Tuesday 12 November 2013

Hello Cosplay - Sixth Doctor Frock Coat

I’ve seen a bit of online discussion about a new version of the Sixth Doctor Frock Coat which has been made by one of the Far Eastern cosplay costume makers.

So I thought I’d take a look and give my opinion, for what it’s worth.

6th Sixth Dr Colorful
Lattice Stripe Coat Costume


Over the past few years there have been a number of options for Sixth Doctor Cosplayer, but they have been distinctly at the polar ends of peoples budgets.

Cloth Ears made a premium coat for a while, and Honest Dragon catered for the those with a tighter wallet.
My own offering is distinctly only for the discerning cosplayer.

Even some amateur tailors have had a go, with varying levels of success.

Now Hello Cosplay have entered the market with another addition to the cheaper options, but one which in my mind stand well above the other options in the same price bracket.

Now I look at replicas of this coat with a very distinct eye, since I have become uncommonly intimate with every panel that makes up the patchwork.

With a price tag of US$129.99 I’m not setting my expectation too high, but in many regards I have been pleasantly surprised.



The overall drape and shape of the coat is very good. It hangs well and the skirt has a decent flair to it, which is nice to see.

The lapels hang well from collar to hem.

The pattern, however, does leave a a fair bit to be desired.

The natural waistline is several inches too high, which throws out the proportion between the upper and lower sections of the coat.
The skirt should be about 65-45% of the overall height of the coat.

The outer pockets spill to wide, cutting into the narrow red and green panels at the front of the coat.
They should strictly be limited to the width of the purple and peach side panels.

Turning to the cuffs, they made from a fabric in quite a good colour and spacing of stripes.

Though it’s a shame they can’t make the left and right hand cuffs the same height!
Look closely and you can see the left has seven stripes but the right has EIGHT!

Turning to the back, the princess seams are very slight and lack the correct curve towards the top where they meet the sleeves.

The extra width at the base of this (covered by the button strap) flows through to the skirt below, making these panels too wide as well and quite cartoon-like.

There’s been a valiant effort to recreate the appliqué strip, but it’s just a basic representation here.

The buttons on the back aren’t a bad choice - they are sort of the right colour and size, but are four-hole rather than shanked.

The lapels are something extraordinary.
They are cut far too angular and this makes them very wide towards the top creating a large block of colour.

The gorge is a bit high, but the way the collar and lapel meet works well, something where others have badly tripped up.



I can say that every panel is here, present and correct, in a colour that for a budget cosplay option that are acceptable.

Knowing the fourteen fabrics well, I can see where they have done a good job on matching (Red, Purple, Yellow) where they have found a borderline near match (Green, Peach, Pinks) and where they have used a will-do (Red Tartan, Checked Collar, Applique Strip).
These latter ones, although not remotely screen-accurate, have a good saturation of colour which can never be achieved through short-run printed fabrics.

In my view this makes the coat better than anything Honest Dragon produced, and far exceeds every amateur tailor’s effort, so for the US$129.99 it is good value for the money.

3 comments:

  1. After completing my 11th Doctor's costume I'm actually thinking of moving onto buying the full set of this particular costume, waistcoat, pants, shirt and coat. Although it isn't 100% screen accurate (as stated in your post) it is a very good effort and plenty of times better then what I could pull off.

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  2. Thanks awfully for this review. Following reading this I ordered the coat from the site nearly 3 weeks ago now. there is also the option of the 'full costume' for an extra £80, which I considered, but decided against, largely due to more obvious inaccuracies. I'm still waiting for the coat to arrive, but thanks to your review I have a rough idea of what I'm getting. Many Thanks.

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  3. The pictures on this site are fantastic!! I ordered the 11th doctor dress... and it was made terribly. The colour did not match what was on the site, it was made with very poor quality materials and the doctor who logo was put on backwards and letters started falling off within the hour.

    This company has a terrible customer service system. they continually call you 'customer' when you request that they call you by your name. You are simply a number to them.

    After months of arguing with them, I ended up having to send the dress back at my own expense for a refund. When they received the dress, they accused me of dousing it in perfume and now refuse to give me my money back. So 4 months and $200 and I have nothing to show for it.

    Please don't fall for their pretty pictures. Because what you see, is NOT what you're going to get.

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