Becoming The Doctor…

Hello there everyone!

So I was looking through my blog archives, taking a trip down memory lane, and getting ready to celebrate my TWO YEAR blog-birthday in July (which is INSANE!), and I realised I haven’t posted anything cosplay related in a fair while.

And that made me a little bit sad; I love cosplay SO much, and yet I’ve abandoned discussion of it on here. Having said that, if you’re interested in seeing more of my cosplay stuff, be sure to check out my Instagram, where I post a LOT of cosplay pictures – my username is @laurainthetardis, which suits me pretty well, I reckon!

Recently I reached a MAJOR milestone in cosplay terms – a lot of blood, sweat, tears and fears went into putting this particular cosplay together, and it might be my proudest cosplay achievement to date. It’s a character who I love with so much of my heart it’s unreal. I’ve been in love with their outfit and have been wanting to make a cosplay, but with my own twist.

Who is this character?

It’s the FIFTH DOCTOR, as portrayed by Peter Davison, appearing in the role between 1981 and 1984.

The twist? How about a cheeky gender-swap? See, I love the costume, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get my hands on some trousers, so I decided to make my own skirt. I’d made a skirt before in my first year of undergrad, and I still had all the paperwork from that!

So, I thought I’d do my first ‘cosplay breakdown’, and I’m planning to turn this into a thing in an effort to put more cosplay stuff on here! If you have any character requests, don’t hesitate to get in touch! Whether that’s on Instagram (@laurainthetardis) or on Twitter (@LauraInATARDIS) 😀

So, without further ado, let’s break this down!

PROLOGUE: WHY DAVISON’S DOCTOR?

I reckon some of you might be curious as to why I picked the Fifth Doctor’s outfit to cosplay. But if you know me well, you’ll know I’ve been on a MAJOR Davison kick lately, ever since Vworp Con 2018. I was lucky enough to meet the man himself! I think meeting him reignited my love, and pushed me closer towards cosplaying his Doctor! I’ve actually been a fan of the colour scheme for ages and had been thinking about it for a while, but this affirmed my choice. I was going to cosplay my favourite Classic, for that reason; out of the classics, he’s my favourite, although the Seventh Doctor (played by Sylvester McCoy), comes at a very close second…

PART ONE: THE CRICKET JUMPER

The Fifth Doctor’s outfit is inspired by an Edwardian cricketer’s get up, which was put to good use in the story Black Orchid, where Peter Davison actually gets involved in a game of cricket! Black Orchid is one of my all-time favourite stories, and I think it’s SO underrated!

So here’s how I did it.

I don’t knit or crochet – that’s my brother’s bag! My mum happened to be visiting Hull with my grandma, and they were staying overnight after watching Noel Fitzpatrick (a.k.a. The Supervet) at the arena on his tour. They were coming to see me before going home, and they’d seen a white cricket jumper in a charity shop on Newland Avenue (which has THE BEST charity shops, let me tell you!), and told me about it. I went down there and picked up the jumper for less than a fiver! I also picked up some yarn in red and black.

But it was at this point I made the decision to make the Season 19/20 pattern over the Season 21, because it was a simpler design and required less yarn. But it did mean I needed to pick up brown yarn as well – me being me, I totally forgot!

I used a knitter, which looks like a needle, but it’s a lot thicker and is able to get through an item that’s already knitted, like a jumper. So, I started with the red section, because it’s the most prominent, and outlined where the brown would go. This was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be, but once I got into the hang of it, I found it to be quite therapeutic!

I’d work on the jumper between classes and work assignments, sometimes while I was watching TV – I know at one point I was watching Kinda, which is another of my all-time favourite stories!

Eight days later, and the jumper was DONE! Isn’t it a BEAUTY? (Also, it’s SO SOFT and very comfy 🙂 )

PART TWO: THE COAT

The same day I completed the jumper, I found a potential coat to use in another charity shop – I’m telling you, they’re a good place to start if you’re looking into cosplaying! This coat was long, beige and flowing and, again, was less than a fiver! It didn’t have a slit down the back like the Doctor’s, but I was able to create the illusion of one. It also had this weird bit of fabric at the back, but because I’d made the creative decision that this was going to be a feminine version, it didn’t affect my vision too much.

Ah, the joy of fabric paint! This has to be one of my favourite mediums to use in the world of cosplay, and was one of the first customising tools I discovered. With the help of Rob, one of my best friends and fellow Whovian and cosplayer, we marked areas to be painted using masking tape, so the paint wouldn’t bleed. And then we had at the edges with red fabric paint! It was like a military operation, moving from section to section, red fabric paint flying like blood… well, not quite, but close enough!

The end result was rather awesome – we even painted on a ‘slit’, meaning I didn’t need to cut the coat up!

(NOTE: Another method that could be used is stitching red material on the edges of the coat – this is what Ben, another of my best friends, fellow Whovians and my cosplay partner in crime, did for his coat!)

PART THREE: THE SKIRT

Right, now we’re onto the technical stuff. The skirt. This is the part of the cosplay that I was SO nervous about doing. Like I mentioned before, I’d made a skirt previously, but not for a while.

First up, finding the fabric.

While I was having a wander around Hull, I found myself going into HobbyCraft, also known as a crafty creature’s MAJOR source of temptation! Honestly, I could spend HOURS in there if I wasn’t careful! I was looking through the fabrics, and found this red and white striped one. Now, I know the Doctor’s trousers are beige, not white, so I had a plan; I found some beige fabric dye, and dyed the fabric following the instructions!

Fun fact: dyeing fabric can be VERY time consuming. So, while I was waiting, I was watching Miranda from the beginning, and when the second episode came on, I got a shock. The French teacher. I knew his face too well… it was PETER DAVISON himself! I had never realised it was him playing that role, and it made the rewatch even funnier!

Fabric dyed and dried, it was time to launch a game plan. But then I discovered something hidden in the wardrobe. It was an old underskirt I hadn’t worn in YEARS. And then it hit me… I could simply attach the fabric to the underskirt, sew on a waistband, and I’ll be done! #lazycosplayeralert

And that is exactly what I did. I measured the fabric, cut it, pinned it, and hand-stitched it to the waistband. I then used the waistband from the coat (which I wasn’t going to need), and turned it into a waistband for the skirt. I then sewed the two sections of red and beige fabric and with a little help from my grandma, we hemmed it up… and it was READY!

PART FOUR: THE HAT/HAIRBOW

This part is where things get a little mixed up. I was warned by Rob that finding a hat for the Doctor can be pretty difficult, so I decided that I would give my Doctor a hairbow, keeping with the ‘feminine’ approach I was taking. I had joked that I was going to make Mickey Mouse ears and be the Doctor on a trip to Disneyland! But I settled for the simple and classic hairbow.

I found a beige headband as the base, and used some spare material from the skirt project. I found a tutorial on making a bow from Pinterest, followed it, stitched it up, and created a smaller bow to give me a practice run. And then, I went in for the kill. I made a second bow, doubling the measurements and then attaching it to the headband. The result was rather cute! Honestly, if I didn’t have a hat, I would be so happy with the end result being a bow!

I stumbled across the hat in a charity shop (surprise, surprise!) and decided to alter it, because it was a little bit too dark. It involved me taking it apart and rebuilding it after making a few rookie mistakes in the beginning. In the end, my hero was a bit of spray paint, just to lighten the colour of it a little. It’s not perfect, but you know what it is? It’s mine, mine alone, and I am so proud of it.

As for the ribbon, I thought it was simply a red ribbon with white polka dots on it. On a closer look, I noticed there were little black dots on it as well. So, I busted out the black fabric paint, used the tip of a paintbrush handle and got dotting! It was pretty time consuming, so I ended up sticking on Riverdale in the background while I worked. I then attached the ribbon to the hat, and with that final addition, the hat was complete!

PART FIVE: THE HAIR AND MAKEUP

Hair and makeup can play an important part in making or breaking a cosplay. Now, because my version of this outfit is distinctly feminine, I feel like it gave me a right to play around with the makeup a little more. But having said that, I still wanted to retain a definite Fifth Doctor feel in what I added to my face!

5.1 – THE HAIR

But before that, the hair. I noticed a critical issue with the hair – I’m a brunette, the Doctor’s a blondie. Thank goodness for wigs though! I made the decision that this Doctor should remain a blondie, but if I was going to keep my brown locks in the frame for this cosplay, I probably would’ve straightened it and created a half-up half-down style. But I digress. This particular wig I used, I’ve had for years, and it shows! Plus, I don’t really wear it for it’s original purpose anymore. So, I cut the ends, tidied it up and turned it into a long bob kind of style. I took the two front sections and pinned them back to retain a feminine feel, but the colour and style still have a Fifth Doctor vibe about them!

5.2 – THE MAKEUP

Now, for the fun part – the makeup! I spent quite a while experimenting with different colour combinations and I’m pretty happy with what I’ve come up. As always, I did my base makeup the same way I always do, opting for a peach blush on my cheeks and a little bit of a subtle rose highlighter on the cheekbones and Cupid’s bow. For the eyes, I kept my brows simple and only lightly filled them in. For eyes, I went with a simple brown smokey eye, with warm tones reflecting the Doctor’s warmth and kindness towards everyone he meets. I was originally going to add a bit of black eyeliner to define the shape of them, but I went for something a little different – I went with an emerald shade. I figured that because the Doctor wears celery and celery is green, I thought it might complement the look and add a little personality to a pretty plain look.

As for lips, I tried a red lipstick, but it seemed a little too bold. A pretty shade of pale pink worked a bit better and kept the look on the simple side.

 

PART SIX: THE LITTLE EXTRAS

Here’s a little breakdown of a few things I didn’t mention before:

•  THE CELERY

The bit of celery that’s on my jacket was thrown at me during a Doctor Who Society meetup a few years ago! The cosplay team decided to put together a ‘Five Doctors’ group cosplay, and I was assigned the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Ben was the Fifth Doctor and had a spare bit of the fake celery he used in his pocket. He ended up throwing it at my face and I ended up being told that I could keep it… Little did I know it would come in useful later down the line!

•  THE COLLARED SHIRT

I already had this done! I used one of my old school shirts and drew the question marks on using a red fabric marker. However, I didn’t like the look of it too much, so I got some red thread and stitched over the top of the marking to give it a cleaner look. I originally made it for an Osgood cosplay, but it’s certainly come in handy!

•  THE SHOES

I found the shoes by mistake. I was scouring the charity shops one sunny afternoon, just taking a walk down Newland Avenue, which I what I usually do when I find I have time to myself. I stumbled across the shoes in a charity shop and they were in MY SIZE and they fit like a dream! They’re originally from River Island, in case you were wondering. 

•  THE SOCKS

The Fifth Doctor’s socks are bright red, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find something. At one point, I was considering wearing my bright red tights that I got to cosplay Ace. However, I was rooting through the sock drawer and I found a pair of bright red knee highs from my weaboo teen days! All I did was simply scrunch them down and wear them like normal socks, and the end result? Pretty cute.

• THE PROPS

Now, the Fifth Doctor doesn’t really have a sonic screwdriver. I mean, he does, but it gets destroyed in ‘The Visitation’. So, I made the decision to not get a sonic and went for the next best thing – a CRICKET BALL! The Fifth Doctor has a MAJOR passion for cricket, and I figured getting a cricket ball would reflect that.

Also, fun fact: I often use a cricket ball in my dance practice! If I have tension in my muscles, I can use it to roll them out. Some of my ballet dancing friends use tennis balls, but I find a cricket ball to be easier to use. #LifeHack

THE REVEAL! 

And here is the full cosplay in all it’s glory!

Anyone for cricket? 🙂

‘An apple a day keeps the… uh… no, never mind.’

I am so proud of how this cosplay turned out, and after five months of hard work, determination and dedication, this is one of my proudest achievements in my four years as a cosplayer!

So there we go, that was my breakdown of my Fifth Doctor cosplay! I hope you found it interesting and if it inspires you in any way, awesome!

Until next time, Stay Strong and Hold On, my friends.

Laura Jayne 🙂 xxx