11 shirt - Paul Smith modifications pt1

Today I start work doing the modifications needed to make my Paul Smith PS shirt (see right) as screen accurate as possible.

I manages to get hold of one that fits – which is a bonus!


There are three modifications to make to get the shirt looking right:

Breast pocket – The Paul Smith shirt has a breast pocket, which is not present on the Matt Smith shirt.

Cuffs – The Matt Smith shirt has a couple of bold burgundy stripes around the cuffs, which are not on the Paul Smith shirt.

Button stand – The Paul Smith shirt has a flap, concealing the buttons from view when it is worn, but on the Matt Smith shirt they are clearly visible.

I am working on the basis that no-one has a Paul Smith PS shirt for themselves, so I intend to go through these three modifications in as much detail as space permits, which may make them a little patronising. Sorry for this in advance, but I thought it worth covering it all.

The first modification I need to make is real simple: the Paul Smith PS shirt has a breast pocket, which is not present on the version Matt Smith wears.

I need to very carefully unpick the stitching around the pocket (see above) and remove it in one piece (see left).

This gives me a nice fabric swatch sample to use. I have also retained the cotton I removed, as I will need to get a colour reference for sewing later.

While I am in an unpicking mode, I now prepare for the next modification, which is on the cuffs.

In the first publicity still which emerged of Matt Smith in costume (see right), it is possible to see the cuffs of his shirt.
Curiously these are different from the Paul Smith PS shirt, in that they have two rings of burgundy stripes around them (see right, insert).
In fact, if you look very closely you may also be able to see that the wiggly line between the stripes does not seem to be as red as the rest of the shirt, instead looking quite dark, almost black.

Once I got my Paul Smith PS shirt, the mystery of the cuffs was solved.

The sleeves have a button on the outside of the upper arm (see left, left), and attached inside is a strap. This strap buttons around the sleeve, keeping them up like a short-sleeved shirt.

The straps have burgundy stripes with dark blue wiggly lines between them – a perfect match to the cuffs! (see left, right)

So what I need to do now is very carefully remove the straps from insdie the sleeves (see below, top left & right); I then equally carefully unpick the straps themselves to find that they are folded twice over before being stitched (see below, bottom left), making for quite a wide piece of fabric (see below, bottom right)

Now that I have extracted the straps and opened them out flat, I can see the dark wiggly lines (as opposed to the burgundy colour of the rest of the shirt) and the stripes themselves (see below).

I need to press the fabric nice and flat and plan how I am going to attach them to the cuffs. Presenting the fabric to the cuffs I can immediately see some issues that need to be sorted out.
Firstly the fabric is not as long as the cuff, falling short by a good four inches. Luckily the fabric is wide enough to cut in half and join into a longer length.
Then, when it is attached, I need to be aware of the buttonholes on the cuffs and need to avoid covering them.

Once I have planned it out, I’ll be back to sew them in place.
Check back soon to follow how I get on.