Doctor Who -S6 & S5 Tweeds Found!

[E-Wan]

After Gallifrey 2011 I was determined to find the correct tweed for the Series 6 jacket. I spent weeks e-mailing any tweed mill or fabric supplier I could find in the UK, assuming that the jackets were custom made for the show. Eventually I got a lucky break when one of the fabric suppliers got back to me saying that the Doctor Who costume department were clients of theirs so they would ask around and see if the tweeds were bought from them and if they had any matches. After a couple of e-mails, a colleague of the person I've been talking to spoke with one of the London tailors who made the S6 jackets and he said that the tweed came from a fabric store specializing in wools called W Bill in London! I spoke with W Bill and they confirmed that it was one of their tweeds!

Shetland Tweed #12679 - £57.40 per metre, 58" wide.



As an added bonus I firmly believe that they supplied the donegal fabric for the alternative Series 5 jackets:

S5: Hand Woven Donegal #34111 - £39.20 a metre, 28" wide. (you'll need 4 meters for a jacket as it's half the size.)



To order the fabric directly, you can contact them on their website W Bill

Note: Please do not contact them unless you are serious about purchasing the tweed. The price is non-negotiable.

If you'd like a jacket made using the fabric, talk to our own Steven Ricks - tennantcoat@me.com - or Patrick at Montague Jeffery - patrickrfleonard@yahoo.co.uk. Both are top blokes.

 

[Risu]

When you first showed me these, part of my brain just shut down. I'm still amazed you tracked them down, even with a bolt of the stuff right next to me.

For anybody who's curious how the donegal looks or is unsure if it's the right stuff, I put this image together to compare it to the donegal tweed available from Jo-Ann's last season in different lighting conditions.

Basically, at $12.50 a yard when it's on sale (almost always), the Jo-Ann's stuff is a reasonable alternative to the real fabric. However, you can pretty clearly see the difference, especially in bright lights. It fades out to kind of a grey instead of that great brown color of the original. You can definitely tell when you're looking at the real deal. As for whether or not this is the screen used fabric, I'm 100% sure, no doubt about it. :thumbsup

 

[E-Wan]

Thanks Dan! You can really see how the color changes between brown and green the way it does in the show.

 

[Risu]

Yea, every time I see the indoors w/o flash pic I think of Hungry Earth. It's cool how those little light spots brighten up like that.

 

[Ood sigma]

Thank you thank you thank you

 

[manofsteel25]

AMAZING find E-Wan! Truly a grand stroke of luck and good detective work on your part. Thanks so much for sharing.

Just to also clarify slightly on the 'Time of Angels' S5 Tweed- Montague Jeffrey are the folks that did that particular (Windowpane/fine check/vintage harris) tweed reweave recently. So if that's the jacket you want, you pretty much have to go to them as I understand they don't sell the fabric by the yard/meter but only as a finished tailored jacket. I am pretty sure these are the same jackets the Who Shop sells as well. The 450 GBP (or roughly $750 or so) price is also non-negotiable.

The Who Shop | www.thewhoshop.com

Bear in mind the reason hundreds of dollars/pounds would be required for any of the three jackets is due to the fact the fabric is simply not cheap and very high end/custom woven. Also no matter how you slice it, it will have to be made bespoke (since unlike the trousers, none of these jackets can be found off-the-peg) so you're factoring in tailoring skills/time. The only way to find one cheaper is to find a 'close enough' on ebay or a thrift shop etc.

 

[protokev DMD]

I don't know whether to thank you or hate you...guess I will have to bite the bullet for the season six.


Kidding aside great job

 

[danfish32]

Hallelujah! :thumbsup
Thank you so much for finding this!
Now just getting this straight, they are selling the fabric not the jacket correct?
So i would have to get the Jacket made at a tailor or something?

 

[danfish32]

Oh and also, how many meters would you recommend I order?

 

[Risu]

2 for the S6 jacket, 4 for the S5.

 

[E-Wan]

This is for the fabric. There are two tailors in the original post who can make you a jacket with the fabric. Expect it to run around $750 - $800 depending on the exchange rate.

 

[manofsteel25]

Yes you'll need to take the fabric to a tailor to have it made. You can find someone local to you, go with either of the two solid options E-Wan listed or try the usual internet tailor suspects. Luckily these are pretty straightforward blazer/jackets and I'm sure finding a tailor won't be a problem.

 

[nickytea]

This is gorgeous.
Every time I tell myself I'm not going to sew another jacket ...

Do you think they ship to the US?

 

[Risu]

They do, and really fast, too. I think I got mine in about 5 days, and there was a weekend in there somewhere.