Doctor Who Celebration - wardrobe trailer

Fans of the costumes on Doctor Who had a treat in store with the extensive exhibition, as well as the Wardrobe Workshop where you could meet members of the costume department.

But one little gem tucked away in a corner of the main hall was an original wardrobe trailer used by the costume department.

This was one of the big green buses you see loitering around when location filming is taking place.

Its plain exterior hid the treasure trove of costuming contained inside, and once you did get inside - there was only space for a dozen people at any one time - there was not restrictions to rifling through the racks and having a good nose at the contents of the hangers.

Just inside the door is a sort of office area, with benches on each side where sewing machines could be set up for use.

On the walls were a variety of continuity photos from the filming. Beyond this area were the costume rails. They roughly went in season order down one side, and back up the other.

Above the rails are tags, which once you looked closely didn’t always relate to what was below.

Amongst all the monster and supporting players costumes, there were some choice items for die hard Doctor fans.

Most of the costumes were pretty standard off the peg clothes used during the Tenth Doctor’s era.

But the Eleventh Doctor items proved to be the real treasure trove.

A total of three Donegal tweed jackets were on show.

One was on a display mannequin at the far end, along side an ironing board.

One the rails was another plain Donegal, plus the heavily distressed, burnt and torn version seen in The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.

On the final rack was a small, but not insignificant collection of Tenth Doctor costumes.
Three pairs of the GAP trousers were hanging up, one pair somewhat torn and distressed, as seen in The Eleventh Hour, or possibly The End Of Time.

Also here was yet another brown Tenth Doctor suit. It has you wondering how many suit were actually made!

The final gem was a whole fist full of Tenth Doctor ties!

You could rummage through and see Tie 3, the YSL used in School Reunion.

Tie 5, the Thomas Nash tie from The Idiot’s Lantern.





Tie 11, the Massimo Dutti from The Next Doctor. (missing its label on the reverse).

Tie 12, the Massimo Dutti from The Doctor’s Daughter.

There was also the Rocha John Rocha tie, which was bought but went unused, as well as an unlabelled red and black floral tie, also unused.

But the prize was the replica Christian Lacroix ties made for The Eleventh Hour.

These have the blue swirls embroidered on with the reddish patches.

Two were here, one in pristine condition, the other torn and distressed.


It was jaw-dropping to discover the red patches on the tie are just fabric painted on by hand. I’m sure we all thought there were sections of red fabric appliquéd on, but as is often with film and tv work, the simplest solution is often the best.

It was quite inspiring to see the ties first-hand.
I might even have a go at making my own. Hummmm.

Doctor Who Celebration - costume exhibition

This weekend’s Doctor Who Celebration has been a feast for the eyes for fans.

As well as catering for those who have come to Who through the relaunch series, there has been a good nod to the history of the show with a wide variety of guests and an extensive exhibition of costumes culled from Cardiff’s Doctor Who Experience.

They had a near complete set of Doctor’s costumes on show (missing was the Eighth and War Doctors) arranged in a circle around Bessie.

The Tenth Doctor costume on show is not the one from The Experience (that was on the costume department display elsewhere at the Celebration).
The blue suit was often on display at the various regional exhibitions prior to the permanent Cardiff base opened.

One way or another there was quite a bit of stuff relating the the Tenth Doctor’s era.
There were costumes from all three main companions, including Rose’s 1050s outfit from The Idiot’s Lantern; Martha Jone’s iconic blood red leather jacket; and two of Donna Nobel’s costumes.

There was also some costumes from spin-off series Torchwood, including Captain Jack’s RAF greatcoat.


The Mr Smith attic set from Sarah Jane Adventures, plus her car. Also on show was Sarah Jane’s car from K-9 And Company.

If you want to see the costumes for the other Doctors at the exhibition, click the links below

Third Doctor              Fourth Doctor

Fifth Doctor                  Sixth Doctor

Seventh Doctor        Eleventh Doctor

* WARNING* FAKE items on eBay

I’ve been in two minds about posting this, but I decided to do so as a warning to other to sometimes be wary of what you see for sale on eBay.

The two items I’m highlighting appeared this week, and raised some eyebrows on a number of forums and social media sites.
They are so obviously wrong to not take in the savvy costume fan, are named such and come with apparent verifying documentation to possibly take in the less observant buyer.

Anyway, I leave you to judge their authenticity for yourself, but for what it’s worth I have my own opinions.

DAVID TENNANT
SCREEN USED SUIT

Day Of The Doctor - costume portraits

It’s less than ten days until the 50th Anniversary special, and the BBC have released some high resolution pictures of David Tennant in full costume.

The brown pinstripe suit is back; worn with a classic light blue shirt; off-white converses; and the new St George by Duffer narrow tie.





The shirt is a new, as yet unidentified label, rather than a previously worn from the Tenth Doctor era.