Tennant Coat - customer review

“I should like a coat
like that!”

If I can just paraphrase the Second Doctor there, as that is pretty much the thought that was running through my mind from the moment the Tenth Doctor stepped before the press in 2005.

I’ve always been a coat person, more specifically, I’ve always been a long coat person, but in the past this predilection has been confined to mere mid-length coats; long but not long. Not until I saw Tennant’s trench coat did I realize that THAT was the coat I had been looking for. And you just can’t find it anywhere – it’s unique.

To cut a long story short, I, like Mr. Steven Ricks, was searching eBay and came across the Honest Dragon ‘Tennant Coat’. Could this be the answer to my search for the perfect coat?
No.
Read Steve’s blog for the reasons why, but suffice to say, it’s really not a workaday coat or a good replica.

Two years down the line, I’m reading Steve’s blog and notice that he does commissions and his ‘jewel in the crown’ is most certainly that coat. I looked at all the pictures of both the work in progress and the finished article and it looks good. Very good. Impossibly good! (I must stop paraphrasing Doctors!)

After a little bit of deliberation, I took the plunge and upon the initial flurry of e-mails that were exchanged, I could tell I was dealing with a gentleman and one who really knew his stuff at that. Measurements were given and a clear time scale was agreed from the outset and then the wait…

It really was an excruciating wait, not because of any problems with the coat-making process, but simply because I knew what was coming was going to be it and I just had to have the coat there and then.

Throughout the whole process, Steve was never less than professional, but in addition to that he was always willing to answer any questions I had (which were many!) and provided constant progress reports and any unexpected delays that were met along the way. I felt confident that my money was well spent.

Onto the coat itself; it arrived, nicely packaged and it was a marvelous moment when it unfolded – such lovely fabric, beautifully heavy and very very LONG! Oh and yes, it fit perfectly, my coat.

Many others have commented much more lucidly than I ever could regarding the coat’s many qualities, but I’d like to point out its overwhelming accuracy to the screen coat: pockets, lapels, vent, buttons, stitching etc. I was simply speechless with admiration and do you know what – I really didn’t think once about the price I’d paid; that’s how good the finished coat was. It hangs perfectly, billows magnificently in the breeze and the pockets really are bigger on the inside – everything you need for your day will be contained within! Steve, you are a craftsman!

So now I have it, THE coat that I’ve been pining for for nearly five years and what does it mean to me? Well I am a teacher at a primary school and when I turned up for work the first Monday after the coat’s arrival, I was met by a seven year old at the gate:

“Can you beat the Daleks?”
he asked, wide-eyed and admiringly at my attire.

“Oh yes!” I replied with confidence,

“I can now!”

I need say no more.

So there we go, can I just say a big thank you again for great service and friendly communication - oh and the coat itself of course! Hope to maybe buy from you again in the future!