TOPMAN black ladder crew neck

I’ve been reading rumours that Peter is wearing a notable new jumper.

You may remember that from the middle of series eight Peter started wearing an ill-fitting and looking black jumper from Paul Smith.

Full of designer holes it was well over £300 when bought new at their stores and having only been made in limited numbers, was quickly sold out.

it’s not uncommon for other retailers to pick up on new trends and style and produce their own version of garments. This has been useful to cosplayers in the past when it has been possible to find cheaper versions of look-a-like garments in stores two or three seasons down the line.

What appears to have happened is Topman have followed this pattern and made their own version of the Paul Smith jumper, calling it their Black Ladder Crew Neck Jumper, and it is this that has been picked up by Hayley Nebauer for the latest look The Doctor is sporting for filming in Valencia.

I have heavily brightened the cropped image to the left so you can see the holes showing through the deep red t-shirt below.

As is typical for new costume garments, the jumper is already sold out online, but I have been reading that in-store stocks are still around if you are willing to do the footwork to track one down.

At the moment that seems to be the only option.

TOPMAN - Black Ladder Crew Neck Jumper

Doctor Who mag - ANOTHER new coat??

Today I found the latest issue (502) of Doctor Who Magazine on my doormat.

It’s the first issue to feature new imagery from series ten, currently in production.

Not unsurprisingly the cover features Peter in his new costume, alongside Pearl MacKie as new companion Bill and Matt Lucas as returning as Nardole.

As an aside, that TARDIS doesn’t look quite right to me - it looks more like a Tennant’s version than the Capaldi, but I might be wrong.

Now, am I the ONLY person so far to spot that this is NOT the same coat that Peter has been seen wearing so far on location for series ten?

From what we have seen, the new coat is a black velvet frock coat-style, with a light blue lining.

Obviously the coat in this photo is also black with a light blue lining, but looking closer the way the shoulder is catching the light it is not velvet and looks more like a wool coating cloth, akin to the previous navy blue crombie-style coats he wore in series eight and nine.

Furthermore, although it has been covered by the hood of the hoodie, the velvet coat has a revere lapel (where the lapel tip points upwards instead of down) and this coat clearly has a conventional downward pointing lapel with a classic single faux-buttonhole.

The edge of the lapel is also topstitched, whereas the new velvet coat is not.

It’s hard to see the closure buttons, but these do not appear to be the new mother of pearl style vintage buttons and look a lot darker, possibly being the same black horn buttons as on the crombies.

NB: I have massively lightened the image below to pull out some detail to show the buttons and lining.

The lining, although the same colour as the velvet coat, looks to be going to the leading edge of the coat in the same way as in the crombies (the new velvet coat has a distinctive step in the edge of the lining at the was it level).

So is this a new BLACK crombie with a blue lining?      What do you think?

Series 10 filming: it’s alright for some!

The Doctor Who crew are out on location again - this time it looks like they are in Valencia in Spain!

They kept that quiet - until now.

From the press release the BBC have issued, they are filming at the City of Arts & Science Museum for what will for episode two of the next series.

It looks to be a VERY striking building - very futuristic and worth a look.

The release includes a photo of the lead stars - taking a selfie outside the museum!

So, what clues can we green from Peter’s latest costume combination?


Well, he is wearing the new VELVET FROCK COAT with blue lining.

Under this is another new HOODIE TOP, this time in a burgundy colour.

Below that is some form of BLACK JUMPER.

And under that what looks like a new deep red coloured T-SHIRT.

It’s hard to keep up with all these new casual hoodies and t-shirts!

Burgundy velvet - a job in a rush

Blimey, I have been so busy lately.

As fast as I am making stuff I am getting new orders. It’s manic!

The last few weeks I have been engaged on a rush job for a client who needed one of my Capaldi Velvet coats as part of a wedding party taking place very soon.

Though I’d have liked a bit more time to do the coat, it wasn’t impossible to make it in the time allowed, so I agreed to take the job.

Today the client collected the jacket in person and before he did I took  these photos as I was very pleased with he result.

I am using a top quality screen-matched velvet, along with the shot twill lining from the original source.

My buttons are screen-accurate real horn, with the matt red cuff button from the original shop ray Holman got his from, and my shiny cuff button, though not 100% screen-accurate, was seen by Ray and he approved it as a good substitute.

I am very satisfied how the coat drapes and sits. Velvet is a notoriously difficult fabric to work, but through the multitude of coats I have been making lately, I feel I have mastered the manipulation of this cloth.


The design of the coat is simple in its cut, but can be tricky in its assembly.

Keeping a good drape on the front of the coat where the lining comes right to the leading edge is deceptively challenging.

I’m relieved to have competed the coat in time for the wedding, and hope the client enjoys wearing it.

JOHN LEWIS NAVY Mason Cotton Waistcoat

This week saw the second variation of costume for series ten.

It included a new casual waistcoat.

Going back a couple of series, a key part of The Doctor’s costume like this would have been custom made. Think of the deep purple Prince Of Wales check worn by Matt Smith in Day Of The Doctor (and Capaldi for his regeneration); also the black formal waistcoat worn by Capaldi at the end of his first series.

But he’s not worn a custom-made waistcoat since Death In Heaven - all waistcoats since then have, unusually (in my opinion) been off-the-peg, mainly from TM Lewin.

This waistcoat is now no exception, having been sourced from John Lewis.

It goes without saying they are sold out online, but if you are willing to make the effort and go out to the high street you can still find them in-store.

JOHN LEWIS & Co. Navy Mason Cotton Waistcoat