Doctor Who 3rd Doctor Funny Clothes

So moving on with the breakdowns with The Third Doctor.

And in the event VanDonovan doesn't want to do a breakdown on Two there's a Post on that costume here:
http://community.livejournal.com/dw_cosplay/117653.html#cutid1

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

More info and pics on Three

Ah Three. What a frustrating costume to do. Especially if you're a guy.

Here's how we channeled the cool dandyness of Jon Pertwee in 2007 with mods in 2008.

First and foremost you have to pick your Pertwee. He wore a LOT of variations of the basic velvet jacket/frilled shirt and dark slacks through his era.

Pumpkiny aka Steve Ricks has done a fabulous job of breaking down each type and style of outfit the 3rd Doctor Wore throughout his era. You can see a rundown of every single outfit here:
http://community.livejournal.com/dw_cosplay/387376.html

or here:

http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2009/11/smoking-jackets-and-inverness-cape.html

By season
Seven:
http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2009/10/costume-changes-season-seven.html

Eight:
http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2009/10/costume-changes-season-eight.html

Nine:
http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2009/10/costume-changes-season-nine.html

Ten:
http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2009/10/costume-changes-season-ten.html

Eleven:
http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2009/11/costume-changes-season-eleven.html

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We nearly veered to doing the Season 7 look. Black Velvet jacket, white frilled shirt, long floppy western tie and the cape with red interior lining.

(Incidentally if you're after the floppy western tie I point folks back to an option for the Hartnell tie: http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/neckties.php?from=leftnav )

This is because it's easier to find cape with red interior and black velvet jackets for men. Or even Blue or Green velvet blazers for that matter.

So after a long thought I decided the quintessential you-can't-mistake-him Pertwee was the early Season 8 look from Terror of the Autons and The Mind of Evil. Publicity pic here:

The Frilled Shirt:

You can find frilled shirts at any vintage clothing store. Usually though these are high school band or maraichi band cast offs and rarely are the 70's real deal. Also a lot of the ones we found were blue, yellow, green or white with black/brown laced frills - fine for other version of three but not ours.

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

An ebay dealer who sells a lot of ex-rental frilled shirts is here:
http://stores.ebay.com/vintage-aintnodisco
Although more local options crop up as well obviously.

We got ours (white frills on white) from Iguana Clothing in Hollywood for about $15- I can't recommend these guys more for selection. Most of Three's shirts were actually zip-up with the two rows of frills flanking the center - something you won't normally find in a frilled shirt off the rack - so this is something to consider modifying down the line from a fabirc store and you're favorite sewing friend or seamstress.

The one we bought luckily hid the buttons with the middle 'third' frill so we didn't worry about this. The shirt was good but it needed something.... the trademark long 'hanging wings' collar. It needed more 70's!

Our '07 Three cosplayer drew up a basic sketch/pattern for the collar, bought some patching white cotton fabric and had his local tailor make and add the new colla ron the shirt for about $35. We re-used the same shirt in 2008.

The Pants:

Black dress slacks are all you really need. Preferably suit slacks with the center crease in the legs. Ideally a 70's cut with some flair (but not too much) on the bottom or at the very least a straight leg.

Our Three cosplayer bought his at a Men's Warehouse but any Dept. Store, even a thrift store should have something suitable for $25 or less.

As an added note Pertwee never seemed to wear suspenders so if extra support is needed then go with a simple black belt only.

The Shoes/Boots:

Pertwee work Penny Loafers and/or ankle boots (w/cuban style heel) also known as Chelsea Boots which later became the Beatles Boots (with the narrower ankle and zip-up side added) off and on during his run. We opted for the Ankle Boot for the heel and just becasue...well they're cooler looking.

Ankle boots can be custom made by any good bootmaker such as
http://www.duranshoesla.com/pricelist.html - who do great work and often do Austin Powers boots.

You can buy these fairly easily off the rack from other shoe outlets like Shoe pavilion or find them in Dept. Stores like Macy's and Pennys. Just try and shoe for one that's plain black, pointed toe, inner zipper and a high cuban heel. I've seen these go for as cheap as $30 in some stores on sale.

Along these lines:
http://www.shoepavilion.com/rockport-hatton.html
http://www.nashvilleboots.com/ankle_m_133_ctg.htm
http://search.ebay.com/boots-ankle-men_W0QQfkrZ1QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ32QQkeywordZbootsQ20ankleQ20men

Budget Option- Any black dress shoe you own or can find on sale/used for $20 or less.

The Pinky Ring:

Pertwee wore a completely silver, flat oval pinky ring on his right hand for most of his run. My friend scored a round almost donut shaped silver ring at a flea market and it did the job. Like the Hartnell rings: ebay, costume/jewelry stores, and flea markets are your best friends here. Something close can probably be had for under $10.

Update 10-6-09:
Coutesy of warmcanofcoke - we know have some definitive imformation on Pertwee's ring and how to better find a close copy!

From: Doctor Who Magazine #241 (31st July 1996)
Pg. 18 Out of the Tardis - Jon Pertwee interview

What is your most treasured Possession?

"I should think probably this ring. The coin that you see on it shows Athene, the owl goddess of wisdom. A roman sailor came across this coin - obviously somebody from Greece had come to Rome and used this coin - and he thought, "That's nice, I'm going to have it made into a ring,"and then he took it to sea with him, and kept in in a little pot. In about 1958 I was diving and found this wreck, pulled up all the amphora - we also found the stock of the anchor, so we were able to see what the boat was. and date it to about 55AD from the insignia on the side - and in one of the pots I found this ring, from the poor bloody sailor who had obviously drowned. I gave it to a man called Silver Douglas, a jeweller, who did it up for me to make it fit my little finger and it's been there ever since - you can probably see in on a lot of the Doctor Who photos."

This is apparently a very sought after coin. I once saw one selling for $500 US so I recommend getting a reproduction and having a ring made. I bought a reproduction but it's sitting on a shelf because i haven't gotten around to making a ring just yet.

(pic by warmcanofcoke)

More info on the coin itself:
A very famous coin, the Athenian Silver tetradrachm, with Athena, the patron Goddess of the city of Athens on the obverse, and the owl on the reverse side.

Minted in various versions, according to the year minted, the Athenian tetradrachm was a very popular and diachronic coin. Its production started at about 510 BC, and it introduced the "Attic" standard of 4,3 gr as the new standard in coins' weight.

The Lavrion mines with their plenty supply of silver and the increasing dominance of the city of Athens in trade, made this new weight standard a famous standard.

Tetradrachms with the same weight continued to be the most widely used coins through the Hellenistic period and afterwards by the Hellenistic monarchs.

-----------

Original greek coins:
http://www.ancientresource.com/lots/greek/coins_athens.html

Replicas:
http://rg.ancients.info/owls/replicas.html
http://www.ioffer.com/search/items/athene/text_pics/ioffer/130000/0/false
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/thumbnails.php?album=10&page=4
http://www.dorchesters.com/shop/greek/athens_silver_didrachm.htm
http://www.dorchesters.com/shop/greek/athens_gold_stater.htm

Ring copies:
http://www.greekjewelryshop.com/catalog/item/5581484/5760051.htm
http://www.thisnext.com/item/9D02593B/E5637D46/Greek-Jewelry-Shop-Athenas-Owl

Also some of these do crop up on ebay both coin repros and coin ring repros- in the $25-$150 range. FYI base don the description we think it's the owl side facing out on the ring!

By Season 10 onwards he seems to have adopted a second silver pinky ring on the right hand as well so FYI.

The Watch:

This is something we missed earlier. Pertwee wore a sport looking watch. In Season 7-8 it had a round dial, black center face/silver/white ring with white numerals and hands. The watch itself is silver with a silver linked metal band. Season 9-11 the watch seems the same but the band has been replaced with a black leather strap. Wish I'd spotted this earlier. I happen to own a watch similar to the Season 7/8 style so that will be our go-to Three watch for now.

Pertwee also wore a flat silver chained bracelet on the right wrist from time to time as well.

The TARDIS Key:

Pertwee used the Plain Yale key which Hartnell and Troughton used before him for Seasons 7-10. A Yale key can be had through any key maker or key making section at your Home Depot or Osh for a few dollars at most.

While it's not Season 8 accurate we preferred the more famous Gallifrey "Shovel Wedge" Key that Pertwee used in Season 11 and Tom Baker later used in Season 12-13 (and later again by McGann in the TVM).

(Photo by Vickie Sebring)

You can get one of these shovel keys usually through ebay. There are fan made copies, the 80's convention Spirit of Light keys, the official BBC slightly more filled out keys from the mid-90s, and the newer more accurate thinner keys I see mostly on the convention circuit (distinguished by a lean black box with unmarked clear top). These generally go for $20-$40 on ebay.

You can also scour the usual Who online merchants for whenever they might get a small stock of these in through thier acquisitions:
www.doctorwhostore.com
www.whona.com

Most keys come with a chain to hang it on.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=TARDIS+key

Our Three is using my old Mid-90s BBC Key from my 1.0 version of Four I put together 5 years ago.

The Bow Tie:

Pertwee often wore a black wide bow tie. Earlier ones seem to be silk or wool. By Season 10 it looked to be velvet.

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

We use a clip-on wide black bow tie we picked up on ebay for $10 after shipping. Clip on or real- you just need a nice wide 70's style bow tie in black. Or go tie-less since Pertwee himself often did that anyway.

http://www.beautiesltd.com/DEPTNOGROUP.ASPX?pn_deptid=5891
http://www.bow-ties.net/
http://folds.net/bowtie/

The Velvet Smoking Jacket:

Inspired by the latter-day Regency "Blood" style in the UK - Pertwee's Season 8 Jacket was a single breasted red velvet smoking jacket with 2 frog closures and a rounded lapel (not to be confused with his later Season 10 red velvet jacket with three closures).

This was the biggest pain to find. If one were to go all out I'd actually recommend you go find yourself some nice red velvet and make or have the coat made since finding a coat in the right fabric/color/style in your size is next to impossible.

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

If you stick with thrift storing it like we did - then I would highly recommend considering switching to the Black, Green or Blue velvet blazers for modifying as these are all MUCH easier to find in general let alone in modern men's sizes.

The only place I ever found red velvet blazers (granted they were all still too expensive or too small) were Iguana Clothing in Hollywood and Aardvark's in Pasadena.
http://www.iguanaclothing.com/
http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3711032830

Also a good place to find vintage velvet blazers and smoking jackets online is this UK site: www.savvyrow.co.uk
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/SAVVY-ROW__W0QQ_armrsZ1

If you're a girl crossplaying you have it much easier- it's ten times easier to find red velvet blazers in the women's section. So if you're a guy with a small build keep your mind open in that direction if you get desperate. The best place I found for women's velvet blazers were Jetrag and American Vintage.
http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/2007/09/12/vintage-spots-22-la-jet-rag/
http://www.american-vintageclothing.com/

After 5 months of searching, we ended up finding a red velvet blazer for modifying through this online vintage dealer for $40:
http://www.wordlesssongs.com/

Also keep en eye on www.rustyzipper.com and www.vintagetrends.com for good finds.

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

I noticed the best red velvet blazers from the era tended to be by a Spainish company named Cortefiel so something else to look out for. (Translated into English, "cortefiel" means "good tailoring".)

Cortefiel has a long-established reputation as a maker of fine garments, and owns a chain of specialty stores in 10 countries, based in Madrid, Spain. Cortefiel scaled back its marketing after the 1970s, and essentially is no longer distributing its designer clothing outside of Europe. Incidentally Cortefiel made the original Columbo Raincoat worn through the entire 1970s run of the show.

Back to Pertwee... always check local shops first as you'll have a better chance of finding a deal - they tend to be more expensive online.
http://www.monstervintage.com/Vintage_Clothing/Mens/Suits/Vintage+Retro+Velvet+Jackets/list_050_000.html

There are other expensive options for buying a New Smoking jacket online if you do a search but in all honesty if you start paying that kind of money I'd say get it custom made and have it done right.

If you're on the ebay route after searching for smoking jacket do a search for men's velvet sport coats or blazers and you'll turn up more hits. It's cheaper to find a good base coat to mod than having one made or finding one brand new.

For modifying we took the Red Blazer to my local seamstress. We bought 3 packets of black fabric tape (about $1.60 per packet/4 meters) from Jo-Ann to be added for the lapel/sleeve/bottom/pocket edging. We bought two large black frog closures from F&S fabrics for about $10 to replace the buttons. We had the sleeves let out an inch as well as some lining repair done on the right sleeve and some tapering in on the waist.

While I'm happy with the end result it's annoying that only in certain light- usually outdoors/bright light- does it really sing red. Other times it looks burgandy or near black. Ugh, the downsides of the dreaded velvet! Not exactly non-canon but definately something we'll look at upgrading down the line.

For a better version of the red velvet smoking jacket check out praedestinatio's version worn at SDCC '08 by kiralikescake.

If you're after a black smoking jacket FYI- there was a great off-the-rack one made to tie in with the 007 movie Casino Royale, that's very close to a Season 7/8/9 style that I see float out there from time to time. It has the shawl/rounded lapel, piping, sleeve and it only has one frog closure just like the one used on screen. So if you find one and add a second frog closure it should be a very close copy of the early Pertwee jacket. These used to go for $100-$200 on ebay (and these wer eon sale at the time). I believe the make was Ralph Lauren. So FYI for ebay hunters.

UPDATE 1/28/09
I've seen some cool looking velvet blazers at Macy's in the Men's dept in brown, burgandy, dark green and black for those looking for donor blazers. These are currently on sale for $30-$40 each. The makes are Alfani and Perry Ellis.

10-6-09: New pics of Pertwee's Screen used Green Vlevet Blazer from Season 11!

(All pics are courtesy of Steve Ricks- taken at the 2009 Bonhams auction)

The Inverness Cape:

For those unfamiliar with the Inverness Cape (Or Opera Cape as it's sometimes called in the USA) it's basically a wool/gabardine sleeveless overcoat with a half cape attached a the neck to cover the arms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverness_cape

(Back of the Red Cape)

Although it's important to note there's two types of Inverness- one with the attached single cape - like the kind of thins Elvis presley wore in the 70's and a less common version which had two capelets for the 'sleeves' which were pretty large and often looks like a single cape from nearly every angle except the back. Pertwee's Inverness Red and Blue lined Capes were the second twin capelet version. His Tartan Cape was the more common Single cape version.

As TOTHgraphics further explains on the single vs double cape difference:

"I suspect that we find ourselves on the fuzzy boundary line between the MacFarlane and the Inverness. A murky costumer's conundrum, which I believe was intentionally concocted by Highlanders simply to confuse the rest of the world. This topic has been debated right down to the last degree and final stitch by the Holmes-ians, all to no purpose. As far as I can see the difference is; one cape or two, hood or no hood. My understanding, (little good may it do me) is that the Inverness had two capes and a hood, (unless you're Basil Rathbone, who was always hoodless) while the MacFarlane had one cape and no hood. BUT then there is what we Yanks call the "opera cape" which is the Inverness in black without a hood and intended for very formal evening wear. It's this version that we first see Pertwee in. A generation or three ago, in the UK it was still worn by "professional" men like physicians and bankers. And judging from Japanese tailors WebPages that I can't actually read it's still worn over there with formal suits, but gray seems to be preferred over black."

(Backs of the Red and Blue capes)

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

Pertwee wore a few different cloaks or Inverness Capes ruing his era. The big three are the black with red satin lining and black velvet collar, the black with blue satin lining with black velvet collar and the plaid/tartan tweed version he wore later in The Green Death and The Five Doctors. In ,Season 7 the Black/red had regular buttons. By Season 8 this black/red Inverness had 4 Frog Closures. The Black/Blue always had the 4 Frog Closures. The Tartan Inverness has for fabric/button closures.

Sticking to plan on Season 8 we opted for the black inverness with blue lining and black velvet collar. This isn't sold off the rack sadly.

(Back of the tartan cape)

We ordered ours custom from www.twinrosedesigns.com and the lady here was a Who fan and very helpful - and reasonably priced for a custom garment in the $200 range. Due to lower cost budget restrictions we opted for the more common single cape style Inverness as well.

(Photo by Scott Sebring)

For those after the red lined one you can go here:
http://www.invernesscapes.com/black.htm
But it's expensive- you're honestly better going to the first link above.
There's also this option:
http://www.kilts.com/inverness.htm

For budget costumers you can buy one of the black plastic vinyl Inverness Capes that are often offered on ebay in $20 or less range. You can even look into adding red or blue satin fabric to the interior with sewing or glue which was an option I considered at the start.

For those in the SF bay area - Vintage inverness capes can apparantly be readily had in, of all places, Japantown in San Francisco. There is a store called Genji, which carries them all the time.
(415) 643-4411
20090 Cesar Chavez St
San Francisco, CA

They usually have 5-10 Invernesses in stock, and they charge between $130 and $150. They are all black wool, fully lined, have various pockets, and come in assorted sizes. If you want a patterned fabric, you are on your own.

(Photo by Vickie Sebring)

Some more Inverness links (closest thing I've found to a pattern):
http://www.marquise.de/en/1900/howto/men/inverness1.jpg
http://www.marquise.de/en/1900/howto/men/inverness2.jpg
Links are courtesy of TOTHgraphics!

For added results it's a good idea to pin/saftey pin the Inverness Cape onto your Smoking Jacket to prevent shifting and the cape riding back on you.

2011 update:

Steve Ricks has started taking commissions for black with the red, blue or even purple lined Inverness Capes. Check out his blog for more information, pricing etc.

http://thirddoctorcostume.blogspot.com/2010/10/inverness-cape-construction-is-in.html#more

The Wig:

Our Three Cosplayer in 2007 bought a Bill Clinton Wig and had it styled a bit fomr this Wig shop: www.wigshop.com or www.wigs.com

He also chalked up his dark eyebrows and side burns to match.

For 2008 we got a different wig from Wig's Outfitters in Hollywood in the $60 range plus some additional cutting and styling. The final wig looked good for Season 7 but they cut it a tad shot for Season 8. But c'est la Vie. You want to err more to a light blond than grey here but pick at your own discretion.

Gallifrey 2009 - The only upgrade made here was the wig again. We felt the last one was too short and didn't have enough body. It'll eek you by for Season 7 Three but not Season 8. We're pretty happy with the new one- scored from Outfitter Wigs in Hollywood.

(New Wig Photo by Scott Sebring)

We added some white powder and make-up alog with a few tricks to whitened up our Three cosplayers skin tone and add some age lines (although in some pictures he comes off more as Chrisopher Lee vampire than Pertwee but this couldn't be helped) We used some white base make-up to lighten his eyebrows and then for the side burns we found a good match for the wig at Cinema Secrets in Burbank (a lace beard we cut in half actually!) and glued them on with spirit gum.

(Photo by Vickie Sebring)

www.cinemasecrets.com

The Sonic Screwdriver:

Neither of our Three cosplayers carried a Sonic Screwdriver as they didn't like how it ruined the lines on the coat but they occasionally borrowed one of my older spares I had for my ever improving Four Sonic for photos. For a specific Three Sonic (with the yellow and black lines in the center section and flatter head emitter) one is often sold on ebay through either Timelord Pocket or Russell's Replicas.
http://www.timelordspocket.com/

The original Sonic Screwdriver props originated in the Pertwee era first appearing in the Sea Devils. It was a leftover/modified Thunderbirds Movie prop that got shuffled in use on Dr. Who after they were through with (with some minor painting/re-bashing over the years). Contrary to popular thinking, there was only ever one prop used and no duplicates were made (aside from vac formed model in The Visitation). The changing look of the prop evolved from repairs and repaints. For instance, the difference between when Pertwee used it and when Baker used it was that the surface decals and rubber O-Rings were removed.

It's been rumored that the original prop was a modified Chiropractic tool from the 1960s - The Activator. Although speciically it's been said it should be a 1967 British Imporial brand Chiropratic Activator tool. So if you ever come across one- be sure to try and grab it!

After Tom's departure, Davison used it briefly before it was destroyed on screen in The Visitation. This marks the the only time a stunt prop was created - a crude vac-formed version. Proof that there was only ever one prop is quite obvious - there's quite a deep scratch on a certain area of the prop and that was there right from the start and still there until its final demise. The prop makers of the time would in no way replicate such an element.

Aside from the original and the 'stunt' prop the only other version used on screen was the new one made for the TVM.

The original metal prop was then kept by Producer John Nathan-Turner where it sat on his desk until the early 1990's when it was stolen and never to be seen again. This is why no good pictures of the original prop have surfaced since then.

Iconic Replicas is due to release a Sonic soon but it will run $300 and it's strctly the Baker styling.

8-10-10:
Stop Press!

You can buy the new Character Options toy! Should Sell between $20 and $40 this is a cheap sonic with SOUND EFX. You can't go wrong with this toy.

http://www.dandbcomics.com/products/498-3rd-doctors-sonic-screwdriver.aspx

This should be availble to buy from other who outlets such as www.whona.com, doctorwhostore.com, bigbadtoystore.com, www.mikescomics.com and www.jrstoyworld.com in September 2010.

And as always for great reference pictures I always use the Tragical History Tour:
http://drwhotht.phenominet.com/

Costume Tee shirt:

Forbidden Planet now sells a Pertwee costume tee shirt in the style of his Frontier in Space outfit. 16.99 gbp or $25.00 each.

http://forbiddenplanet.com/73254-doctor-who-t-shirts-3rd-doctor-costume-forbidden-planet-exclusive/

And voila! One Third Doctor in a thrice ready for some Venusian Akido!

Hope this helps any potential Three cosplayers. I know we're heavily debating going for one of Petwee's later iterations next - probably the Green or Brown looks he had in later Season 10.

With that said, tomorrow I'll be moving on to my very favorite Who costume of all time. My pride and joy - the Four Breakdown.

-honorarydoctor

johnsyountly.blogspot.com

Source: https://honorarydoctor.livejournal.com/21831.html

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