You might have noticed that on the Thursday meet and greet at Gallifrey One I debuted my new Matt Smith series seven costume.
It was all a bit last minute - I didn’t start work on the frock coat until the 1st of February, less than two weeks before I flew out - and the velvet waistcoat was thrown together on the Tuesday Tuesday before, the day before I set out!
I’m pretty darn pleased with the frock coat.
Leaving it this late did mean I got a lot of the subtle details nailed which some others might have missed or got wrong.
One thing in particular I did spot was the bizarre configuration of buttons and buttonholes down the front.Firstly there are NO buttons!
However, there are a dozen buttonholes - three in each lapel and three on either side around the middle.
The lowest of these is unusually above the waistline seam.
They don’t show up in most photos, but if you look very closely there is a shot in the latest trailer where the lighting picks them out (see left).
This arrangement of holes reminds me very much of the frock coats worn by Tom Baker during his era.
While at Gallifrey, I had the chance of a decent photo shoot courtesy of Scott Sebring, who kindly offers his professional services to the cosplayers free of charge!
Here is my costume in all its glory. Thanks Scott!
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| Photo © Scott Sebring |
Posts
Stellar work on this beautiful new frock. Do you think Matt's is cut with an underarm sidebody? It seems like with a figure like his it would help with the fit. Also, one of the publicity photos of the back showed up on my monitor looking like it was a whole back without a center back seam, is this the case? Did you construct the inside with breast pockets and the classical frock coat waist seam pocket? Finally, is it just the shadows in this screencap or does the outbreast welt pocket on Matt's frock seem to be constructed in a RTW manner with the lip of the welt flush with the upper seam of the inside rather than the bespoke method that has the welt overlap this seam?
ReplyDeleteYou are my hero! I have hungered for this coat ever since I saw it on the latest episode! If you have any tips, patterns anything that could help me, I would be forever grateful. That looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe pattern is a pretty standard Edwardian British frock coat.
DeleteAlso, do you have the 4 buttons on each sleeve? I couldn't tell from the pics.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I have the buttons. I used top quality genuine horn buttons.
DeleteI also have the correct number of buttonholes - twelve - on the coat front.
Something other have missed.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteHow many meters did it take to make that beautiful coat?
I used four metres of the fabric - and at over £300 a metre, it HURTS!
DeleteI have seen some similar Italian wool on the Internet that is a lot cheeper, I think I'll have a bash at the poor mans version
DeleteI'm curious where you found the cheaper wool
DeleteI noticed when watching the episode that the color looks to have a ridged corduroy texture. I'm still searching (so far in vain) to try and find that main fabric!
ReplyDeleteAh! Found a good picture where I can see the collar pattern that I saw inn the episode!
ReplyDeletehttp://filmreviewonline.com/wp-content/gallery/doctor-who-2000s-series-7b-matt-smith/doctor-who-7b-001.jpg
Wow, I really need to learn to proofread before I click submit. Sorry for the rush of comments and typos. This coat has me overly excited, and I'm impressed with your efforts, resourcefulness and amazing results! It's just always nice to find kindred spirits! I can get quite obsessive about my replica pursuits, and especially coats and jackets.
ReplyDeleteLove it! Are you going to alter the collar facing from velvet to the needle corduroy? Gorgeous fabric!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't need to - I used corduroy.
DeleteHad to specially dye it to get near the right colour.
Could be a bit bluer, but I'm happy with it.
Hey Steve, nice job on the costume. I'm searching coat patterns and found this:
ReplyDeletehttp://compare.ebay.com/like/130876603241
It's described as Men's Victorian Frock Steampunk. It seems (from the limited pics) to be the closest that I have found. Could you comment on whether or not you think it's close?
Well, that is a fairly classic frock coat pattern, and in theory it can be adapted.
DeleteLuckily the adaptions are all on the side of simplifying rather than complicating the pattern.
However, I will say I used that pattern early in my career for a Five Frock Coat and found it need drastic adjustment to suit my taste of cut.
The assembly instructions are NOT the way a frock coat should be assembled, so need to be taken with a cup of salt.
Best of luck!