Wednesday 25 March 2009

The competition's efforts

I think I have already established that I seek perfection in anything I do, and this coat is just one of those things what if it's not right, it's not worth doing at all.

So I thought I would just do a little round-up of some of the coats on offer on the internet at the moment. If you know of any I have missed - let me know with links and I'll update this entry.

I haven't set out to be harsh, but I will say as I see and praise where credit's due, but point out shortfalls where they occur. If I had found THE perfect coat, I wouldn't have gone down the risky route of making my own, where I only have myself to blame if it goes wrong!



I was (initially) very excited when I came across an eBay listing for a replica of The Doctor's suit and coat. It seemed too good to be true: real cheap and made to measure - just BuyItNow and give them your measurements then in a few weeks I'd have my perfect suit and coat.



It didn't look too bad from the pictures.
They seemed to have grasped most of the key points - and for a bargain of around US$120 (though they seem to vary listing to listing).

However, when it arrived, I was somewhat disappointed. The suit was quite a baggy fit (but at least it wasn't too tight - you can always take in a baggy suit). The coat - which I knew I would be wearing a lot more - just didn't cut it for me. The material - a bog standard wool blend - was too mustardy and didn't hang right. The design was quite badly out.

For example the outer pockets did not even have flaps; the gusseted back was covered off, but this went all the way down to hemline, without a splitted lower.

The lapels are just a classic coat notched lapel, totally lacking the character of the real coat. It's a subtle thing, but when it's wrong it don't arf show.

I contacted them and had a little moan about a few things and they agreed to remake the coat for me for a partial fee. This time it would be a better colour and have pocket flaps.

Sadly when this new coat arrived, it was far far too dar. Almost a chocolate. The pocket flaps had been done (and I believe they have ever since cut it that way) but there were straight rather than at the raked angle they should be. But the real big problem with this coat was it stank! It was a repulsive, almost tar like smell; the smell of a freshly creaosoated fence! There would be no way I could wear that!

3 out of 10, sorry.

As I explained in The Mk I coat, my next step was to do it myself!

Since then I have seen several other 'screen accurate' coat on offer around the net, and to be totally honest I don't think any live up to expectation.

Magnoli Clothiers produce a real good range of quality looking clothing, for a price. They are certainly not cheap. Originally they had a rather lame looking coat which was not at all accurate, despite having a hefty price tag.

More recently they, credit to them, have taken on board comments and have a more more screen accurate pattern, picking up on a lot of the often missed points, though not executing them entirely right. This is priced at US$695 for wool and US$850 for faux suede.

The colour does not look that good, and is very pink, but I am hoping that is just bad photography (can anyone answer that for me?). If this is the case, then a little retouching would not have gone amiss to give the coat a fighting chance of at least looking right.

They were the first to correctly add the four darts on the back of the coat, as well as the buttoned split below the waist.

Their outer pockets, although the correct shape, are sewn in the wrong method. The real coat has the flaps sewn on above the pocket, rather then into the welt as Magnoli has done.

The lapels are better than anyone else's, but in my eyes still need a little work. The collar remains a little too pointed for my liking.

So, 8.5 out of 10 for pattern - what about the fabric. Well, it looks better than the wool used by Honest Dragon, and is at least a faux suede. The only thing is that it looks SO stiff. Like it is made from cardboard - and creases like cardboard too.

I think if they went with a better material they would have a real winner there, unlike . . .

BARON BOUTIQUE
I am somewhat dubious about this seller. They sell a wide range of clothing from a variety of film and tv, but it all just looks more miss than hit, and their Tennant coat is no exception.

We are back to nasty wool blend fabric, and although they have been liaising with a fan to get a better pattern, they seem to have reached a plateau, which leaves it somewhat short of the mark.

They have included the darted back - but this runs from shoulder seam right down to hemline; their slitted back appears to lack the pleats and buttons; their lapels and collar is halfway between Honest Dragon and Magnoli, and is again lacking the character needed.



This coat was the subject of a long thread on www.doctorwhoforum.com and a lot of people put forward their suggestions to improve the cut.

Sadly, a suggestion I made to contact them and include them in a group buying of the Alcantara fabric came to nothing, as I was warned off by the fan who had been liasing with Barons. I guess he wanted the credit for himself. Never mind.

Although the effort was made, to be frank, it has not resulted in a better coat. It is barely above Honest Dragon, and at US$379 is a much more expensive option.

4 out of 10 for effort only.

Lastly I thought I would share a couple of new entries into the race - one of which is a bit laughable!

Both are on eBay.

The first is by a seller called tssy2005. This is not a bad effort at all. It almost looks like they have taken a Magnoli coat and copied their pattern.

Their coats sell for a pretty good price: US$99 for the faux suede, but US$129 for a wool version.

The faux suede used is a good colour and looks pretty accurate, though like Magnoli, maybe a little stiff.

UPDATE:
I recently found one of the buyers of this coat, and he has posted these additional images of the coat. Thanks to Protowho for allowing me to share these pictures.

I have chatted to him about his coat, which he seems very happy with. Here is what he said about the coat:
After much debate and some communication with the seller I bought this coat off eBay from the seller tssy. Its not perfect and has its flaws but for what I paid for it it is amazing, and is the best fitting article of clothing I’ve had.

It’s actually (looking) redder due to lighting.

The seller was very helpful and made modifications based on request including a shiny purple liner and back buttons. She didn’t include the inner chest pocket but that was due to a miscomunicate.
7 out of 10. Not bad.

Another seller who seems to be working from the same pattern is medinaboys. He had this coat on offer, but I think it was a one off as it does not feature in his eBay shop anymore.

The cut is good, though maybe a little short from these pictures, with some well observed details, especially the orange/red welts to the inside pockets - something I need to address with my next coat.

Fabric-wise it is made from a faux suede, but yet again looking a somewhat stiff.

Nice blue suit by the way - not a bad find there!

7 out of 10 for good observation.

And finally . . . just for comical effect, the last one I'll look at is by a seller called sinwear. A very appropriate name as this coat is sinful by design and sells for a sinful price: US$220!

I don't know where to start with this. It is just so dreadful on so many levels with no redeeming features at all.

How many buttons does The Doctor need to do his coat up?

I almost feel it was made as 'a' coat, and it has been labelled as a Doctor Who coat in a vein attempt to sell it.

In fact the listing states:
This looks like Doctor Who coat as worn by The current Doctor in Doctor Who!

This is not a fancy dress item Made to a high standard
Well, they ain't kidding - it certainly is NOT made to a high standard!

What you probably can't quite see from the pictures here, is that it is made from a herringbone material!

Well it doesn't work for me!

0 out of 10.

Prices and links correct at time of writing blog. No endorsement is intended for any specific design or seller. Blog written partly in fun - please don't take this too seriously.

19 comments:

  1. Wow, this is really informative for any fans who want to know what they can get, and at what price. Thanks!

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  2. Thanks for the reviews! I have really been wanting a coat like this for awhile and was debating between the Honest Dragon, tssy2005 and Magnoli coats. Per your info I will drop the HD one... I much prefer the price of the tssy2005 one but wonder if it is of decent quality? More than just costume wear anyway.

    I actually e-mailed Magnoli about the color of the coat in the pics as I had found a couple of others in a search that looked right and he said the pics on the site are actually washed out.

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  3. Re Baron Boutique, that 'fan' Lynx the Sontaran, aka Mark Ferris is a total tool. He wouldn't know accuracy if it bit him on his scrawny little ass.

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  4. Cool, thanks for the update! Those pics show it better. I just sent a message to tssy2005 about the mods you talked about.

    I had contacted abbysoft who apparently does tv/movie clothing as well and got a kinda crypitc responce that they can't talk about it but sounds like they may be making one in the near future.

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  5. I have removed a comment form here because of foul language.
    Please keep your postings clean.

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  6. Just some dude26 June 2009 at 18:31

    I have a tssy coat, and I was expecting something beyond terrible ... but it was actually great! Made to a very high standard, my tailor was dumbfounded at the quality for the price I paid. Needed a few mods however, accurate buttons, darts in the back taken in, but overall I'm extremely happy, and surprised!

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  7. I think if I hadn't made my own I would have been tempted with a Tssy coat too.

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  8. My wife is probably gonna end up getting my a Tssy coat here for my b-day in a few weeks (and an honestdragonchina brown/blue suit...I'm not quite sure how I feel about that having read your reviews of their trench...), and I'm curious if I should have her get the Faux Suede or the Wool Version? Does anyone know whcich one is the better one? Which kind did the guy you got pictures from say he had? Also, if it was redder in the pics than real life, should Ihave them go with a more coldenrod color than brown on my version?

    I wish I had a couple thousand dollars to drop on a Magnoli set of both, but slightly above minnimum wage don't allow for that and bills to get paid.

    Also, any chance of releasing your pattern for mass (or at least fan) consumption? Getting it graded probably wouldn't cost too much and you could rake in $30 a pop per pattern from us diehards who want to make our own. ;-)

    Anwyway, if anyone has the answers to my questions, i'll check back frequently.

    Thx,

    JYH

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  9. I think it depends on your budget and what you are looking for detail-wise in a coat.
    Honest Dragon is good for you pocket, but it only really services the silhouette of the coat and skips a lot of the finer details.
    Tssy does contain a lot more accurate details, though some are a still a little out.
    Someone recently contacted me to show off their Tssy coat, which had been modified to make it a bit closer. It looked good, but in the photos I saw it still came across as looking quite red. He also said it was not as red in real-life. Strange.
    This is all very well, but if it shows up red in photographs, and if it is being judged in photographs, then that is where the colour really counts - in my opinion.

    Anyway - don't let me put you off. As I think I said before, if I hadn't had the skill to make my own, I would have gone for a Tssy coat.

    Shame your budget is limited - maybe we could have talked about commissioning me to make you one!

    Finally, sorry, I don't want to make my pattern available as it has taken me a lot of effort and research to get it to where it is.

    Best of luck!

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  10. Trust me, mate: If I had the cash, you'd be at the top of the short list of people I'd be calling for things! ;-) If I were to save up and give it a go, what ballpark figure in poundage/dollars would you possibly quote me? Not for an Alcantra mind you, just something that has the proper shape and colour?

    As for the honestdragonchina stuff, I won't be getting their overcoat, I'm gonna go with TSSY instead. My only other question is if I should swing towards the Faux Suede or the Wool. I plan on wearing this coat nearly everyday that it's cold, and I wonder which will be the more durable and warm.

    Though I am now Very, Very, VERY scared of my wife paying HonestDragonChina good money for the 2 piece suit, after doing a bit more in depth research of it. Seeing your photo comparison on the Fabric type, and the close-ups of your version of the suit, make me not want it to ruin my birthday by getting it. Hell, the thing doesn't even have any BLUE in it, much less the proper pockets, back belting and darts.

    But it's so inexpensive! Ugh, Rock and a hard place. Anywho, thanks friend for this site! It is a great endeavour and a wonderful subject!

    Best,

    JYH

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  11. JYH - could you message me direct by email?
    tennantcoat@me.com

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  12. FOr Me i Discovered this Great site too late and y buy the SinWear Coat !

    It is truly not accurate to the doctor Coat, no exterior pockets (it's just Flaps) Only the Inner Pocket !

    The coat is made to "measurment" it arrived Too too Long for me with a lot of error and bad work on the coat !

    Very Very Poor Quality for a too Higt Price !

    If you want photo ask me i can make someone !

    And sorry for my bad english i'm french !

    Bye,

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  13. Sorry to hear you have had a bad experience buying an (alleged) Tennant Coat.

    I would much like to see your pictures of a SinWear coat, as I have not spoken to anyone who has bought one.
    Get in touch with me direct at tennantcoat@me.com

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  14. I recently was on the magnoli site and they just updated a new action shot of the coat and the color looks much better. In contact with Indy Magnoli, he said that he felt bad that he hadn't updated the photos because apparently his current coat is much different.

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  15. there is a tennant long-coat from abbyshot. it is accurate? is it good?

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  16. Beware Magnoli Clothiers. He farms his work out and gives poor excuses why items havent been finished. He claims to offer custom work but when you ask for custom detailing he gives more poor excuses why it cant be done. He is not a tailor/seamstress. He farms work out for cheap and charges outrages prices for crap.

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  17. Ebay user Buyitjnow was doing a run of custom fit Tennant coats. I bought one for my boyfriend, and it seems to be fairly close to the real thing, from what I can see, anyway. It has the blue lining, orange pocket edges, split in the back, back vent, and is a thin flowy faux-suede material. He said it is quite comfortable, too.

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  18. could you do a review of the abbyshot coat? I'd love to see how well they did by comparison

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