Replica Daniel Hechter Tie -Magnoli Third Incarnation!

Last month saw the release by Magnoli Clothiers of a third, and much improved version of their Time Lord (now Hechter) Tie (see below).

Here is my review of it,
plus the previous incarnations leading up to it.

Since David Tennant took control of the TARDIS console back in late 2005, his fashion sense inspired a  generation of cosplay enthusiasts to dress like him.

In the early days there was the Honest Dragon Suit and Coat, which could be easily accessorised with a suitable pale blue shirt and the right coloured Converse All Stars.

The one slightly more elusive item was the correct tie.

One tie received a lot of exposure, having been worn in David Tennant’s first photocall in July 2005 (see right).
It was not worn in his debut story, but was seen in the Christmas Red Button story, Attack Of The Graske; before appearing in the Season Two opener, New Earth. It was subsequently worn twice more in Series Two.

We later found out was a Daniel Hechter tie (Tie Two in my Tie Index) but this was not known at the time.

In late 2006 Magnoli Clothiers stepped into the breach with the TimeLord Tie – a printed silk tie based on what could be fleetingly seen of the tie in episodes and stills.

At the time it was the only option available, so was better than nothing. It did leave a lot to be desired though.

The colours was almost cartoon-like, with a red-chesnut background and electric blue detailing.

By late 2009 things had moved forward, and a new, revised version became available.

This time around it was woven rather than printed, and the colours were vastly improved.
This gave it a much more realistic sheen and look, but sadly the design itself had not been updated and the shapes were badly off.

That said, seen in isolation it looked very good, and registered much better against a good Tennant Suit.

The Bonhams Doctor Who Auction in February 2010 afforded me the ideal opportunity to put these two ties to the test, as an original screen-used version of the tie was up for sale.

I took both along to the viewing and was able to compare them. Even the new woven version was no match to the real deal.

Now to be fair, I have often seen original costumes and only when you get up close do you find that it is either darker in colour than you thought; smaller or bigger than you imagined; not made from the fabric type you had in your mind; or just simply not hat you expected at all.

Anyway, the pictures I took were forwarded to Magnoli and from them it was possible to raise the bar even higher and this last month saw the release of the latest incarnation of the Time Lord (now Hechter) Tie.

We have waited three years for a decent replica of this tie, and now we have it!

The colours are now even better than the last woven version, and the pattern has been accurately followed this time.

It is undoubtedly a welcome addition to any Doctor’s wardrobe.

Congratulations to Magnoli for finally getting it right!