right). Sadly it wasn’t a match, but luckily it was only a metre at most, and I only paid half-price for it, so I put it done to experience.
Again this went into stock, and today it bounces back out, this time to make my jacket sampler.

Here are my notes from making the sampler late last year

My tutor has given me a basic jacket pattern to use, which I cut it from my fabric.

Next thing I need to do is cut my own pattern for the interfacings, based on this supplied pattern and covering the areas that need support.

This covers the shoulder area of the back, sweeping down under the armhole to give support to where the sleeve joins; and on the front, covers the upper chest, the front edge of the jacket, and again under the armhole.

The intention here is to use zero fusible interfacings which are principally hand-stitched in place, and made from traditional non-fusible, woven cotton and horsehair (see left).

It is fairly stiff (to give the support I need), but flexible with a springy quality (which bounces back during wear) ideal for this use. Being woven it has a grain, which I need to cut to match the grain of the body.

In both sets of pictures are: left, jacket pattern with interface pattern laid on top; centre, the cut body of the jacket with woven cotton/hair interfacing in place; right, turned right-side, the interfacing is tacked in place.

The interfacing is lightly tacked in place to the front, and stay-stitched around the edges on the back.

I then need to start building the structure that will support the jacket, and give the lapel the desired roll.

This is achieved by pad-stitching a line of linen tape just below the roll line (see left).

Pad-stitches are small horizontal tacking stitches that are sewn through to the front of the jacket, barely breaking the surface. They are spaced around 15-20mm apart in columns, creating a herringbone effect of threads across the pad-stitched area. These firmly bond the two layers together, but being hand-stitched, give you greater control over the lay of the fabric that fusible interfacings tend to bludgeon.

I am doing all the pad-stitching in white cotton so it shows up clearly, but in reality it would be done in a matching thread, making it near invisible. It is time consuming work, but once you get going isn’t too bad – again another reason why the sampler is half-scale! The finished result, if done right, is much better and is more stable during the life of the garment.

The edge of the tape is then also sewn to the interfacing so it does not catch and lift.

With the lapel folded into its finished position, I then pad-stitch the lapel area, running parallel to the roll-line.

This is done in a matching thread to the body of the jacket, so if any stitches break the surface, they do not show (see left).

If you look closely you can see the green stitches in the herringbone pattern on the reverse of the lapel.

I then edge the vertical edge of the front with more linen tape, attaching it to the interfacing with a running stitch on the outside edge and a cross-stitch on the inside. The tape ends where it meets the roll line tape (see left).

I now need to turn my attention to the collar, which is the most interesting part of sewing the jacket.

I am using a special collar or French canvas.
It is very stiff and when folded to shape keeps its position – almost like lightweight card. It is woven, with the threads in both directions of equal thickness, so when used on the bias there is no difference in how it pulls and stretches.
So, I cut the under collar and the canvas on the bias.

First I find the roll-line of the collar and sew a small running tack stitch along, joining the two parts together as I go.
This is then folded sharply on the roll-line and a small whip-stitch is sewn along the edge of the collar through the fold.

Whip Stitches are small repetitive stitches passing diagonally over the edge of the fabric in a spiral.

I then pad-stitch to the neck line one way, and to the collar edge the other. The collar canvas is cut to the net size of the collar, and the under-collar to a little large than this, except on the long edge of the collar, where it will be sewn to the upper-collar (see left).

In the meantime I have assembled the body of the jacket at the side seam and shoulder, ready to receive the collar.

The collar is hand-stitched to the neck line and the lapel facings to the lapels around as far as the notch point (see left).

The top collar is machined to the under collar and the seam pressed so it rolls to the underside, out of view.

Next the lapel facing (which is the visible face of the lapel before becoming the inside of the jacket below the roll line) is sewn to the body of the jacket up the front edge, around the lapel to the notch point (see left).

The front edge of the top collar is wrapped around the firm collar canvas, making a sharp, clean line with no visible seam along the leading edge of the collar (see left).
This, with the way the upper and lower collar were seamed together (see left, you can just see the seam is on the underside of the collar) makes the collar look lighter and less bulky.

Then, with the seam allowance folded into position, the join between the collar and lapel facing is slip-stitched together (see left).

Slip-stitching attaches two parallel edges of fabric together hidden in the gap between them. Small stitches are sewn on alternate sides, butting the two edges together.

Hand-stitching this seam means it is not being pulled at stretched into position, so lays nicely in place.

A last little bit of finishing up (for the purposes of this sampler) is to blind-stitch the lapel facing to the inside of the jacket, and herringbone-stitch the hem allowance along the bottom of the jacket (see left)

Blind-stitches are between two layers of fabrics, with the stitches only penetrating the surface of the material so they do not show through to the other side.

Herringbone-stitches are sewn in the reverse direction of the progression of stitching, creating a zig-zag.

As I said, I haven’t lined this test so it left open for inspection as a crib, but it would be attached to the neck line of the collar and the back edges of the lapels, before being herringbone stitched to hold the neck in place.

Here is a photo of the finished sampler.

This was all done to a modern version of traditional techniques, with a lot of hand-stitching and materials associated with traditional methods.
The idea now is to take these skills, and if necessary blend them with up to date speed-tailoring to find a happy medium between speed and technique to give a good result in a practical timeframe.

I have already used a number of these tricks in some garments I have made, and will incorporated them into the Ultimate Tennant Suit I am making.

David Tennant costumes up for sale!

2011-01-18T11:39:00.003Z

Calm down - it’s NOT any of his Doctor Who stuff! Deep breaths.

News this week from The Royal Shakespeare Company, who are planning to hold a big sale of their excess theatrical costumes.

It is taking place on Saturday 12 February from 10am to 5pm at their RSC Rehearsal Rooms, Arden Street in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Around 10,000 items including costumes, shoes, hats and accessories will be available to purchase. This is identical to the Angels Costume sales that were held over the past couple of years.

The RSC Costume Store is currently home to over 40,000 costumes. Their last costume sale was in 2007, and the RSC now needs to free up more space, both to create better storage conditions, and to make room for costumes new to the Store.

By the sounds of things the bulk of stuff on offer are stock items (such as shoes: 1,000, shirts: 500 and hats: 300) originally constructed by the world renowned RSC Costume Department. These have been chosen from the RSC Costume Store, which hires out RSC costumes after they have finished being used in its productions.

There are also Egyptian head-dresses, a variety of military uniforms, cloaks, clerical outfits – including nuns and priests, jewellery and chain-mail. The items cover a wide range of periods, including retro, vintage, Early English, Elizabethan and twentieth century.

Amongst the items for sales are soldiers’ tabards and chain-mail from the RSC’s 1984 production of Henry V (with Kenneth Branagh) and later seen in Mel Gibson's film Braveheart, and – of interested to the Doctor Who fan community – numerous items worn by David Tennant (including his understudy costume from the 2008 production of Love’s Labour’s Lost).

Alistair McArthur, RSC Head of Costume, has said “We have items for sale from every area of the wardrobe, including costumes that first made their debut on stage back in the 1970s and 80s. The sale will include costumes designed by top theatre designers like Deirdre Clancy and our own Olivier Award-winning Tom Piper. With many items starting at just £3 we hope that people will take the opportunity to come along and purchase a piece of theatre history.”

I wonder what David Tennant stuff will be on offer, and how well it will be labelled.

We will see :)

By the way, did you know the publicity photo for Hamlet (shown above) is a recreation of a classic German painting from 1818 by artist Caspar David Friedrich, entitled Wanderer above the Sea of Fog? (see left)

Ultimate Tennant Suit -the FINISHED calico test

2011-01-14T08:32:00.001Z

If you’ve been following the progress making the calico test for The Ultimate Tennant Suit – then this is what you’ve been waiting for!

It’s finished! Yippe!

I’ve hand-stitched the last bits around the collar, and set the four buttonholes and buttons (see left).

I’ve also done some other minor stitch work, just to help keep everything in its place.

Here’s a detail shot of the breast pocket, which I’m pretty happy with.

I just need to watch out for the chest dart, to make sure the pinstripes align across the bottom of the pocket. It didn’t quite work on this test (see right).

And this is the outer pocket, of which I only did one on this test, as I’ve done a few of these now in various test forms.

I now have these nailed! (see left).

Finally, a close-up of the lapel, which I have sized to the pinstripes of the fabric as a guide.

It needs some tweaking, but that can come in time before I cut the jacket for real.

Let me know what you think. Comments welcome.

Ultimate Tennant Suit -finishing the calico test

2011-01-11T16:20:00.001Z

I’m slowly getting my calico test jacket together.
So far I’ve cut the Pattern, and made the body and prepared the Lining ready to go in.

But before I cna final insert the lining I need to sort out the collar, as my method needs everything to come together at once.

I have cut the pattern for my collar, bearing in mind that the front edges need to be parallel to the pinstripes, meaning the two edges themselves are parallel. This restricts and dictates the shape I am working with (see below, left).
I need to cut this in under collar melton – I am using some of the green that I bought to test match the Six Frock Coat. It wasn’t quite the right colour, so it’s an excuse to use it up. I have also cut some stiffening to go around the neckline, over which the collar will flop (see below, right).

I then assemble the collar, the under collar and lapels, which are already attached to the lining (see left).

I have also drawn some pencil lines on the lapels to simulate the pinstripes to make sure everything is cut to the correct proportion.

This then completes the lining ready to put in place (see below).

It is sewn around the lapel and collar, leaving the front edges unsewn for now.
I do this so I can access the back vent and attach the lining here.

I can then sew the hem between the vent and the front edges where I stopped.
The front corners need to be rounded, so I use a simple trick of drawing around a suitably sized plate to get the curve right! (see above).

I’ve got some dull hand-sewing to finish the jacket off, as well as putting in some buttons and buttonholes.

Check back tomorrow to see how it comes out. Trust me though – it’s looking good!

Ultimate Tennant Suit -lining the calico test

2011-01-09T20:34:00.001Z

So far I have cut the Pattern for the body of the Tennant Suit, this time with allowance for the limited fabric available when I cut the GAP trousers (see right).
There was a lot to think about, but I got there in the end.

Next up is doing the sleeves.

First I draw a block for the sleeve based on the measurements I need (see below, left).

From this I have traced off the two parts, smoothing the corners at the elbow, and adding a cuff allowance (see below, centre).

Finally this get traced off onto tissue paper, adding seam allowances as I go (see above, right).

Once I’ve cut what I need from calico, it’s then a simple process to make the sleeves up and set them in the jacket (see right).

NB:
Don’t forget that at the moment the hem isn’t turned up, so it looks a little long.

I can now move onto the lining.

Most of the pattern for this is a simple repeat of the body of the jacket, with a little extra capacity added here and there as I cut.

I am using up some cheap lining I bought a while back (see left).
It is actually intended to line sleeves, and is quite an old-fashioned design. You don’t see it being used much these days.

I bought it because I thought it looked just like the material used in the sleeves of Christopher Ecceslton’s leather jacket, but annoyingly it wasn’t quite right. (I have an old German U-Boat jacket just like the one he wore, with wool-lined sleeves. Plan was to reline them. Another time perhaps.)

It just so happened I over-bought and have enough to line the jacket!
I need to cut the sleeves (upper and lower); the back (in two parts); and the side panels.

By juggling the pieces I can get them all to fit – just! (see right).

The only part that needs to be patterned specially is the inside fronts, as this needs to allow for the lapel facing.

To do this I return to the original block for the body and add a vertical line to indicate the join between the lapel and lining (see left).

This is then traced off for the two parts, adding their respective seam allowances before cutting them in calico and lining.

After joining them together, and before united it with the rest of the lining, I can now set any internal pockets I want.

For the purposes of this test I am just going to set one pocket: a narrow sonic pocket in the left hand side (see right).
This needs to be very high up – higher than you would conventionally set a pocket. This is because I need to be able to reach it without unbuttoning the top button, so it has to be above the level of the top-most buttonhole.
You can see this marked on the jacket block, near the top of the breast pocket (see above).

I will plan out the other pockets I need once I have finished the test jacket, and feed that back to the block and pattern.

Here is the body lining half assembled, with the back sewn down to the top of the vent; attached to the side panels; either side of which are the lapel and inside fronts.

All I need to do now is join everything together and set the sleeve linings.

It’s then down to the dreaded collar . . . .

Ultimate Tennant Suit - new calico test

2011-01-04T21:17:00.001Z

Now before I start cutting any of the precious GAP fabric, I need to be 100% certain on the pattern I am using, therefore I an going to make a new calico test jacket.

I have previously done such a test (see left) but I do need to make some serious revisions due to one major restraint I am now faced with that I didn’t have to worry about back then.

The first thing I have to do is re-draft the basic block from which my pattern will be drawn (see below).

It is while I am tracing off my pattern pieces that something struck me, which means I need to stop and think carefully.

Although I have a good range of sizes of trousers to use, ranging from a couple of waist 33s up to the biggest at waist 36, I have realised that even these will not cover the pattern shape for the front panels – well not in the same way I cut them last time around.

Since I am following precisely the same path taken by Louise Page when she designed the jacket, there must be a way around this. I just need to work it out.

To show the problem I have got, I dug out the pattern for the front panel of my first jacket and laid it on top of the largest piece of GAP fabric I have (from the back of the size 36) (see left).

You can see that the lapel to shoulder fits okay at the top, but the lower body over-hangs by a good 2 inches.

The way round this is to re-balance how the body panels are split up from the block.
What I have done is give more to the side panel, thus narrowing the front.

In the comparison above you can see the older pattern with a very narrow side panel (see above, left), compared to the new pattern with a much wider side panel (see above, right).

When this revised front pattern is laid over the GAP fabric, you can see it now fits (see right).

So now I have sorted that out, I need to start cutting this in calico and quickly knock up a test garment.

I covered a lot of this a while back under Pattern Cutting and Jacket Pockets, so I won’t repeat myself here.

But I will show you how it came together! (see below).

Now, I should point out it has not been hemmed or seamed around the edges, so it looks a little long and large in the lapels. This will all sort itself out when I get to the next stage.

Check back real soon to see how things shape up.

Ultimate Tennant Suit - time to get picky

2010-12-30T22:47:00.003Z

As you may have read, I am about to make the Ultimate Tennant Suit, using half a dozen pairs of the original GAP trousers.

But before I can start any pattern cutting proper, I need to harvest the usable pieces of fabric from the trousers, so I can see what I have to work with.

To start with I tried unpicking the stitching of the legs, but quickly found that the seams are double-stitched for strength, so don’t come apart that easily. The edges of the fabric is also overlocked to stop the edges fraying, so even if I could remove all the stitching, it would leave the edges unusable as they will be peppered with holes.

I then found that by cutting the seams along the outside of the stitch-line, they easy come apart.

At the tops of the trousers there really is little point trying to rescue anything above the back pockets. There is nothing on the suit that I could make from fabric that small in size, so I cut across the tops of the leg as close to the pockets as I possibly can (see above).

I then do the same around the fronts between the fly and the side pockets (see left).

Once I have done all this I then am left with four pieces of usable fabric: two fronts and two back panels (see below, one set of each).

So far I have undone three pairs of the trousers, which gives me more than enough to get me started.

But before I can really get in there, I need to be 100% sure on my pattern . . . .

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

2010-12-17T21:44:00.002Z

I can’t believe a year has flown by since I last wished everyone a Happy Christmas.

Looking back though, a lot has happened and I’ve completed or started a number of amazing projects.

From updating my Tennant Coat; making a Five Coat or two; starting a replica Tennant suit jacket using original GAP Trousers; making a couple of Inverness Capes (must get round to writing that up!); as well as some smaller item such as Five Hatbands, Six Cravats and Seven Hankies.
However, I think the most exciting has been starting work on a replica Six Frock Coat, which I am so looking forward to getting done next year.

I hope you’ll join me in the following months as it starts to come together.

Ultimate Tennant Suit - doing it for real

2010-11-30T17:29:00.005Z

This week I start work on the most fascinating, incredible and AWESOME project I have undertaken so far – making a Tennant Suit jacket.

Now, this wont’t be just any jacket – this will be the ULTIMATE jacket. Why? Well, because I am working from SIX PAIRS OF ORIGINAL GAP TROUSERS!

For those that don’t know, it was revealed in the pages of Doctor Who: The Inside Story, that the original brown suit had been inspired by a pair of trousers David Tennant took a shine to. There was no matching jacket to make it a suit, so Lousie Page bought as many pairs of the trousers as she could find and took them apart to then use to make a jacket!

You can read further about this in my entry, Revelation Of The Trousers.

What Lousie didn’t say was where the trousers had come from, but after a chance find in a charity shop, it was discovered that they had come from GAP!

Since then, three have been various attempts to match and re-weave the fabric used, however, what has never been tried is to get the right trousers and repeat the technique that had been employed to make the real deal – until now !

The six pairs of trousers I have been given to work with are of various sizes, and sadly of varying quality.

Here is a pair-by-pair run-down of them:

Pair 1 -
Size 34 x 30

Condition: Excellent. No color fading or signs of wear. Missing 1 button on the back pocket.

Pair 2 -
Size 34 x 34

Condition: Excellent. No colour fading or signs of wear.

Pair 3 -
Size 36 x 34

Condition: Decent. Ever-so-slightly lighter in color than the others, but if positioned correctly the difference isn’t too obvious. There is slight wearing on the hip pockets, crotch, and knees where the fabric appears much lighter and worn off in those areas. I found though that flipping the trousers inside out reveals the inside shows the damage less. So determining which sides of the fabric have less wear will also be a factor in this project.

Pair 4 -
Size 33 x 32

Condition: Excellent/Decent. A little color fading at the knees but better than the previous pair.

Pair 5 -
Size 33 x 32

Condition: Poor. This one is sadly the worst of the batch. There’s heavy fading and it’s scratched up worse than an old chalkboard. My guess is that the owner used bleach or at least some type of bleaching agent when they washed their clothes because this is several shades lighter brown than the all the rest of my trousers. I also imagine they balled them up and let them sit under a heavy pile of junk for months on end since they’re almost permanently wrinkled and covered in scratch lines :(

Pair 6 -
Size 33 x 32

Condition: Excellent. No colour fading or signs of wear.

My first, labourious task, is to carefully un-pick and extract the usable parts of the trousers. Spare me some thoughts as is sit hunched over them, slitting their seams!

The Mystery Of The Fourth Tie

2010-10-27T20:16:00.002+01:00

Back in Feburary 2010, when the Bonhams Doctor Who Costume Auction took place, there was a great little lot consisting of four ties ‘worn by David Tennant’.
The episodes listed in the catalogue were New Earth (tie second from left); Age of Steel (incorrect); and Impossible Planet (again, incorrect).

The ties correct attribution were: (left to right) Utopia, New Earth, The Idiot’s Lantern, . . . and a fourth tie.

I say, ‘fourth’ tie because it does not, to my knowledge, appear in any broadcast episode.
If it does, it is not worn by David Tennant.
There is a possibility it was either worn by another cast member, and wrongly labelled in the auction, or it was bought as part of the costume department’s shopping spree, but never used.

At the auction viewing I was able to take some detailed pictures of the ties, and you can see the ‘fourth’ tie, by Rocha. John Rocha above, flanked by The Idiot’s Lantern (thomas nash) and Utopia (St George by Duffer) ties (see above, centre).

Well, this week, after a tip-off (thanks buddy!) I bought exactly this same Rocha. John Rocha tie from an eBay seller.

Rocha. John Rocha From Debenhams

The tie is woven silk, and has a very crumpled effect to it.

It is quite a dark tie, and not as brown as the others that form part of The Doctor’s wardrobe. Its stripes are also quite close in spacing to the suit’s, so tend to blend in a bit too much.

It has me wondering if it for this reason that it wasn’t used.

If you are watching a Doctor Who episode and spot this tie, do drop me a line -
it would be cool to properly identify where it was used and solve
The Mystery Of The Fourth Tie!

Email me at tennantcoat@me.com

RIP Soho Silks

2010-09-22T16:12:00.007+01:00

I was on a buying trip to central London today, stocking up on much needed supplies - can't believe how many pairs of shoulder pads I've gone through lately!!

I first went to William Gees to get some fusible canvas (they really have the best prices) before heading into the West End. There I stopped off at MacCulloch and Wallis, then Kliens before dropping by Soho Silks.

To my shock, awe and horror it has closed down!!!

Soho Silks was a pretty large store, with a heavily stocked ground floor, and an equally full basement. It was in the basement here that I had found the blue pinstripe fabric that had been used to make the blue Tennant Suits.

It was also a good supply of tweeds and gaberdines, as well as linings and unusual far eastern silks.

Aside from that, the staff that ran it always recognised my face and stopped for a bit of a chat. The manageress was always more than willing to try and find some fabric for me to meet a requirement, though sadly her attempts never came to anything - but the thought was there!

I am sorry to see it go, and just as sad that there is nothing opening elsewhere to replace it.

Very sad news :0(

Bad Wold - Bald Wolf - Bad Wolf

2010-08-22T18:49:00.002+01:00

I was up in central London this week working at an advertising agency, and took a little time out over lunch one day to pop down to Oxford Street.
For those that don’t know the geography, Oxford Street is London’s premiere shopping thoroughfare, and has a number of large department stores within a short distance of each other.

Two that I go to regularly are Debenhams and John Lewis, the latter of which I went to first.
I was popping back to see if they had anymore of the nice purplely ties I got a while back (see the last tie in Tie Alternatives), but sadly no.

In the Bonhams Auction earlier this year there were some shirts David Tennant had worn (lot 47 - shirts from Tooth & Claw), one of which was labelled HIJKLMUVWXYZ, which is John Lewis’ own brand (the J and L are in bold, being the stores initials).
The shirt in question was from their collection that year and they no longer sell anything close enough to substitute it.

John Lewis is, however, one of the few retailers to stock ties by Daniel Hechter (makers of Tie Two in my Tie Index).

I had always wondered if the Timelord tie had been picked up here at the same time as the shirt . . .

Abyway, I then popped to Debenhams to take a look at their tie collections as well.

It was while I was looking around that something struck me. In Debenhams they have a large wall of ties (see below) amongst which are some familair sounding brands, a lot of whom are familiar names in the Tie Index.

Thomas Nash (maker of Tie Five from The Idiot’s Lantern); St George by Duffer (maker of Tie Ten from Utopia); and Rocha.John Rocha (maker of a tie that appeared in the Bonhams Auction in Feb 2010, though not thought to have been screen-used) all have shelf space in this store. (see left)

It was like that moment at the end of Turn Left, where The Doctor sees the return of the Bad Wolf motif – everywhere I looked at ties, there was at least one of these makers names prominently on display.

I then recalled Louise Page saying that when she was dressing Rose for series two, she and Billie Piper went shopping at Selfridges (just down the road from Debenhams). So I wouldn’t be surprised if THIS is the store where a number of the Tenth Doctor’s ties were bought!

The thing that’s now going through my mind is, of the other tie makers here, are any of these the makers of the unidentified ties, or are any oof the other ties from the makers we already know about . . .

Tenth Doctor Ties - the alternatives

2010-08-08T20:17:00.014+01:00

Following on from the Tie Index I’ve done this weekend, I thought I’d share a few other ties that I have found on my travels.

I am not saying that any of these ties are a perfect match to the screen used ones, but they are either similar or reminiscent of those worn by David Tennat as the Tenth Doctor.

In the absence of being able to obtain the ones used, this is intended as a guide to finding something acceptably similar.

Daniel Hechter From John Lewis

I bought this one because it is a genuine Daniel Hetcher tie, which, from my recollection of seeing Tie Two at first hand, uses exactly the same colour palette of chocolate brown, blue and cream.

It has a diagonal floral motif, reminding me of Tie Ten, the St George by Duffer tie.

A sorta two-in-one tie here!

Soprano from Swagger & Swoon

This ties reminds me of the Christian Lacroix Swirly tie (Tie Four in my index).
The problem with the original tie is the pattern is a single unique artwork, and has no discernible pattern repeat, so trying to find a tie that resembles it is difficult.

This tie, although it does have a repeat, is sufficiently large enough to not be to obvious.
The colour palette used is just about right too.

Last time I looked it was still freely available at swaggerandswoon.com

Paul Castello from John Lewis

I bought this tie a while back, and was struck by the similarity in colour to Ttie Eight. It has a sorta of floral design, which isn’t too small to notice, so it had the feel of the screen-used tie.
On the downside, it has a coat of arm motif, which distracts a little from the floral.

St George by Duffer from Debenhams

I bought this tie while on a trip to Oxford Street this week.

I was looking around and had worked out that it was more than likely that a lot of the ties had been bought at Debenhams because a majority of the known labels can all be found there under the same roof.

One of them, St George by Duffer, also make this tie.

It reminds me of Tie Nine in the Tie Index. That has a red flora design on a black background, and this one is very similar, though the flora is a different style and is in bronze.

Tie Nine works well with the blue suit, and I think this one works equally well with a brown suit.

A lot of the design houses have the distinctive style, and I am wondering if Tie Nine was indeed a St George tie, though from their 2006 or 2007 collection.

John Lewis (own brand)

This tie – a chance one-off find at John Lewis on Oxford Street – is a curious blend of two of my favourite Tennant ties.
It has the colour palette of Tie Eight in my index, with the stylized floral motif of Tie Ten.

When I bought it I could only see the one, and each time I have been back, or to other John Lewis stores, I have never seen it since.

That aside, this is my favourite alternative tie, and I know others who have coveted it.
I like this one!

Paul Smith from eBay!

This one was a real chance find on eBay, and so an encouragement to anyone who trawls the listings, partly thinking they’ll find nothing.

It is made by Paul Smith, a name that recently has become synonymous with the Eleventh Doctor, but was a label Ten worn in Voyage Of the Damned (his black tuxedo was by Paul Smith, as revealed in the Bonham’s Auction catalogue).

It’s a near perfect match to Tie Eleven in my Tie Index, made by Massimo Dutti.

Only seen twice (firstly in Partners In Crime, and again in The Next Doctor) it was the penutimate addition to Ten’s wardrobe.

Aquascutum from eBay!

One of my readers spotted this tie on eBay.

Luckily the seller had a couple on offer, so I was able to bag one for myself.

It’s not perfect, but it is a pretty good stand-in for the tie worn in The Doctor’s Daughter, Tie Twelve in my Tie Index.

Okay! So the tie is only worn in that one episode and for most of it the lighting is so dark you can hardly see it – but it is a nice tie to go with either suit (though it belongs with a blue Tennant Suit rather than the brown as I have shown).

Tenth Doctor Tie Index

2010-08-07T23:05:00.052+01:00

I’ve noticed that there’s been a lot of buzz lately on the Doctor Who costume forums about the ties David Tennant wore throughout the stories he was in.

Following on from the Third Doctor Costume Indexes I did late in 2009, I thought I’d put my two-pennace in and do a tie index!

I’m limiting myself to the ties worn with the pinstripe suits, ignoring the bow ties worn with tuxedos (as in Voyage Of the Damned) or tweed suits (as in Human Nature).

A couple of surprises have come up by doing this detailed study: the tie commonly known as the “Time Lord” tie (tie Two in my index) is no where near worn as often as I thought; nor is the burgundy/mauve flora tie (tie Eight) is worn even less; the swirly tie (tie Four) which bridged the regeneration to Matt Smith popped up a few more times than I thought, partly because it features in both the Doctor-lite episodes of series two and three.

Tie Nine was a dark horse, not appearing for the first time until halfway through series three, but going on to feature in eleven episode, far outstripping it’s nearest contender.

Finally, there is one anomaly I have not resolved as yet. In the Bonhams Auction on 24th Feb 2010, there were a number of ties on sale in a single lot. One of them was a dark-colour with diagonal stripes (centre of the three ties, right).

So far I have not found an episode it appears in.

So – if you spot any I have missed (or can solve my mystery tie), do drop me a line, this is a work-in-progress and further input is more than welcome.

Tie One

Only seen in: The Christmas Invasion (see above)

Description: Dark chestnut brown, with subtle flora woven pattern

Maker: Unknown at this time

Tie Two

First seen in: Attack Of The Graske (see left)

Also seen in: New Earth, Rise Of The Cybermen (see above), The Age Of Steel, Doomsday, The Runaway Bride, Partners In Crime, The Unicorn and the Wasp, The End Of Time Pt 1, The End Of Time pt2

Maker: Daniel Hechter

Description: Brown and blue with a woven geometric pattern

Notes: One of these ties was sold at auction at Bonhams on 24th Feb 2010 (see right).

Replica or next-best: Two versions of this tie have been available from Magnoli.

The first version was printed onto silk, and suffered from being too light in colour and not the best design of pattern. A revised version appeared in 2009, this time woven.

The pattern was improved and the colour was better, but was still not quite right (see below, Magnoli v1 left; screen-used centre; Magnoli v2 right).

Tie Three

Only seen in: School Reunion
(see right)

Maker: Unknown at this time

Description: Dark chocolate brown birds-eye weave, with very subtle brown circles in a diagonal grid (the circles cannot be seen on screen, but if you look closely can be seen in the photo, right)

Tie Four

First seen in: The Girl In the Fireplace

Also seen in: Love And Monsters (see above), Blink,
The End Of Time pt2

Maker: Christian Lacroix

Description: Dark brown, with bold swirly woven design in light blue

Replica or next-best: Two versions of this tie have been available from Magnoli.
Both are woven, the first of which appeared in 2009 (see below, left).

A much improved revised version became available in 2010 (see above, right).

Note: There is much debate that the tie worn in The Girl In The Fireplace and the one seen in The Eleventh Hour are not actually the same tie. The later has some lighter reddish patches between the swirls, which are not visible on the earlier tie.
The Magnoli ties reflect both of these variations (see above: Top, The Girl In The Fireplace; bottom, The Eleventh Hour).

Tie Five

Only seen in: The Idiot’s Lantern (see above)

Maker: Thomas Nash

Description: Brown with repeating s-shaped woven motif

Notes: This tie was sold at auction at Bonhams on 24th Feb 2010 (see left).

Tie Six

First seen in: The Impossible Planet (see above)

Also seen in: The Satan Pit, Human Nature, The Family Of Blood (see right)

Maker: Unknown at this time

Description: Navy blue, with burgundy circles in diagonal grid

Tie Seven

First seen in: Love And Monsters

Also seen in: Army Of Ghosts (see right), Doomsday, Smith And Jones. The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Fires of Pompeii (see above), The Family Of Blood (see below), Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, Journey’s End, Planet Of The Dead

Maker:
Giorgio Armani

Description: Dark brown, with stylised peacock-eye blue and brown motif in honeycomb grid

Notes: A few of these ties, but in a blue colourway, turned up on a number of tie retailers’ sites, as well as Amazon.com

Tie Eight

First seen in: Smith And Jones (see above)

Also seen in: The Sontaran Stratagem, The Poison Sky,
The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith (Sarah Jane Adventures)

Maker: Nina Ricci

Description: Herringboned burgundy background, with mauve random flora random design

Notes: This tie often appeared on display at the various exhibitions around the UK, such as Earl’s Court, and in 2010 was on display at Cardiff.

Tie Nine

First seen in: Daleks In Manhattan

Also seen in: Evolution Of The Daleks, The Lazarus Experiment (see right), The Last Of The Time Lords, Time Crash, Voyage Of The Damned, The Unicorn And The Wasp, Silence In The Library, Forest Of The Dead, The Waters Of Mars

Maker: Kenzo

Description: Deep navy blue background, with red flora random design

Tie Ten

First seen in: Utopia

Also seen in: The Sound Of Drums (see above), The Last Of The Time Lords

Maker: St George by Duffer

Description: Ribbed brown, with a white and sky-blue repeating stylised flora design in diagonal bands

Notes: One of these ties was sold at auction at Bonhams on 24th Feb 2010.

Replica or next-best: In 2010 Magnoli produced a near stitch-perfect replica of this tie, but the background colour is disappointly off, being too light (see below)

Tie Eleven

First seen in: Partners In Crime
(see above)

Also seen in: The Next Doctor
(see right)

Maker: Massimo Dutti

Description: Brown with raised diagonal stripes of navy and light blue

Replica or next-best: A tie produced by Paul Smith is a very good substitute, and is the right colours and spacing of stripes. (see left)

Tie Twelve

First seen in: The Poison Sky (closing scene only)

Also seen in: The Doctor’s Daughter (see above)

Maker: Unknown at this time

Description: Burgundy with diagonal black stripes

Finally, here is an
episode-by-episode index,
referencing the ties above.

EPISODE		TIE NUMBER
The Christmas Invasion		One
Attack Of The Graske		Two
New Earth		Two
Tooth and Claw		–
School Reunion		Three
The Girl In The Fireplace		Four
Rise Of the Cybermen		Two
The Age Of Steel		Two
The Idiot’s Lantern		Five
The Impossible Planet		Six
The Satan Pit		Six
Love And Monsters		Four, Seven
Fear Her		–
Army Of Ghosts		Seven
Doomsday		Seven, Two
The Runaway Bride		Two
Smith And Jones		Seven, Eight
The Shakespeare Code		Seven
Gridlock		Seven
Daleks In Manhatten		Nine
Evolution Of The Daleks		Nine
The Lazarus Experiment		Nine
42		–
Human Nature		Nine
Family Of Blood		Nine, Seven
Blink		Four
Utopia		Ten
The Sound Of Drums		Ten
The Last Of The Timelords		Ten, Nine
Time Crash		Nine
Voyage Of The Damned		Nine
Partners In Crime		Eleven, Two
Fires Of Pompeii		Seven
Planet Of The Ood		–
The Sontaran Stratagem		Eight
The Poison Sky		Eight, Twelve
The Doctor’s Daughter		Twelve
The Unicorn And The Wasp		Two
Silence In The Library		Nine
Forest Of The Dead		Nine
Midnight		Two
Turn Left		Seven
The Stolen Earth		Seven
Journey’s End		Seven
Music Of The Spheres		Eight
The Next Doctor		Eleven
Planet Of The Dead		Seven
The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith		Eight
The Waters Of Mars		Nine
The End Of Time pt 1		Two
The End Of Time pt 2		Two, Four