Doctor Who - The Seventh Doctor's costume

Kingpin

Active Member
Foreword: This is the completed build log of the project, I'll attempt to annotate references to "yesterday" and "a few days later" with the actual dates that the stages of the project took place on, but there will be some I won't have a date record for.

A little history: Going on three years now, I've been a member of a Ghostbusters costuming group known as the "U.K. Ghostbusters", two of the members of which have also been very active in the Doctor Who costuming community. Last june, a friend of mine named Carl tagged me as the 7th Doctor in one of the photos he'd posted on facebook. I'd made it known to him that the 7th Doctor was my favourite, and following seeing the photo, I began to muse on the idea of what I'd need to go through in order to recreate the costume, and it's signature elements.

On July 21st (as my replica of McCoy's signature questionmark umbrella was being assembled, I also concentrated on assembling the principal elements of the Seventh Doctor's costume, largely charity shop, but accompanied with a few more specialist items:

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The trousers and jacket were two of the cheaper items, having been sourced straight from eBay. Due to the jacket being a custom item produced by the BBC (just like Davison's and Colin Baker's before him) I had no basis for a named brand to go from. Although there are commercial replications available, they are too expensive for me to justifiably purchase... if not for anything else, I'd be terrified of mucking them up whilst out in public.

Although there is now a website that owns a genuine pair of trousers from the show (Classic Doctor Who Props]), I have since discovered through my enquiries from them that there is no maker's label present, meaning that any attempt to discover the original manufacturer will be extremely difficult, if not impossible.



The jacket I managed to purchase is Marks & Spencers, or so I'm told (no such markings attributing to the store despite the eBay listing stating so)... a light grey "summer sports jacket" which fits me quite comfortably. Some modification will be required... a flap needs to be added to the pocket containing the watch (and a duplicate added on the opposite breast to fake a pocket) and a belt added to the rear, as well as the possibility of the removal of some of the buttons.

Depending on how easy it would be, and if a similar material can be found, the balloon pockets may also be added, but would be purely cosmetic.

As it stands, I think it's a great alternative to the BB jacket, and with some modifications will be even closer. When photographed the colour comes out quite close in my opinion, which is a relief after having gone through so many eBay auctions and charity shops, hemming and harring over cream coloured jackets.



The trousers are from NEXT, and are really lady's trousers... however I missed that in the auction. Despite that, the pattern's close enough to work (until/unless I'm able to find something closer, or I'm able to get some material made after dissecting the original tartan tweed as seen on the original costume), and they fit me well... and are about as baggy as Bob's (Honorary Doctor, another person to [url=http://community.livejournal.com/dw_cosplay/143161.html]costumes as the Seventh Doctor
). :) I've also taken it as a sign that I was meant to have these trousers... upon putting them on I discovered a five pound note in one of the pockets!

Speaking of Bob, it was from him that I purchased the paisley-pattern scarf, using the same material as the one he's wearing via the link I've posted above.

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The tie is Burton, a misc paisley design I chanced on ebay. Maybe not quite as red as it could be, but I rather like it (like the rest of the costume, if I see something closer, I'll probably replace it). The watch features a low-detail approximation of the hunt-scene pocket watch Sylvester McCoy had in Silver Nemesis, which in due time will be given the multicoloured cover... and resin copy of the interior elements as seen in that episode. The watch chain was acquired from eBay and is the correct "segment" chain, rather than a traditional link chain.

The waistcoat is obviously inaccurate to pre TV Movie Seventh Doctor, but I felt fitting as a temporary placeholder. It was made by Brown's of England, and was originally perchased so I could go as Badger from Firefly with my brothers (who dressed as Mal, Simon Tam and Wash respectively) to see Serenity when it came out here in the United Kingdom.

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I'm still to get the shoes, which I need to find a bit more reference on as to how pointy the toes are... the scarf that hangs out of the pocket is in the post... it isn't one of Steve Rick's awesome replicas, but it'll do (I made the concious decision to get a non-accurate one, as I'd hate to lose one of his if it got snagged and pulled out of the pocket at a convention).

But, as you can see, I did go for one of Steve's replicas for the hat. The hat itself was bought from a retailer on eBay, and I'm extremely pleased with it. The brim did need a bit of molding to get to the shape it's currently in, due to the size of the box... but despite being pricier, I'd recommend getting it shipped in the box.

The pullover, noted earlier as being one of the two "make or break" items for the costume will hopefully be provided to me by a friend of mine whose Mum has done a lot of commission clothing in the past.
 
Entry originally dated August 14th, 2010

As things are now quickly reaching completion with the costume, there'll only be a few more small updates until the outfit is finished.

Even after keeping watch of eBay for the better part of a month, the results weren't very encouraging. Keeping in mind the fact the shoes aren't in style at the moment, what results I was finding that fell in the two-tone range either were too far off... were black and white... or were the right style, but not a size I could wear...

Eventually, after one potential that I considered:

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-but decided to pass as it seemed too pointy, and was a bit pricey... and another pair that weren't the right pattern, but were close in the colour range... I eventually settled on a pair of brown and tan brogues in my size that came with a buy-it-now for £30:

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They're by Marks & Spencers from their Autograph brand, so they're already going to be tricky to find due to the low production run.

It would've been nice if they'd been brown and white like the ones McCoy wore, but under the circumstances and how difficult they'd been proving to get... this was a concession I was more than happy to make in order to acquire something that'd be close enough.

A week and a bit after the shoes arrived, something else for my 7th Doctor costume showed up via my letter box:

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A lot smaller than I'd like, but a workable alternative for Paul McGann's Sonic until I can look into trying to get a more accurate one assembled for the role. I appreciate that Sylvester never had a Sonic Screwdriver during his run on the original series, but as he had one by the time the TV movie came out, there's room to employ a bit of flexibility.


Entry originally dated September 3rd, 2010

As with all things, the best laid plans are often the ones that get upset at a moment's notice. As I'd detailed in my previous post covering my 7 costume, one of the last items I was still in need of to complete the look was 7's pullover. Everything regarding the pullover was alright, as a friend was going to provide me with one... but on Wednesday I got a call from Carl, regarding the Hollywood 2 Havering event, taking place this Saturday. After a short talk, I decided I wanted to attend (as he'd be attending in his superb 10 costume, and Robert Monk would be attending in his 11 costume).

The only problem was, I had no 7 pullover that I could wear. I immediately discarded the idea of wearing the waistcoat I'd worn in the photos from my last costume update, and as soon as I got into town I started searching the charity shops for any pullovers/jumpers I could utilise.

I eventually settled on this, a pullover made by Acrilan which I got for the slightly dear price of £4.50

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Downloading the question mark/zig-zag pattern from HonoraryDoctor's excellent Seven Breakdown, I did a couple of test prints to gauge the output size of the file, eventually settling on this scaled down version... which I'd use to create a template:

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Transcribing the design to a sheet of scrap card, the question mark and zig-zag were then removed using a Stanley knife, and I was ready to start applying the design to the pullover, using a set of cheap permanent markers:

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A couple of hours later, and several hundred blots of the pen, I had a good chunk of the pullover rendered:

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If you wish to follow this method, it's recommendable to have 2-3 sets of pens on hand, as certainly this batch (from PoundWorld) appeared to be running out only after having done 17 and a half question marks. (Also pictured, my second umbrella handle, destined for a Mark this coming Sunday)

Although incomplete, the effect was already presenting itself, especially when accompanied with a suit jacket:

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A second day's trip to get some more markers, and after a couple more hours work, this was the result I had by the time I went to bed last night:

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Simple and cheap, and not a patch on the woven one that I'll eventually be receiving... but a good result for a quick, unexpected bit of clothing production. As it wouldn't be seen, the pattern wasn't carried on around the back, and it was only carried part-way around the sides, enough to show if I decide to put my hands in my pockets.

The breakdown:
Pullover: £4.50
Pens (two sets): £2
5-6 Hours work
1 presentable 7th Doctor for Saturday.
 
Entry originally dated September 23rd, 2010

Saturday (September 4th) was the Hollywood to Havering event at Bower Park School in Romford, Essex, where an interest in having various characters from different sci fi backgrounds in attendance had been expressed, and was taken up by the Doctor... three of him, in fact... and Amy Pond.

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In attendance was Rob, playing the Eleventh Doctor, Lisa as Amy...

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...Carl as the Tenth Doctor, and of course, yours truely:

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Of course, we weren't the only costuming mob. One of the TV car replica owners sported the neccesary threads of one Delboy Trotter, a must whenever parading the trademark yellow Robin Reliant. In addition, there was the Stig from Top Gear, a group of RAF costumers for a Battle of Britain display and a couple of Star Wars costumers. There'll be a little bit more on those groups in a bit.

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Are we dealing with a Slitheen skin, or a Nestene Duplicate?

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During the course of the day we were invited to stop by the school gym in order to record a small spot for some kind of mini-documentary, being filmed by the BBC. Amongst paraphernalia from the BBC's various publications, was a large poster for Doctor Who Magazine, which presented itself as an excellent backdrop:

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Also on site was the prop Hurrican from the film, The Battle of Britain, which is best known from the scene with Robert Shaw addressing the pilots as they ready for battle.

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Which for photo ops, members of the public are allowed to clamber onto a section of the wing of:

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Attached to the Battle of Britain exhibition were a pair of customised Smart Cars, the Messerschmardt:

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And the Smartfire:

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Without having a TARDIS on location, we had to improvise with another time machine:

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And the Delorean was just one of several wonderful movie and period vehicles that'd been on show:

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As the day wound on, it was time to take a quick breather... although not before finding the next best thing to the TARDIS wardrobe:

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Where our Eleventh Doctor decided to see if he'd found a replacement headpiece to his lost Fez:

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Another of the vintage vehicles from the day, an excellent wartime-era Jeep with crew:

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As the day wound on further, and with a sadly non-existant crowd leaving us with few opportunities to interact and act, we began to let our hair down a bit.

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Not to say we didn't get some nice shots of the replica Hurrican...

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Nor that we didn't have a good laugh with the Star Wars costumers:

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(David [Han] and Mark [Luke] respectively)

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Despite the disappointing crowds, the day had provided plenty of great memories and interaction with the various enthusiasts. One such example were the photos taken by the Their Finest Hour team running the Battle of Britain exhibit, who provided me with the day's main "cast photo":

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Not to mention getting to see and post with a great variety of movie car replicas:

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And of course, do a bit of investigating:

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There'd also been the opportunity to get another group photo, this time with the Hollywood trimmings befitting of the event name.

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All in all, a very enjoyable day despite the disappointments... and I'm glad I've had the opportunity to getthe costume out and about now that it's finished, and things will only get better once the knitted pullover arrives. The only way it could have been better is if we'd had an Ace costumer, as Rob remarked that the school could've given use even more scenes to reenact from Rememberance of the Daleks.

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Photos marked with an asterisk come from the collection of Robert Monk
 
Entry originally dated October 2nd, 2010

I've just got some excellent news from Stuart, the pullover has been finished, and is just awaiting payment:

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This is incredibly serendipitous, as my copy of Time and the Rani, the first ever adventure for Syvester McCoy as the Doctor, arrived in the post today.


Entry originally dated October 7th, 2010

This is an update I've been looking forward to, but wasn't able to cover until yesterday.

Back in July Stuart (redspecial) bridged the subject of the 7th Doctor's question-mark pullover, offering the opportunity for me to gain one thanks to the knitting skills of a member of his family who regular does comission work. I jumped at the chance, as although I would love to get one of the pullovers from the group run, the length of time one of those runs appeared to take from start to finish had jaded me to that option.

So over the course of the following three months, work commenced on the pullover and this Wednesday, a packaged was waiting for me when I got home from work:

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Some stats for the pullover:

* As viewable in the photo, the question marks only cover the front. While this makes it less screen-accurate, it's only a detail that's missed if I ever intended to take my jacket off, and most people who aren't dedicated Whovians wouldn't know that the pattern went all the way around McCoy's actual pullover.
* The pattern is a modified Fair Isle design, which according to the knitter featured a photo of Peter Davison and his signature (after a quick Google search, it may have been of him during his All Creatures Great and Small days).
* As mentioned, the pullover took the better part of three months to create from start-to-finish, and priced at £65, which I think is very good value for money for a custom piece of clothing without a accessible design to work from.

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The pullover is comfortable and should work really well with the rest of the ensemble when the time comes to don it again. Even though the DIY one I made will always have a strong sentimental value, there's no beating a properly knitted 7th Doctor pullover, especially one which won't rub off on the jacket.

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Between the umbrella and the pullover I now have the two major custom pieces of the costume, I'm still looking into options for the coat, but I now have the two elements that help bring the costume elements together.
 
Looks like you guys had a great time! Thanks for sharing the pictures! I especially loved the Hawker Hurricane, the Mystery Machine, and the 1965 GTO.:lol:thumbsup
 
Bravo! Thanks to this forum and DW cosplay, I am now scouring Jo-Ann fabrics for paisley scarf material. Tho I still might have to order online . . .
 
Well done! It looks epic. ^^ You know, I never would have thought of painting as an improvisation, would you be willing to sell your old one now you have the proper knitted thing?
My friend and I worked together to get his costume together. If you need any more paisley ties we have plenty :p I also make the calling cards if you're interested?
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The costume:
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Anyway, great job :) i find the 7th to be one of the more difficult costumes to get a hold of :p
 
Excellent costume you put together there, my friend! Very cool photos as well. I particularly like the idea of the seventh Doctor catching a ride with the Ghost Busters. Thank you for sharing those with us.
 
Great costumes! I tried a similar thing for my son's(13 at the time) 7th Doctor vest last year. I used plain linen type fabric, blue rickrack trim and ended up using a red marker as the fabric paint just wasn't coming out right. He chose the paisley fabric and hat himself and we bought a jacket at a second hand shop. The shoes were a pair of golf shoes, also from the second hand shop, with the cleats removed. He used a black marker and shoe polish to turn them from saddle shoes to wingtips. He found a pair of pajama pants that were just right, according to him. I think we spent about $25 altogether. He was one of only two 7th Doctors at the 2012 Fan Expo in Toronto. 019.JPG019.JPG
 
For those of you searching for Doctor the Seventh's plaid pants, I have an example and a suggestion: Check out Golf Slacks. Golfers will wear -anything,- including wild plaids and tartans! So far I haven't found a perfect match, but I'm still looking!
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I did find the short pants that the good Doctor wears in summer at Kohl's (FILA SPORT GOLF Plaid Performance Shorts - Men). They're shades of dark with a red accent grid. Click on the alternate patterns until you find the 'right' one!
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--Paul E MusselmanDoctorShorts.Fila.PNG
 
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