Matt Smith’s costume tests

Some photos have been doing the rounds on the net, and I’ve avoided reprinting them here, but the latest was posted by Karen Gillian herself, so I’m kinda thinking they aren’t being seen as too confidential.

Most of the photos relate to a costume test day held to finalise Matt Smith’s costume as the Eleventh Doctor.

The first shot shows Matt wearing a cream coloured long coat.

From what I understand this is a costume Ray Holman was developing for the Eleventh Doctor to wear. For whatever reason it was shelved.

Ray can be seen in the mirror taking the photo.

Next Matt is seen in a short sleeved white t-shirt, under a black high-cut waistcoat, worn with black jeans and a leather belt.

It’s hard to tell, but Matt may or may not be the All Saints boots which were his specific choice.

Next Matt adds a simple three-quarter length black coat.

Matt then changes outfit, adding a large dark grey coat, with a grey tie and shirt and the black waistcoat.

It’s amusing to remember that costume designer Ray Holman also choose the Belstaff coat for Sherlock, and this look isn’t so far removed from that.

The next look is all a bit piratey, with a red and white striped t-shirt under another waistcoat.

This waistcoat doesn’t have the extended points at the bottom.

The jacket over the top has brass military style buttons.

Matt looks less impressed with combining the striped t-shirt with an overcoat.

Next Matt changes the the striped t-shirt for a checked shirt.

The discarded t-shirt can be seen hanging on the rail behind him.

The jacket and waistcoat look to be the same - don’t be distracted by the very different lighting between this and the previous shot.

Matt then switches the brass-buttoned jacket for a leather one.

Finally Matt tries on a Paul Smith shirt, with braces and a bow tie -
The Doctor is in the building!

The last photo, which Karen Gillian posted on Twitter, is the very first time Matt and Karen were taken together in full and final costume.

Matt’s jacket is the Harris Tweed seen in Time Of Angels and if you look closely he is wearing a blue bow tie with the burgundy shirt (as above), a colour combination never seen in series five.

A tie at the Eleventh Hour - the finishing touches

My plans to make a perfect copy of the Eleventh Hour Christian Lacroix tie have been going well. So well I now have a handful of finished ties. I was kind of expecting something to go wrong along the way, but all has gone to plan, which is reassuring.

The last thing I need to do is add some special colour to finish them off.

When the tie first appeared there was a lot of debate and speculation about the colouring of the tie. The blue swirly design has areas of enclosed shapes, which look red, but not quite the same as the tie worn by David Tennant.

As we now know, it wasn’t the same tie, hence the differences between them.


But if you look very closely during The Eleventh Hour, three are inconsistencies even within the episode. This is because there are multiple copies of the tie used.

If you look at the location scenes, there are no red sections to the tie.

These scenes would have been shot first, so it is possible the red areas were not yet painted.

The blue highlights are present.

But if you look at the studio scenes, the red patches are very prominent.

The placement of the blue swirly pattern is also notably different.
If you look at the section below the knot (with the two red patches) the location used tie has this moved over to the right.

When I saw the real tie close-up I found the red patches of colour were actually just simply painted on.
There were also some dark blue highlights on the embroidery.

I needed to match these to make the ties complete.

I’ve kept some off-cuts of the brown silk which I can use to swatch test the red paints on.


There are a number of fabric paint suppliers on the market, and before committing to which to use I went through quite a few.

Some are transparent paints, for painting on light colour fabrics; others more opaque for use on darker colours.

I found the latter to be too dominant, so a blend of the two produced a result I liked.


Now I’ve got a good mix of red I can begin painting.

This is all a bit out of my comfort box, so I just have to trust that the paint will take and settle down to an even coverage.

When the paint is first applied it looks a lot brighter and blotchier than it ends up.

A second light coat evens out any remaining inconsistencies.


Finally I need to add the blue highlights.

Comparing the photos I took of the screen-used ties to my Lacroix, I realise the highlights are in corresponding places, so I use my tie as a guide as to where to put them.

I need a very dry brush and to just lightly rub the paint on. You can see the before and after here.

Here’s the finished tie.

What do you think?

If you’re coming to Gallifrey One this week, look out for me wearing it!