The story of Tasteful Six

As you may have been reading, I recently took a very exciting trip to Chicago TARDIS.

On the Saturday Night I entered the costume masquerade, and won the prize for Best In Show: Workmanship (see right).

I cannot tell you how proud I was to have won it. I had never entered anything like it before, and wasn’t sure what to expect.

I know these events can either be frivolous or greatly competitive – and I was aiming for the upper end of that. There were over forty entries, so a wide range of costumes were on show. My dream was to get some recognition for my tailoring, so to get Workmanshipwas a great privilege.

I had considered entering one of my Matt Smith combinations, but I thought something from left-field would attract a bit more interest, so I wore what I described as a Tasteful Six!

This was made up of my Colin Baker Frock Coat, all made in a single colour melton with matching velvet lapels (see left).

Now, what I didn’t tell you was the FULL story behind the costume. I couldn’t say much at the time, but as you will read there was a reason – and why I can talk about it now . . .

Happy Christmas to all my readers!

Wow - another year has flown past - and what a year it’s been!

Photo by Scott Sebring

It started back in January with a once in a lifetime opportunity when I made the Ultimate Tennant Suit. To have the chance to put into practice the actual way the suit was made was an amazing experience. The timing was perfect, as I had a couple of months before started learning traditional hand-tailoring techniques, which I put to great use in making the suit.

Photo by Scott Sebring

I had to follow the suit, and with three days notice ended up going to Gallifrey One in LA!
There I met up with a number of my online friends and many of my readers who had no idea I was going. I also had the privilege of arranging a group photograph with four of my Tennant Coat clients, which was the highlight of the trip.

By the end of April news broke that THE Series Six Shetland Tweed fabric had been found, as well as the Series Five Donegal.

It was like the Tennant Suit all over again: making an iconic jacket in the exact fabric. I was lucky to find the correct buttons and elbow patches to finish it off.

In August the culmination of many month work came to fruition when I took delivery of  my rewoven Tennant Coat lining. I had been searching for years to find a suitable alternative, but finally took the plunge and commissioned my own recreation of it.

The past few months of the year have been taken up with making a popular new garment in my repertoire - the Green Greatcoat.

I spent a while carefully researching the pattern, fabric and construction until I got it just right.

Then in late November I attended Chicago TARDIS, where I entered the masquerade competition wearing a test version of the Colin Baker Six Frock Coat. I won Best In Show: Workmanship for my tailoring – for which I am very proud.

This was one of three coats I had made, the other two were for the wedding of some close friends which is due to take place just before Christmas.

Looking back it has been an exciting year, with more projects than I could have thought to have taken on.

And as the year comes to a close, an even more exciting development is breaking.

More on that in the New Year, but trust me, it’s gonna be worth the wait . . .