The Doctor through the looking glasses

It would appear that new companion means new wardrobe for The Doctor.

But despite this there are few things which are hanging over from his previous life-chapter.

He still continues to wear the same black G-Star RAW jeans; eagle-eyed readers will notice him wearing his old black boots again in Cold War this week; and last week in The Rings Of Akhaten he was flashing around his glasses.

The glasses were originally worn by Amy in The Angels Take Manhattan, and were pinched by The Doctor, since when he seems to have adopted them as his own.

It’s like he’s clinging on to them as a perpetual reminder of the companion he lost.

They are quite distinctive, with large circular lenses; frames in a tortoise shell effect; and if you look closely, two front facing screw-heads where the bars join the frames.

I’ve had a number of emails this past week, asking where the glasses can be found, and thanks to one of my readers we now have a possible suggestion of a good match.

Amy Pond Glasses | Roope Vintage Blog

The blog suggests two similar brands - the Black Eyewear Chico or the Anglo American 400.

Now, I’m not entirely convinced these are the exact same glasses, but they certainly tick a lot of boxes.

Both have the circular lenses for sure CHECK

The frames are in a tortoise shell effect, though overall they seem lighter than the screen-worn version TICK

There are two front facing screw-heads where the bars join the frames CHECK

My feeling is the hinge on the side of the frames appears to be a bit heavier than screen-worn.
The frames read as being thicker and a lot lighter, but the shame and details do feel right.

What do you think?
Do you think they are THE glasses, or just a very good second best?

If you’ve spotted a better pair, or found the precise correct screen-worn version, let me know.

50th Anniversary episode - The Doctor’s costume

From today’s filming in London’s Trafalgar Square, here are my best shots of The Doctor in costume.

Enjoy.

50th Anniversary episode - Trafalgar Square filming

So today’s been beyond amazing.

Was just picking up some emails first thing, when I noticed a Facebook comment about filming for the Anniversary Special taking place in Trafalgar Square. Assuming it was a hit and run filming before the world woke up I sorta was only half interested.

Then I noticed a link above saying watch it LIVE on webcam!

Clicking the link only showed some cars stuck in traffic, then the camera suddenly swung around - low and behold the blue box! It was true - and STILL there!

So I grabbed my bag, camera and phone and within the hour I was arriving at Trafalgar Square. It was nearly lunchtime, so I wondered if I had missed everything, but the TARDIS was still there and filming still underway.

I snapped a load of shots, and shot a video of the filming.



I can report The Doctor is wearing another new shirt, waistcoat and bow tie. The cashmere frock coat, black jeans and boots remain the same.

After the brief set-up I watched them film, it was time for the crew to clear the Square ready for a wide shot. While this was happening Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman went along the whole line of waiting adoring fans, signing anything put in front of them.

Jenna even signed someone’s model TARDIS!

But it was Matt everyone wanted, and he was more than happy to do his best and sign as many as he could.

I have great respect for the guy - he’s in the middle of shooting what is likely to be his most scrutinised episode; got to worry about his performance in the next shot; his every move is being watched by hundreds of eyes - and cameras; but he finds time to give a little back to the fans who have been waiting for hours in the cold and London drizzle. Matt proves he is THE man!

While he was signing he passed very close to me and I was all eyes over his costume.

The waistcoat is a very dark charcoal grey Prince Of Wales check, with a laid-in collar, black buttons with white dots around the edge and four pockets.

His shirt is a plain sky blue and his bow tie is a very deep purple with a light grid of dots.

I’ve got some more photos to share, so check back soon to see.


The filming aroused the interest of the press, where you can see some more, slightly spoiler photos.

The Mirror - Doctor Who lands the TARDIS in Trafalgar Square

The Sun - Doctor Who stars film in Trafalgar Square

Cold War - costume portrait

The next episode is coming soon, and the BBC official publicity stills are out.

Again there is a really great full length portrait of Matt Smith in costume.

The Doctor has ANOTHER new bow tie, from what must be a very full drawer in the TARDIS wardrobe.
This time its brown with a grid of cream coloured circles.

There is a new shirt, with light blue and pink stripes on a blue background.

Again he is wearing his favourite G-Star RAW black jeans and grey waistcoat, like in The Rings Of Akhaten wearing it without the fob chain.

But the one thing that is a surprise is that he is wearing his old black boots from series six - and if you look very closely you can see they are worn with extraordinary long laces which wrap around the ankle several times before tying in a rough bow on the inside of the ankle. Interesting.

Motorbike accessories - IDENTIFICATION: POSITIVE!

With thanks to an anonymous reader of my blog (thank you, whoever you are!) we now have a POSITIVE identification on the motorbike accessories worn by Matt and Louise in The Bells Of Saint John!

Yeah? I hear you say - how can we be sure? - cos the manufacturers are bragging about it on their website!

Davida News - Classic Helmet as Worn By Doctor Who and Clara

According to the new story, here are the items used.

HELMET

From what I can see you need to get the Davida Classic Helmet in Standard Black, which has the product code 60104.

The branded logo needs to be removed.

Helmets come in three sizes: small 54-58cm; medium 58-61cm; Large 61-64cm

based closely on original 1950s racing helmets, they have a leather interior with a cotton webbed harness and a quilted leather neck curtain.

They sell for around £240.

Davida Helmets - Classic Standard Black

GOGGLES

The goggles are their Aviator Pilot T1 design, in Chrome, product code 670732.
Again the logo has been removed.

Made from black goats leather they have curved lenses for wide vision.

These sell for in the region of £100.

Davida Goggles - Aviator_Pilot T1

Sadly this doesn’t extend to the gloves, which do not match anything on Davida’s website.

The website lists dealers throughout the world, though you can apparently buy direct from the manufacturer.

Best of luck!

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