Behold: the shoes of Rassilon

Now the first episodes of the new series are out, I think it’s time to reveal a trade secret in The Doctor’s latest attire that would otherwise go completely unnoticed, and give a bit of credit where credit’s due.

If you’ve watched any of the old Doctor Who Confidential episodes, or the documentaries on the DVDs you’ll have picked up that a lot of crew working on the series are themselves long time fans.
They often sneak in secret in jokes or spend bit more time than the usual to make the episodes have hidden depths.

When the boot makers were asked to prepare new footwear for series seven, part of the brief was to make the boots more ornate and intricate.

Their response was to decorate all edges of the leather with a hand-punched design.

This detailing extends to the toes of the boot, over which is a scrolled pattern.

Rather than just do some random design, the cutter at the boot makers said “Let’s have some fun”.
He looked on the internet and downloaded an image of the Seal Of Rassilon, first used as the symbol of the Time Lords during The Deadly Assassin in 1976.

Passing it to his cutter, the boot maker said “Use this, but make it different”.


As a result he came up with the design on the purple boots which has a mirror symmetry rather than rotational as seen on the Rassilon Seal.

A second pair of boots in brown were also made to the same pattern, but these have a nondescript design on the toe and aren't used as prolifically as the purple version.

You can see here the finished toe of the boots, with the card pattern used to make the hole punches.
The figure-eight design of the Rassilon seal is clearly evident, now you know what it is supposed to represent.


How cool is that? And how subtle so no-one really knows - until now!

The Rings of Akhaten - costume portraits

Today see the BBC release some nice publicity images from The Rings of Akhaten.

Amongst the images are a couple of full length portrait shots of Matt in costume.

He’s wearing the same grey wasitcoat worn in The Bells Of St John, though this time without the gold watch chain.

We get a nice view of the new purple boots.

The Doctor continues to wear the glasses which first appeared in The Angels take Manhattan.

There’s another new bow tie. This time in a deep burgundy with a light block pattern.

The trousers seem to be the G-Star RAW jeans, worn since series six.

The Bells of Saint John - more promo pics

Today the BBC have release two new promotional pictures for The Bells Of Saint John.

It’s a bit more of a serene image compared to the last ones!

As ever it shows some nice details of The Doctor’s new costume, giving us a little flash of the lining inside the Frock Coat.

Thank heavens, given the cost of the cashmere fabric the bulk of the coat is made from, this lining looks to be a nice and simple plain purple colour.

I’d love to track down those black leather gloves.
Not necessarily for cosplay, but it would be cool to wear the same gloves as The Doctor.

Personally I’m not convinced we’ll find a 100% match for the crash helmets. To me they look to be adapted from some form of basic helmet.

If you look at the picture below, you can see there is a ring of gaffer tape around the base of the dome!

Entertainment Weekly cover photo shoot

With the increasing popularity of Doctor Who in the US, where is now seems to be seeping into the mainstream, Entertainment Weekly has put the launch of the new series on its cover - not once, but twice!


Call me cynical, but it seems to be a common thing these days to produce an alternative cover to sell more copies of a magazine, especially when a popular film or tv show is being promoted, backed by a collector-based fan base.

The photos were taken in London by photographer Ian Derry.

He takes a lot of shots for entertainment magazines as well as blue chip magazine advertising.

Tenth Doctor’s SB6 Space suit - full breakdown

So, it looks like the Eleventh Doctor is raiding his wardrobe, and digging out his old Sanctuary Base Space Suit.

For those not familiar with the suit, it first appeared in series two’s episodes The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit as part of the equipment at Sanctuary Base Six; the idea of a space suit returned (abet remade and a slightly different colour) in 42; before making a final appearance in The Waters Of Mars.

Design © Peter McKinstry

The suit may look to be custom designed, but Doctor Who is made on a limited budget and if anything can be sourced as pre-existing pieces, it will be – and this suit is a prime example.

All of the accessories such as gloves, boots, harness and base of the helmet were all widely available at the time of production for a reasonable price.

Annoyingly they are now pretty much discontinued, but are not out of the reach of the more persistent Doctor Who fan who is willing to track them down on eBay or as remaindered stock.

The orange suit itself came from a company in the US who make replica space exploration suits and equipment.

Based closely on the suits worn by the Space Shuttle pilots, they are still available to this day, and costs $545 for a standard version, or $875 for a deluxe version.

Space Toys.com

Space Shuttle Pumpkin Suit

A word of warning though, the photo looks great on the website, but they are made to order and are poorly made. Louise Page had to remake hers from scratch using it as a pattern, and several buyers since have found the suits to be made too baggy or with the utility packs on the legs the wrong way round. Read more here - dw_cosplay - space suit guide

As I have already mentioned, the rest of the items are now discontinued, but here is a quick guide to what to look for.

Eleventh Doctor to wear Tennant Suit!

Bet the headline got your attention!

With less than two weeks to go before the latest episodes start screening, a new trailer has been released, showing some highlights of what we can expect.



At one point we get a glimpse of Matt Smith wearing a suit previously worn by David Tennant during his era.

It goes without saying we are not talking about the iconic brown pinstriped suit - but the Sanctuary Base orange space suit first seen in The Impossible Planet.

I’ve covered background information over on my Tennant Suit blog, but watch out soon for a summary here.

The Bells Of Saint John - costume portraits

The new series of Doctor Who is only days away, and there has been another collection of publicity still from the BBC press office.

Included in this batch are character portraits, including The Doctor in all his new finery.

The shots released give the best view yet of the new look.

The bow tie is a moody black silk number, with a subtle gold floral design.
Very nice!

His shirt is a pale blue striped dress shirt, with french cuffs and a plain (un-tabbed) collar.
Very smart!

We can see some detail now of the grey waistcoat, which has a woven fish-scale effect and silk buttons. it’s finished off with a double Albert pocket watch fob chain.
Very posh!

We can now get a decent look at his purple cashmere frock coat with corduroy collar and horn-button cuffs.
Very exclusive!

We can now very clearly see his two-tone purple and brown boots, emblazoned with an intricate hand-punched design.
Very fancy!

He still seems to be clinging onto those old G-Star RAW black jeans though.
Very last season!

Series Seven promo images - Photoshop disasters?

The second half of Series Seven is less than a month away, and the BBC publicity machine has creaked into action and released the first images of Matt and Louise this year.

A lot has been written about the sneak peeks at the monsters awaiting us, but with the eyes I have my focus is on the costume Matt is wearing!

And OMG - WHAT is he wearing??!!

Now I like these photoshopped images as much as the next guy, and having worked in advertising for 20 years before becoming a tailor I have more than the average idea of what goes into something like this.

But this has been photoshopped to within two steps of hell!

Where has that GOLD bow tie come from?

And having found the original cashmere fabric, I can tell you it is NOT that shade of plum and the woven grid on it is most definitely not that shade of purple.

You can see his new boots, but again the colour combinations there are somewhat twisted from the real thing.

A similar distortion can be seen on the covers of the latest tie-in novels to be released.

Someone wrote to me recently asking about the new purple waistcoat.

What purple waistcoat I wondered?

I then realised they meant the cover of Plague Of The Cybermen where his new GREY waistcoat has been retouched to look a mauve colour.

Just one tip - if you’re assembling a cosplay for series seven, these promo images are NOT the thing to use for reference for colour!

Gallifrey One - head-shoot photo

This year Scott Sebring has done me some great photos.

Photo by Scott Sebring

As well as taking a group shot with three of my Ultimate Six Frock Coats, he also did me a nice full length shot of me in my new Cashmere Frock Coat.

Photo by Scott Sebring

While we were about it, Scott had the brilliant idea of doing a head-shot a la the classic Doctor Who opening credits!

Scott positioned a lamp behind me to give that highlight halo around the edge of my head, and placed some other lights to catch the side of my face.

Photos by Scott Sebring

We did a couple of takes, and then gave the chance for a number of other cosplayers to step in to get their shots too as the camera was perfectly set for just the right shot.

Then it was just down to having some fun in Photoshop to recreate the look and feel of Tom’s iconic appearance from 1975.






My first go was okay, but I think the flare across the face is a bit too intrusive.
I had another go, toning it back quite a bit. I think I like this better.

This will be my new avatar!

Gallifrey One - Matt Smith Frock Coat photo shoot

You might have noticed that on the Thursday meet and greet at Gallifrey One I debuted my new Matt Smith series seven costume.


It was all a bit last minute - I didn’t start work on the frock coat until the 1st of February, less than two weeks before I flew out - and the velvet waistcoat was thrown together on the Tuesday  Tuesday before, the day before I set out!

I’m pretty darn pleased with the frock coat.
Leaving it this late did mean I got a lot of the subtle details nailed which some others might have missed or got wrong.

One thing in particular I did spot was the bizarre configuration of buttons and buttonholes down the front.

Firstly there are NO buttons! 

However, there are a dozen buttonholes - three in each lapel and three on either side around the middle.

The lowest of these is unusually above the waistline seam.

They don’t show up in most photos, but if you look very closely there is a shot in the latest trailer where the lighting picks them out (see left).

This arrangement of holes reminds me very much of the frock coats worn by Tom Baker during his era.

While at Gallifrey, I had the chance of a decent photo shoot courtesy of Scott Sebring, who kindly offers his professional services to the cosplayers free of charge!

Here is my costume in all its glory. Thanks Scott!

Photo © Scott Sebring

Tweeds are out - Frock Coats are IN!

Just to affirm the changes to the Eleventh Doctor’s wardrobe, some new spin-off novels are being published - and the covers relict the changes to Matt’s costume.

The Dalek Generation

This gives a sneak view of the inside of the frock coat, and you can see the silk velvet waistcoat quite nicely.

Shroud of Sorrow

This just give a side view of the coat, but you can get a better idea of the cashmere fabric the cost is made from, which is cool.

Plague of the Cybermen

Finally the Frock Coat is ditched, and we see the waistcoat and maybe a better view of the fabric the new shirt is made from.

As I hope you can see it is similar, but not the same as the Utah shirt from series six.

Matt Smith’s NEW boots!

As you will have just seen, I have debuted my latest Matt Smith Costume at Gallifey One. I pulled it together over the past few weeks, and with barely a day to spare I collected my latest boots from the boot makers to Matt Smith.

The boots are truly beyond stunning.

They are made from two colours, a dark brown and a purple to compliment the new Cashmere Frock Coat.

To top that they are covered in hundreds of hand punched detailing at every twist and turn of the leather.

When I collected my boots, I went to their workshop where all the boots for some amazing film and tv work are done.
Recently they worked on Les Miserables, Lincoln and The Dark Knight as well as the latest Thor movie.

Having just finished the boots they still had the card pattern lying around, so I was able to get an insight into how shoes are designed and cut.

The boots are then made around a foot shape, known as a “last”. I have had several boots made for me now, but when it can to making these they could not lay their hands on my last.

Quick thinking, they realised my feet are pretty much the same size as Matt’s, so they used Matt Smith’s actual last to my my boots!!!!

This also meant the pattern didn’t need to be graded up or down, so what I have are preciely the same as Matt’s in every regard.

How cool is that??!

If you look very closely you’ll see the lasts are labelled WHO rather than Matt’s name as his casting was top secret.

The boots have one very last secret to give up, which I’ll show you properly very soon. It’s such a subtle and clever touch - and so cool when you hear what it is!

Gallifrey One - Lobby Con

So I’ve touched down back in LA to attending this years Gallifrey One convention.
This is the third year I have come, and have been greatly looking forward to catching up with everyone and show off a few costumes I have been working on, so of them in secret . . .

The day before the convention kicks off has a evening gathering in the lobby of the hotel, affectionately called Lobby Con.
It generally carries on throughout the weekend, but most people are downstairs in the ballroom area where the main events are taking place.

I quickly spotted a client of mine, who as been the first to take delivery of a Ultimate Six Frock Coat.
He was proudly wearing it a gaining a lot of attention and questions about what it was. Many had seen my work on it, so this was their first chance to see it for real.

It wasn’t long before the lobby was buzzing with cosplayers and those casually dressed.

The last thing I wanted to do was turn up at the party wearing the same dress! Besides, I didn’t want to take any limelight from my client who was enjoying the attention he was getting (and rightly so).
Time I thought to premiere a NEW costume I made this month which I have been keeping under wraps - my Matt Smith Series Seven Cashmere Frock Coat.

I have been prepping this for a little while now, collecting reference images to make sure I cut it just right, as well as gathering the accessories to make it complete. These include a burgundy velvet waistcoat with a laid-in collar; a bronze fob chain with a hanging penny; the G-Star RAW jeans I have from my series six costume as well as just a place-holder bow tie for now; but to top it off , the day before I left London I collected my brand new hand-made boots.

The costume had a mix of reactions, mainly because not everyone is familiar yet with the latest incarnation of matt’s costume, so they assumed it was either my own improvised future Doctor’s clothes; some wondered if it was The Next Doctor; or seeing the waistcoat, thought it was from the latest Christmas Special.

But the consensus of opinion was it looked GREAT!

Check back real soon and I’ll give you an exclusive glimpse inside the boot makers and give you a great preview of Matt’s new footwear.

The Infinite Quest

Have you ever wondered how I create the patterns I use for my costumes?
Ever been curious as to how I source my fabrics and materials?
How about how I tailor my coats so they look sharp and professional?

Well, if you are attending Gallifrey One in just over a week you can find out!

As part of the cosplay track over the convention, a variety of discussion panels and presentations are taking place covering all aspects and ability levels of costume making are scheduled.
From the basic Cosplay 101 for beginners; through special panels on dressing as The Doctor and his companions; as well as how to build monsters and aliens from the shows 50 year history.

I've sat in on a couple of these panels over the two years I have been going, and last year I unintentionally dominated a panel while talking about The Ultimate Tennant Suit. Luckily my fellow panelists were totally okay with how things went as everyone in the room, them included, were captivated by my talk.

So this year I have been given a dedicated solo panel to discuss taking costume making to the next level.

My plans are to talk extensively about the Ultimate Six Frock Coat, the Tom Baker Frock Coat I made last year, as well as a few surprises along the way.
I will show the earliest cosplay project I ever made (which I still have) and tell of the path that has lead me to where I am now.
I shall explain the ethos of the work I do and the vintage sources I use for the patterns that make the coats I am known for.

I do hope that if you are at Gallifrey One this year you will come along and hear what I have to say and see close up the costumes I shall have with me to illustrate my talk.

Oh, and there will be free Jammie Dodgers......

THE INFINITE QUEST

3pm Saturday 16th Feb 2013

All welcome