Capaldi waistcoat - upgrade

A little while back I made myself a Capaldi waistcoat, using the correct melton fabric.

At the time I didn’t have access to the authentic red silk for the back, so I just used a plain red satin as a placeholder.

However, I now have the real thing and I’m quite excited to start using it, the first thing I’ve done is to remake the waistcoat, using the correct fabric on the back.

It’s a subtle change, and frankly will hardly get seen as it will be worn underneath the Crombie coat.

But as you can see from the two photos above, the plain red just doesn’t compare to using the authentic lining and it gives me some satisfaction to go that extra mile and get things as perfect as possible.

I’ve already got some clients looking forward to getting theirs using my special lining - and it’s almost Christmas!!

The Capaldi Crombie - IT BEGINS!

Over the past few months I have secretly been working on my replica of the Peter Capaldi Cromie-style coat. Okay, so no-one’s surprised at that, but what i have done is go that extra mile to source there perfect fabrics needed to complete the project.

The body of the coat is relatively simple, as the material came from W Bills, and the new owners, Harrisons, still stock and promote the fabric as part of their own range.

The problem has been the lining, as this was an end-of-line found at a London fabric shop. I was able to secure a limited supply, but nowhere near enough to do a replica coat.

My only chance was to get it rewoven. After many months of negotiations my bolt of fabric arrived today, so I can finally crack on with making a truly accurate replica Peter Capaldi coat.

The lining is really not what you expect.

It may appear on screen or in publicity stills as being a nice and simple plain red fabric, but in reality it is a finely woven mix of red and NAVY BLUE silk.

This creates an iridescent quality to it, with the light catching it in different ways all the time. I’ve done an initial batch using a black for now, but it gives a comparable result.

The best way to compare it is to put it side by side with a photo of the original coat taken at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff.

What do you think?

The Capaldi look - definitive ID on the hoody

The publicity still have been out for Last Christmas for a little while now, and amongst them is a very good portrait of The Doctor, wearing his Crombie, Paul Smith jumper AND black hoody top.

This high resolution image shows some key details of the hoody, giving the opportunity to positively identify it.

Readers Aaron (who desperately wants to be credited) and Adam have pointed out that All Saints currently have available their Mode Merino Zip Hoody, which matches on all the key points - zip, pockets, ribbing, etc.

This is probably the same hoody briefly seen in Time Heist, and at that time it was suggested that it was from All Saints.

The version online at the moment is unlikely to be the exact version worn in Time Heist - but the accompanying text does mention that the Mode Merino is based on their Code Merino range - which could well be the version used.

In the meantime, this updated version ticks all the boxes and is at least the correct label, as well as being a great day-to-day wear item with a Who twist.

All Saints Mode Merino Zip Hoody

Doctor Who Magazine: The 2015 Yearbook

Today sees a end-of-year special edition yearbook from Doctor Who Magazine.

I don’t usually mention stuff like this, but this contains something a bit special you’ll like to read - especially if you’re a regular reader of my blogs.

The magazine reviews an incredible year for the programme, its spin-offs and the licensed merchandise available.
Highlights include our first major interview with the show’s executive producer, Brian Minchin, in which he reflects on Peter Capaldi’s first year as the Doctor and looks forward to further adventures with the Twelfth Doctor.

ALSO INSIDE THE ISSUE

• Features on every episode in Peter Capaldi’s first series
• Interviews with the team that accompanied Capaldi and Jenna Coleman on the Doctor Who World Tour
• Fourth Doctor Tom Baker discusses his return to television and audio Doctor Who
• Eighth Doctor Paul McGann reveals what he thinks about Capaldi’s Doctor
• Orchestrator and conductor Ben Foster previews the 2015 Symphonic Spectacular
• Inside the new ‘making of’ show, Doctor Who Extra
• Behind the scenes at the new Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff
• Interviews with some of the key players behind recent books, soundtracks, audio dramas, DVDs, Blu-rays and action figures
• Highlights from the year’s newspaper and magazine reviews of Doctor Who
• A round up of Doctor Who’s awards and honours from the last 12 months
• Detailed tributes to the Doctor Who luminaries who passed away in 2014..., and much more!

Also included in the “much more” is an interview with me!

I was approached by Simon Guerrier, who as well as writing for Doctor Who Magazine has written adventures for Big Finish. We met in London a few weeks ago where we chatted about my work and some background information about how I do what I do.

We talked about a number of my projects, and touched on my upcoming Capaldi Crombie coat.

I provided a number of images for use with the article, including getting permission from Louise Page to share the picture of her with the Ultimate Tennant Suit.

I was hoping for maybe a half page, but in the end it turned out as a full page - which is awesome!

The magazine is available at
WH Smiths from
Thursday 18th December 2014

BBC promo pics - Last Christmas

After the teaser picture a couple of weeks ago, the BBC have issued a full set of official promo pictures and portraits.

Here are the images The Doctor appears in.

BBC promo teaser pic - Last Christmas

With exactly one month to go until the Christmas Special, the BBC have released the episode’s title - Last Christmas - and a teaser picture showing the lead players in costume.

The Doctor wears a hoodie, possibly the same one as seen in Time Heist.

BBC promo pics - Death In Heaven

In the final set of promo pics for series 8, we get another good selection of reference pictures.

So, until the Christmas special, that’s it for BBC promo pictures for 2015.

Press coverage - Radio Times 1st November 2014

For the third time this year, Peter Capaldi graces the cover of the Radio Times as The Doctor. (He previously appeared back in May and again at the launch of series 8 in August).

It’s a curious photoshoot - not sure what those red and black hemispheres are all about!
But the picture does confirm something for me about the construction of his coat - something I had suspected and can now confirm.

Like they did with the August edition, this week’s iPad version of the Radio Times has some exclusive bonus material in the form of a 30 page special.

It plunders the extensive Radio Times archive of special photoshoots, so has some choice images on offer.

The digital edition can be downloaded from the iTunes store.

Radio Times Magazine – on iTunes

BBC promo pics - Dark Water

I can’t believe we are already at the start of the season finale, which means it’s time to see the publicity still that accompany its screening.

There’s the usual fare of sanitised photoshopping, accompanied by a host of images from the London filming around St Paul’s Cathedral.

These scenes were shot on what proved to be the hottest day of 2014, so you gotta feel for those poor guys in the Cybermen suits - they must have been a stone or two lighter by the end of the shoot.

Being a hot sunny day, it means the lighting pulls out a lot of detail on The Doctor’s costume, where it would normal fall into a black mush of shadows.

For once you can clearly see the colour difference between the dark navy blue of the coat and the black of the waistcoat over the charcoal navy colour of his trousers.

You also get a tiny glimpse of the coat’s lining, which isn’t a consistent bright red you might think, but has a slight iridescent quality.

If you know what you are looking for, these are superb reference pictures.

BBC promo pictures - In The Forest Of The Night

Tuesday means the release of the latest batch of promo pictures for the upcoming episode, In The Forest Of The Night.

There is one quoffed photoshopped image, as well as a number of action stills from the episode.

As you can see, this is the third outing for the hideous Paul Smith jumper.

I find this picture interesting, as it shows the back of the coat and gives away a few secrets to its construction.

BBC promo pictures - Flatline

Unlike previous weeks, today we only have one single image of Peter from the upcoming episode, Flatline. Enough said.

BBC promo pictures - Mummy On The Orient Express

This is becoming a habit! After an initial run of publicity photos that (costume-wise) didn’t correspond with the episodes, this is the third week running where they do!

The Doctor wears a smart two-price double breasted black suit finished off with a handkerchief in the top pocket; with white shirt (I don’t think it is the Budd shirt); along with a grey waistcoat; and Wyatt Earp style black silk necktie.

There is one unfortunate photo showing The Doctor on the phone with a dangling cable not connected to anything! Lets hope that’s all part of the plot, otherwise it’s the Downton Abbey water bottle all over again!

Finally there is the obligatory heavily photoshopped composite image.

Polka-dot shirt - where did that come from?!

This week’s episode gave Doctor Who cosplayers a bit of a shock - The Doctor has another new shirt, but this time we didn’t get a heads up!

All the promo pics for Kill The Moon showed him wearing a SB6 space suit, so the polka dot shirt is a bit of a surprise to say the least.

The way I see it problem is twice-fold.

• Firstly, if the shirt was off-the-peg it would have been around at the time of filming, meaning it was at least last Spring/Summer 2014, if not Autumn/Winter 2013. So it likely it’s long gone.


• Secondly, the design although distinctive, is not unique. If you search online you can relatively easily find a black and white polka-dot shirt, but is it the right one? Who knows.

So, in the meantime I’ve been googling black and white polka-dot shirts, and one in particular shirt by Relco keeps coming up. 

I am not claiming it is THE shirt, or even screen accurate, but it certain create the necessary look.

Okay, the shirt has a button-down collar, and the buttons are whiter - but both of these are easy to change and/or remove without affecting the look too much.

The polka-dots are a bit larger but in the correct pattern, though the spacing is maybe a bit tighter than required.

I have come across the same shirt at a number of outlets, notably eBay and Amazon.

CXLondon.com
Men’s Polka Dot Casual Shirt

eBay - Men’s Polka Dot Casual Shirt

Amazon.co.uk
Men’s Polka Dot Casual Shirt

BBC promo pictures - Kill The Moon

For the second week running The Doctor will be wearing a very episode-specific costume, so the accompanying promo pics are again in sync with what we shall be seeing at the weekend.

The episode sees the return of the Sanctuary Base Six space suits, first seen way back in series two’s The Impossible Planet.

Back then The Doctor liberated two suits (if I remember right), but strangely he has three to hand for his trip to the moon this week. How handy.

Now, you’d be forgiven for thinking the BBC just put the old suits back to good use and dug them out of the archive for filming, but I happen to know for certain that these suits have been totally remade from scratch.

I know there are fans out there who are more expert on the ins and outs of this costume than me, so I invite them to see if there are points of difference between the originals and what we see here.
Be open-minded, as these ARE different.