Maroon Platoon on the Moon

I haven't posted in a while since things have been rather slow. There have been no tie releases to review and no new clothing to show off. Back when I was thinking of making a blue Tennant suit, I halted that project to lose some weight and then have it made to fit a slimmer me.

In the mean time you will have to amuse yourself with these:

Theses are the two ties I selected for my 7th Doctor outfit. I am not too attached to the brown one. The red one is the one I had publicized before in a previous post. I hope to find a new brown one soon.

And to prove that I DO have 7th Doctor projects in the works (sitting idle), here is my proof. I have two of the umbrellas that Drwhojr had suggested. Living in Toronto means it was just a quick trip to the store he spoke about on YouTube. In fact I bought two remolded handles from drwhojr. I have yet to buy putty to fill in the dents from molding. I found the wooden wooden dolls heads at my local Michaels arts and crafts store. At some point I would like to finish this project up because I can't wait to just walk around with a question mark brolly. However in Canada I think more people would think I am just a classy Riddler from Batman's Rogue's Gallery. However he carries a question mark cane, a umbrella seems very British to me.

I should also now debut the two hat bands that I bought from Steve Ricks. If you haven't heard of Steve or his blog shame on you! Steve has been indispensable in creating the absolute best replica costume pieces.

Anyway the hat bands are both lovely. The brown, Steve created from a scan, and is in fact a piece of a bigger scarf. The red is from a limited supply of originals that were still carried by a retailers. Well I had to get one because they were closest and in short supply.

Thank you Mr. Ricks for the speedy shipment and the definitive hat band hankies. I would never settle for less.

Finally I wanted to know what people thought of the ""Dress as the Doctor" Dress as the Doctor" posts from BBC America. It certainly pales in comparison with the very thorough Ten Breakdown Costume Guide put together by honorarydoctor on the dw_cosplay.

I am thinking of getting a 7th Doctor safari jacket from either Magnoli or Baron. I am leaving heavily towards Magnoli. I like the cut and the flaps on the breast pockets. Let me know what you think. I am of course part of the 7th Doctor sweater group buy as well, and looking forward to that very much!

Meanwhile we shall all await Magnoli's Ricci tie and Armani tie. They were supposed to be available back in May 2011, August is his new ETA, but the pattern is being worked on extensively.

Remember to check in to read all about 7th and 10th Doctor fashion.

See you next time,

7&10

Lucky Seven

Not only do my interests dwell on the 10th Doctor's geek chic attire but also the 7th

Seen here in his first serial is Sylvester McCoy with his season 24/25 look.

I have searched the internet for a good looking red and grey paisley tie and I actually found a good match a while ago. It's been some time for me to post it up here though.

From 2002 Ties:

Paisley red print silk necktie

You can get it here for $15 plus shipping.

Its a close enough match for me!
Thoughts?


(Also I might let on that I am, when I have the time, recreating the pattern for the 7th Doctor's scarf. I hope to be able to print it on a light fabric and sew it into a scarf. What we know is that in fact the scarf is BOTH maroon and brown and was the same scarf throughout McCoy's entire run. Except for the tartan one he wore in Time and the Rani)

Phantasm of a Ricci Tie

Do you see what I see?

This is a resale of Blue Tennant suit jacket. I can only guess it didn't quite fit and the customer returned it. But what is interesting is the tie Magnoli accessorized it with:

Last time he posted pictures of his blue Tennant suit he had added a plain red tie.
This clearly is a prototype of the the soon to be released Ricci Tie.
It certainly has the right pattern, you can compare it to the leaves in the below picture when the tie first debuted in Smith and Jones.

As seen in Smith and Jones

However just from looking at the tie Magnoli has crafted, I'm not so sure it's 100%.
Why? Well I've posted a lot about Maroon and Burgundy before and about how close these colors appear. The Ricci tie vert distinctly a dark burgundy with a mauve floral pattern. I would give a thumbs up for the pattern that Magnoli has developed (possibly from fellow tie enthusiast (ninja)Risu.
At least from this photo the present Magnoli tie is too light a red and the floral pattern in a blue?
It may also possibly lack the distinct herringbone pattern, I might have it but I cannot see it in the one picture. The tie has to have it to get the look right. Also and this may be harder to accomplish is the fade that appears in the floral pattern.

So I would say, top marks for pattern, but needs some work on the color matching.
either way I am stoked to think that this tie might be just around the corner!
I know I will be buying it the moment it is released.


UPDATE: 5:33 PM (9:00ish AM NZ time)
Well someone else noticed this sneak peek too on the RPF.
And I can now confirm my suspicions:

     "Yes, that was an early prototype. It's 100% silk herringbone with a printed design. I was thinking of offering that prototype for sale, but don't have the time to photograph it and add it to the site at the moment...
The final production run is in the works and hopefully will be done by August."

There we have it. Magnoli has himself confirmed this was an early prototype! How exciting is that!?

That means he's been scouring over how to get the best one possible. I am now led to believe that if this is an early prototype then Magnoli has something better in the works. He didn't offer it up before because he didn't have the time. Now a final production run is in the works for August which might mean a new version of the tie. Magnoli has had three such versions of the Daniel Hetcher tie, going from printed to woven to correct pattern woven. 

I think Magnoli is wise to have not posted the prototype and then released another better one. 

Measure twice cut once, right?

UPDATE: 7:00 AM 7.14.11

I can now also confirm that I was right in suggesting Risu had been the intrepid sleuth who tracked down the Ricci tie and painstakingly assembled the photos he took into a workable pattern.

Now we wait...

Seven

As a fan of the 7th Doctor, I bought two of my favourite episodes the other day, The Curse of Fenric and Battlefield. Both I enjoy. Curse included an interview with costume designer Ken Trew. 

Perhaps some of us have already seen the DVD and taken notice. In the sketch for McCoy's costume I noticed that not only his hat band and pocket scarf are smokers hankies but so is his tie.

It clearly says, "Tobacco Hankie into Tie."

Does this mean that Sylvester's tie was made from a silk Hanky? Or was a suitable brown tie found instead? Either way it's something to wonder about. If someone knows the answer I would be interested in hearing it.

Another Doctor Tie on Ebay slips away...

Appearing about three days ago was this tie, allegedly knew, although stated to be pre-worn in the description, a
doctor-esque tie.
It is the "Circle Square" Armani tie, silver in color, opposed to the brown of the screen worn tie.
I had hoped people would pass it by being the wrong color, but no, sadly someone really wanted that tie.
I bid as high as I felt comfortable doing, and I suspect whoever one has a sizeable disposable income to spend on this item. I sure don't.
It just goes to that ties, even in the same pattern of the Doctor's are highly sought after and will go for quite a high price.

4 New Ties, 4 New Looks

As a person who deeply cares about the clothes he wears and what they represent I always go to great lengths to find the right tie for the right suit. I am still on the hunt for a good navy floral tie to wear with the Blue Suit. The Tenth Doctor didn't just slap on any old tie. They had to match, they had to co-ordinate with the suit. Sure, he wore geometric patterns, floral patterns and even some striped patterns but it breaks my heart when I see someone stick any old tie on and say "'ello 'ello, I'm the Doctor," it's like Yankee Doodle sticking a feather in his cap and calling it Macaroni.
Thus when you are attempting to pull off a "Tenth Doctor" I implore you to scour well and fine something suitable.Oh, and paisley and floral are two separate patterns if you ask me.
Also you don't have to pay a fortune for a good look-a-like. I haven't paid full price for any of mine, and ties are light so they ship cheap.

EXTRA 1

First up is this lovely random square pattern tie from Armani. I was at Anime North this past weekend and my girlfriend went as Lady Christina. Not having the correct "circle-square" tie from Planet of the Dead, I opted for this one. I like that the squares are oddly placed, very whimsical. It's also the right chocolate brown. A much heavier tie than I've seen before.
I am wearing it as I wore it at AN with the navy shirt from Banana Republic. Someone asked me about shirts the other day and I think the navy are all gone now, (previous season) check BR outlet stores.






EXTRA 2

This one I wasn't too sure about at first. I impulsed bought it and felt a little bad afterwards because it has a bit of a green tinge to it, sorta. But it is brown, a better brown than the Magnoli Utopia color choice.
The outlined vines are navy and the inner leaves are burgundy, so it has a similar combination of colors, lighter mind you, than the Christan Lacroix (Swirly Tie).
This is a good example of finding an appropriate "Doctor" tie, try to match the colors to whatever you can find.
I tried it on with the light blue BR shirt. They at least should still be available online.
Oh yes, you guessed it: maker Armani





EXTRA 3

In my continuing search for ties for the blue suit I came across this: Armani tie.
Seriously, after buying many ties I must say that of the choice of Burgundy, Maroon and Wine, burgundy is the way to go. It is the correct shade, Maroon usually being to vibrant. The burgundy is nicely subdued.
I like Armani because of the detail they put into their ties, the pattern on the tie is a three leafed pattern but on closer inspection the leaves are made of smaller shapes. I think that Armani really captures the uniqueness of the Doctor.
Also this tie falls into the category of Smith and Jones burgundy and mauve. I still haven't found a tie with that combination but hopefully Magnoli will produce it at some point, this year or next.


EXTRA 4

This is sorta of a mistake buy. Like my Partners in Crime attempt One. I was looking for a tie to match the Doctor's Daughter and got suckered into buying this maroon with blue stripe tie. I much prefer the navy tie with burgundy stripes to this. I probably will not wear it, ever.












Anyways, after all this I will eventually begin work on the Seven part of my pseudonym in crafting a 7th Doctor question mark handled umbrella. I will post my progress this summer and you guys can follow along. A quick shout out to Drwhojr who graciously sent me some handles and very kindly responded to my many emails about just how to make the best umbrella. 

Tennant Style: Blue Suit Edition

Back again with the blue suit edition from the 10th Doctor. 

By examining the series the Blue suit first appears in Smith and Jones. I think fan opinion on this suit is mixed with the majority in favor of the brown suit. 

The blue suit appears much less frequently than the brown, 12 variations in all. (I am counting the Wedding of Sarah Jane here) Of that 12, only in three does David go without a tie. That leaves 9 unique styles seen with a tie from Season 3 to the Specials.

Some of these picture were taken with computer flash, other with indoor light, some with no light.

The Magnoli blue tends to fluctuate in color in all of them.

ONE

Before I knew Magnoli was going to make the Ricci tie I went out and searched for one that worked. This look appears less frequently than people think, only 4 times, three times in the actual series and once in the Sarah Jane Adventures.

Steve Ricks notes them here: Smith and Jones, The Sontaran Stratagem, The Poison Sky, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.

Nevertheless it has become a fan favourite and I wanted to fine something like to fill my collection.

Seen here is the Armani tie I found. The blue, is actually woven on, so finely it looks like ink. The ties does not have the floral pattern of the Ricci, and it lacks the mauve also, but it does show just how good burgundy looks with this suit.

TWO

Seen here is a style the first appears in Daleks in Manhatten and Evolution of the Daleks. It then reappears in The Waters of Mars. You won't believe how difficult it has been trying to find an appropriate navy tie with burgundy/maroon on it. 

Practically impossible. 

Whoever is making ties these days, really needs to think outside the box for once. I think we'd all love to have the original tie, it was SO unique and went very well with this combination.

The tie I settled on is actual Armani, surprise, surprise.

Here you can see the pattern better. It is not floral but random geometric. In the right colors as far as I can tell. The shirt, of course is the pale blue from Banana Republic.

I usually wear this Magnoli suit with the the top button undone because the gorge is too high and it covers most of the tie.

THREE

Ok Silence in the Library kids, here it is.

Rather dark, this style of burgundy shirt and navy tie appears in Last of the Time Lords, Time Crash, The Unicorn and the Wasp  and of course Silence in the Library, Forest of the Dead. It gets a lot of screen time, although a few of those, Time Crash and Unicorn and the Wasp are more cameos of the the look than the outfit for an episode.

Here I took a picture with no flash and no extra light.

To reveal it properly, here it is again with indoor lighting. The shirt is burgundy.

But honestly, to get that really dark, Silence in the Library look sometimes I pair the dark navy tie with a navy shirt. Ta da! Black? No. Dark? Yes!

Only problem is that the suit is still so light it doesn't make for a very spooky outfit.

I also sometimes bring out a plum colored shirt. As a spin of red and blue I think purple works well with this look, if used correctly.

FOUR

Finally here is my take on the Doctor's Daughter style. It appears once in the entire series, a burgundy tie with navy stripes. Tennant never wore black beyond his Tux. I DID find a maroon with blue stripe in it, but I feel it is somewhat a weak try at this look. This beauty arrived today and I very much approve. It is the reverse of the actual tie, more navy than burgundy, but the colors are correct so I will be wearing this as the choice for this episode.

And that rounds out the Tennant collection, however I do own a few other ties that I wear with the suit and figured I would throw them up here to be examined:

FIVE

This is a Maroon Armani, with navy hexagons. I like it because it is a geometric polka dot sort of thing. I've worn it around, more than the Burgundy Armani. I think it works better with the lighter fabric, we will have to see how it fairs with a darker suit later.

SIX

Finally my black sheep, but I do consistently wear this more than the others because it is so mysterious, is another Armani. I spied it online and thought, wow it looks like the "Circle Square" tie but in a blue/grey color-way. The background is navy and it has grey lozenges in a random pattern. I figure grey is fairly neutral so I don't worry about it clashing, but the best best is that it has little red dots in the grey lozenges. A lot going on, but just enough to be more interesting than a plain old striped tie.

The Armani is thicker than the others, which to me appear to be made of silk and a think sheet of fabric, it's like wrapping tissue paper around your neck. 

This tie here, is more robust, maybe that is why I wear it more often.

Once again, thanks for looking, my blue suit project is still going on and I'll post about that as time progresses. 

Favorite Style? Let me know call it by it's suit and number I gave it, e.g. Brown 6, or Blue 4.

I'd love to hear what people think, What's your favourite Tenth Doctor style?