Doctor Who Celebration - wardrobe trailer

Fans of the costumes on Doctor Who had a treat in store with the extensive exhibition, as well as the Wardrobe Workshop where you could meet members of the costume department.

But one little gem tucked away in a corner of the main hall was an original wardrobe trailer used by the costume department.

This was one of the big green buses you see loitering around when location filming is taking place.

Its plain exterior hid the treasure trove of costuming contained inside, and once you did get inside - there was only space for a dozen people at any one time - there was not restrictions to rifling through the racks and having a good nose at the contents of the hangers.

Just inside the door is a sort of office area, with benches on each side where sewing machines could be set up for use.

On the walls were a variety of continuity photos from the filming. Beyond this area were the costume rails. They roughly went in season order down one side, and back up the other.

Above the rails are tags, which once you looked closely didn’t always relate to what was below.

Amongst all the monster and supporting players costumes, there were some choice items for die hard Doctor fans.

Most of the costumes were pretty standard off the peg clothes used during the Tenth Doctor’s era.

But the Eleventh Doctor items proved to be the real treasure trove.

A total of three Donegal tweed jackets were on show.

One was on a display mannequin at the far end, along side an ironing board.

One the rails was another plain Donegal, plus the heavily distressed, burnt and torn version seen in The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.

On the final rack was a small, but not insignificant collection of Tenth Doctor costumes.
Three pairs of the GAP trousers were hanging up, one pair somewhat torn and distressed, as seen in The Eleventh Hour, or possibly The End Of Time.

Also here was yet another brown Tenth Doctor suit. It has you wondering how many suit were actually made!

The final gem was a whole fist full of Tenth Doctor ties!

You could rummage through and see Tie 3, the YSL used in School Reunion.

Tie 5, the Thomas Nash tie from The Idiot’s Lantern.





Tie 11, the Massimo Dutti from The Next Doctor. (missing its label on the reverse).

Tie 12, the Massimo Dutti from The Doctor’s Daughter.

There was also the Rocha John Rocha tie, which was bought but went unused, as well as an unlabelled red and black floral tie, also unused.

But the prize was the replica Christian Lacroix ties made for The Eleventh Hour.

These have the blue swirls embroidered on with the reddish patches.

Two were here, one in pristine condition, the other torn and distressed.


It was jaw-dropping to discover the red patches on the tie are just fabric painted on by hand. I’m sure we all thought there were sections of red fabric appliquéd on, but as is often with film and tv work, the simplest solution is often the best.

It was quite inspiring to see the ties first-hand.
I might even have a go at making my own. Hummmm.

Louise Page - The Tie Twelve story

Today is the last time we will hear from costume designer Louise Page on her choices of ties worn by David Tennant.

The final tie is by Massimo Dutti, and was only ever seen in one episode, The Doctor’s Daughter.
It does briefly appear in the closing scene of the previous episode The Poison Sky which runs directly into the next adventure, thus keeping continuity between the scenes.

Louise tell us about this final tie.

This was Louise’s final interview about the Tenth Doctor’s ties. But never fear, she will return very soon to tell us about several other aspects of The Doctor’s wardrobe, including his suit, overcoat and space suit!

Check back so to hear what she has to say.

Thanks to Kevin Coppa for giving the interview clips the polished look, and enormous thanks to Louise Page for sharing her memories of dressing the Tenth Doctor with us all

Louise Page - The Tie Eleven story

The penultimate tie in The Doctor’s wardrobe is a bit of an odd-ball in my mind.

It is made by Massimo Dutti, and features predominately in The Next Doctor, the 2008 Christmas Special (see left).

However, it had first appeared back in Partners In Crime, the series four opener, although it shared screen time with Tie Two, the Daniel Hechter tie, making it less memorable.

Costume designer Louise Page remembers the tie.

Check back VERY soon to see Louise Page talk about the final Tenth Doctor tie - and in an EXCLUSIVE - she reveals the label behind the tie . . .

Thanks to Kevin Coppa for giving the interview clips the polished look, and enormous thanks to Louise Page for sharing her memories of dressing the Tenth Doctor with us all