The Brits don't really have traditional closets like we have over here on this side of the pond. What we might call an armoire, they call a wardrobe. But mostly a wardrobe is a pile of clothes we use to mix and match everyday to make outfits. For as long as I have watched Doctor Who (which I started watching in the 70s); I learned that with each regeneration of The Doctor, his personality changes as does his wardrobe. Despite Doctor Who being a sci fi production the appearance of The Doctor is human and hip and modern. In the late 60s the 3rd doctor Jon Pertwee dressed in Victorian Revival regalia complete with crushed velvet jacket and lacy cravets.
The doctors of the past decade still have a modern look that is hard to determine certain "style" you can see personality differences but their style can fit in with any of the past 10 years.
My favorite doctor to date is portrayed by David Tennant; the 10th Doctor
How many synonyms are there for the word HOT!?!?
David's doctor's ensemble consists of a brown wool suit with blue pin stripes. His collar and tie are sometimes askew. He is sometimes seen wearing a taupe wool coat with minimalist military features. The coat has a blue lining. But, my favorite part of his outfits, AND what began my huge crush for him is that he wears high top Chuck Taylors!
As I do consider David Tennant's doctor to be my 1 and only favorite; I must say this new 11th Doctor is growing me. I used to have a habit of becoming attached to current doctor and when he re generated I would act scorned and hurt like the ex wife ogles the new girlfriend who replaced you, The 11th Doctor has changed my mind about that way of thinking.
Matt Smith is the youngest of all the doctors as to date. Matt is SOOO adorable and he can sport a bow tie like no one else! His catch phrase "bow ties are cool" has become my tag line for my custom bow ties I sell in my Etsy shop. He is also great at wearing a fez!
And last but not least those totally awesome beatle-esc boots he wears, They are All Saints Layer Boots and hand made.
Just because you are thousands of years old, an alien from planet Gallifrey and are a time lord- you don't have to dress silly like those crazy ole' Martians!.
Are you tired of that phrase yet? What about Fezzes- Fez are cool? I, myself don't mind it at all and like the reminder of the first time I heard it and just how clever Matt Smith was saying it!
When the 11th doctor finished regenerating we find him sporting a tweed coat, All Saints layer boots and the smartest little bow tie. It is obvious, Matt Smith didn't introduce bow ties to fashion but he sure is rocking the look during the height of its resurgence. Before I go any further I must pay homage to Pee Wee and his trademarked red bow tie.
Paul Rubens AKA Pee Wee
I don't know if you noticed during the past Christmas season, but retail chain stores were displaying bow ties loud and proud- an array of every color, fabric and design. Prices ranged from the teens to $75.00 in some stores. It made my heart sink just a tiny bit see all the commercialism of the cutest accessory for men (in my opinion) because it was a project and new item I planned on adding to my Etsy shop. I kicked a rock or two for a minute and decided to just get over it and move on with my designs.
I searched the internet for bow tie ideas. I already knew that I wanted my designs to be the old fashioned tie it yourself type. I found lots of how to videos and blogs and finally took a little from a few different places to come up with my design. I found my template on marthastewart.com. The template included two patterns; one a butterfly pattern and the second a straight, rectangular style. If you would like to modify the pattern you can make it into an arrow shape very easily.
When I started working on my ties it was around Halloween and I was sort of monitoring the trend for costumes and costume accessories.
The "Ringmaster" costume was one of the more popular outfits this year (according to my daughter). Most of the costumes I found were a combination of red and white with black and white stripes used in various ways. So I made a couple pieces for her with that color scheme. I also set out to make my first bow tie. If you read my blog from a few days ago - you will know that I have limited access to a variety of fabric. I did, however find some cool red and white striped fabric at my local Wal - Mart for only $2.97 a yard. I made these cuffs out of scraps of the fabric. I wrapped a piece of fabric around my wrist and made sure I had a bit extra for hems. I hemmed each side of the cuff, sewed a casing down the middle of the cuff on the inside and added the elastic, again, only measuring how much by what is comfortable on my wrist. When I sewed the sides together I was done! One project down- now to tackle bow ties!
I picked up fabric here and there that I thought would work as a bow tie. I looked for funky and unusual colors and designs. The target customer I have in mind would appreciate a stylish bow tie in neon green or a design of clocks. I laid out my fabric which is exactly one yard if you are using stripes or a design because you need to keep the lines matched up. Next, I laid out my handmade template and cut out the pieces (which, there is total of 4). The last step before I began the actual sewing was lay out the pattern on Pellon. After all that cutting out- you sew a couple pieces together, leave center open turn inside out and use a blindstich to finish it off and that's it.
