Top 10 Rose Tyler Outfits

Two of my favourite things to involve myself in are Doctor Who and fashion. I am obsessed and enthralled by the TV show which follows an alien hero who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, fighting monsters and rescuing civilisations, alongside his trusted companions. And I thoroughly enjoy the world of clothes, jewels and makeup too; mixing up and matching different colours, styles, trends... discovering new outfits to make the eyes light up. Because I am so invested in Doctor Who and it's characters, I enjoy delving into the little things in the franchise, including things like the music and the costumes. The latter is something I enjoy investigating when it comes to the modern day Earth companions, because as soon as I see something worn by my favourite companion, I immediately want it. Many fans of the show have taken to the Cosplay craze; dressing up as characters to celebrate their love for them and the show, and to act in the role of the character. I don't really participate in full on cosplays myself, but I do look for fashion inspiration from a couple of the companions on screen, and just generally admire their choice of clothing. I'm going to write a series of articles on a few of the new series companions, where I pick out my top outfits from their era in the show. This time, I'm going to list my top ten outfits worn by Rose Tyler. 

Rose has a more casual, sporty and comfortable style. She is probably the most practical out of all the companions when it comes to dressing for adventures, which usually involve a lot of running. In her first series, she normally opts for t-shirts, jeans, hoodies and trainers with minimal jewelry. In her second series, her style moves on slightly, as she favours proper jackets instead of hoodies, and wears more boots instead of trainers. And not forgetting to mention the shorter haircut. I think the reason behind this is that she's grown up a lot, and her travels have made her more confident in herself. Also, even though comfort priorities over style, she is no stranger to bright, bold colours which catch the eye. Here are my top ten, in order, as worn by Rose throughout her time with the Doctor:

10. The Idiot's Lantern - The pink dress

Intended for an outing to see Elvis Presley in New York, this outfit actually took a trip to London in 1953, making it a little out of place among the locals. The dress is very distinct indeed; with a lovely shade of pink and a wide, yet perfectly placed hem. There are sequins on the chest which add to the prom-like theme of the dress, but these are mostly obscured by the retro crop leather jacket. 

The outfit is a favourite among fans, with it being cosplayed more than others, probably becomes it stands out so much in the memory. 

It wouldn't be my usual choice for an outfit that I'd wear, even for going out, but Rose dons it so superbly and she looks so beautiful. 

9. The Girl in the Fireplace - T-shirt and jeans

This is possibly the most laid-back and simple of her outfits, as it only consists of a t-shirt, jeans and a pair of boots, but I admire the fact that it doesn't go over the top, and is just so wearable. Rose looks excellent in this attire, and I have serious envy of both the logo embellished t-shirt, and her natural looking crimped hair. I just love the purple colour of the top, and think it contrasts nicely with her hair. 

8. Turn Left/ The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End - The purple jacket

Another fan favourite, this is Rose's series 4 outfit, which she wears for travelling between dimensions, working with UNIT, destroying Daleks and snogging the human tenth doctor. It is a very bad ass outfit; with the black boots, black trousers and leather jacket making a big impact. I like that it still has the Rose element to it, with her top and jacket both being girly purple tones. The coat is wonderful-the lighting in the episodes can make it look blue, but actually it is purple, and what a great shade of purple it is. 

7. Father's Day - Pink hoodie and denim

Out of all the episodes Rose wears a hoodie, I think this is my favourite version of the trend. I've always been a fan of layering, so the vest top under pink hoodie under blue denim jacket look is very appealing to me. The colours go well together and it looks very cosy and comfortable. And I think the tighter darker jeans work better with Rose's figure than the lighter baggier jeans she sometimes wears. One of my favourite things about this one is her messy up-do; it's a style that I've been trying to recreate for a while now.

6. Doomsday - Black with a splash of pink

In this darkly emotional farewell scene, Rose says goodbye to the Doctor wearing mostly all black, which definitely reflects the misery of the event and the sorrow in Rose's heart. It also shows how Rose has changed as a person, opting for darker colours, although she still keeps that hint of previous Rose there by the nice shade of pink she wears underneath. In addition, the purple finger-less gloves accessorise the outfit so it isn't too plain, and they look super cute too. 

5. Fear Her - Yellow and denim

Double denim always seems to work well on Rose, especially when she opts for darker jeans with a lighter jacket. But the thing I love the most about this outfit is the pop of yellow she wears. I just adore the colour so much as it brightens up her whole style, and it contrasts perfectly with the light blue denim jacket. This outfit is simple, colourful and looks very comfortable, so it would be a definite wear for me.

4. The Day of the Doctor - Ripped ethereal clothing 

Although not technically Rose Tyler, this quirky grunge-like attire was worn by the consciousness of  The Moment, the Bad Wolf. Unlike any other 'Rose' styles, this version of her preferred an all-white look, with a ripped jumper and leggings, brown buckle boots and a khaki green waist jacket. She even wears a sarong, plenty of wooden beads and jewelry in her hair. Despite the mis-matched items of clothing, they surprisingly go very well together. And often, the quirkier the outfit, the better!

3. The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances - Union jack

The big thing about this one is the fact that Rose bravely wears a big union jack all over her chest in the middle of the London blitz, and now, this item of clothing has been sought after by many cosplayers. The flag t-shirt is very bold and colourful, but I also love the bomber jacket too, and the boots are a nice change from the trainers. In addition, Rose's quiffed and crimped hairstyle is one that really suits her, and one that I have tried (and failed) to achieve on several occasions. 

2. Boom Town - Denim and the long scarf

Again, Rose opts for double denim, but this time keeps the lighter colour on the bottom and changes the jeans for a denim mini skirt. I personally love this idea because I think the skirt fits just to the right length, and matched with the black tights and black boots, the look really shows off Rose's figure. Also, I love the fraying fabric on the skirt; it gives the look a more messy feel. Another aspect of this outfit I adore is the layering- the vest, hoodie and denim jacket idea is used again, although slightly differently, and it works brilliantly. Plus, the layering always looks super comfortable. The long colourful scarf, slightly reminiscent of the 4th Doctor's trademark accessory, adds colour and focus, and is another item fought over by cosplayers. I don't blame them- the scarf is very epic indeed. The finger-less gloves add a touch of cuteness, and so do the two plaits in her hair. 

1. Tooth and Claw - Dungarees

This outfit was a dress-up to see Ian Dury in concert in 1979, however, the TARDIS ended up landing in Scotland 1879, therefore making Rose's choice of clothing rather odd for the time period, with many locals confused over her 'naked-ness'. I simply love the dungarees (or denim overalls)- they are a touch of quirkiness which works well on Rose's figure and contrasts nicely with the pink t-shirt. Again, the frayed denim skirt look fits with the black tights and boots. In addition, the shade of pink on the t-shirt is gorgeous, and the crown print embellishment adds focus to the outfit, but doesn't take away from the simplicity and colour-boldness of the whole costume. And finally, the crimped style really suits Rose's shorter hair. Out of all the above outfits, the dungaree number is most definitely the one I would want to steal off Rose- the choice of colours, the quirkiness of the overalls, the length of the frayed skirt, the big boots and her hairstyle are all on point, coming together to make an excellently stylish costume. 

So there you have it: my top 10 outfits worn by Rose Tyler. Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. I look forward to writing my next list of top character outfits. 

The many stages of my painting process (painting Harvey the Westie)

In my spare time, when I have the motivation and mental ability to participate in more pro-active activities, I enjoy being creative. My main creative hobbies presently are scrap-booking (personal stuff with my own photos, tickets, souvenirs, etc.); painting, and writing (in the form of my fantasy novel i'm working on, or blogging). Yesterday, I was in the mood to do some painting so I decided to bring up a photo I've been long since waiting to get started on. This was a photograph I took of my boyfriend's parents' dog, a west highland white terrier called Harvey, whilst he was sunbathing in their back garden. It is here below:

I was skeptical about painting this because I planned to paint him onto a white canvas, and because he's kind of white already, I thought it'd be a difficult problem to get past. But I was determined to have a go at least, and see how far I could take it. Originally, I only envisioned getting the basics done yesterday afternoon, but a few hours passed and I found myself really getting stuck in, and I ended up finishing the entire painting. 

Whilst I went through the different stages of my painting, I photographed my development as means of remembering my steps and process. 

First of all, I had to get a drawing template down on the canvas, as a guide to make the painting easier, and to limit mistakes with the paint. I drew, with a pencil, the basic outline of Harvey, with a few details- his almond shaped eyes, his nose, mouth, collar, claws, and some fur. The most difficult part of this drawing was getting the shape, angle and position of his back legs right, but I seemed to have managed it eventually, with a whole lot of eraser marks on the way.

Next, I added white paint to the drawing, as a base (because most of his fur is white). My previous worry about white on white did announce itself upon me, but I discovered if I added more paint to the brush, and piled it on the canvas, the depth and texture of the thick paint distinguished it from the canvas. And, as a bonus, I used the thick textured brush marks as a technique to resemble the fur.

Harvey's fur isn't all white. There are actually fragments of it that are a pale creamy yellow. I mixed yellow and white to create a more vivid version of the actual colour, and added it to the painting in the correct places. I like thinking outside of the box when it comes to colour; I think, if you use exactly the same colour as in the photo, it instantly becomes an unimaginative copy-cat 'painting by numbers' piece. Adding more edge to the colours makes the experience more fun, and the painting more interesting, in my opinion.

My next step was to add the darker shades of his fur into the painting. There are quite a few different shades of grey in his fur, especially on the left side of his face, due to it being in shadow. I started to build these different shades up by first applying a light shade of grey in strokes on his face. As an added benefit, I used the grey on the outline of the drawing, in order to distinguish it more from the blank canvas, and build some dimension into the dog. 

On top of the light grey base, I added a darker shade of grey to more shadowy areas, and darker bits of his face (like his snout). Moreover, I delved into the finer details, using brown on his eyes and lining them with black (plus black for the pupils); black for his nose (with a dark grey to accentuate his nostrils); and brown and silver-grey on his collar and tag, respectively. At this stage, I feel like life was starting to develop in the painting. 

Further details were then put into the painting. I mixed up an even darker shade of grey, to outline even darker shadowed areas, and to add more depth and realism to the different colours in his fur. Also, the colour for his ears was compiled by mixing white and crimson. Again, I opted to have this colour more bright and vivid than in the photo, just to add a bit of contrast to the dimmer hues. His mouth was also painted on with brown, as well as the small dirt marks around his mouth. 

Not much extra was added to this painting, except from adding more white. Realising that I'd used too much grey on certain areas, I corrected my mistakes and went over the extra grey with more thick white textured strokes. This injected a bit more 'Westie' into the terrier dog. As well as this, I also mixed up a darker shade of cream yellow to add more depth, shade and shadow to his back feet and around his face. The back legs and feet were the most difficult part throughout the process, as I couldn't get the angle right, and the shading so that I could distinguish the two feet. I ended up drawing in a grey outline to the legs to make them more distinct.

And then, with the main focus of the painting, Harvey, more or less finished, I proceeded to work on the background. I kept this as simple as possible, as I didn't want to detract from the central important part. For the concrete paving he's laid on, I just used a big brush and dabbed various shades of brown and grey to create a dappled effect. Where his body was creating a shadow on the ground, I used a darker grey as the base, adding dots afterwards so that the shadows looked like they belonged to the ground still. The last bit from the background was the portion of the door and stairs leading into the kitchen. Most of his head fur was covering up were the extra stair would be, so I just kept things simple and painted in what would only fit on the canvas, which meant emitting part of the kitchen floor. The shadow on the stair was difficult to construct, as well as getting the correct angle of the door, but I think in the end they both turned out well. Finally, I touched up Harvey slightly, highlighting his outline with more white to bring even more dimension to the painting. 

Finished! Not perfect, far from it, I grant. But in my paintings I never strive for that. It was very fun, enjoyable and therapeutic to recreate the photograph, using only my imagination, and the colours and brushes that I wanted to use. Looking back at the finished result and the time I spent doing it, I am very proud and happy with myself for having the strength and capability to pull myself out of my anxious mentality for a while and put it into something I enjoy. Plus, the action of doing something pro-active and creative like this was a good stress relief, and left me feeling very accomplished. 

Personal ramblings about how crazy my life has been recently...

I haven't updated my blog in a LONG LONG TIME which is kind of really sad because it's actually something I quite enjoy doing... a creative hobby, really. But the reason behind this is a very genuine excuse... so much stuff has happened all at once in my life recently, and the aftermath has been very hectic. Being a very worry-prone person already, the sudden changes in my life took a toll on me, increasing my worry and anxiety ten-fold, and basically turning me into a nervous wreck who could barely do anything. I spent all my time worrying, becoming anxious over the several 'what-ifs?' I spun around in my head, having panic attacks when I went into overload, and as a result I've not felt capable of doing the things I want to do, and being the person I know I can be.
Okay, so I don't want to give TOO MUCH personal detail away, but I will let you know that the life-changing life events were the death of my grandma, and the separation of my parents... and they both happened in the space of ONE MONTH of each other. What happened to my grandma was very shocking and very devastating for me; she was the first person I truly loved to leave this world, and I didn't expect it so suddenly. Before that moment, I barely worried about dying; I spent so much time stressing over the little things that I never really stood back to think that one day this may all be for nothing. I mean, I knew deep down that one day there'd come a time when I would no longer be here, but I think I just sub-consciously brushed this aside, somehow believing that that time would never actually come. Back then, I thought me, and everyone I loved, were invincible. I thought we'd last forever. But then I realised we don't. No one is indestructible, and no one is eternal. The death I experienced shook me to the core; it woke me up to reality, but in doing so, it also opened the door to a virtual world of paranoia and grief. What I mean by that is, once I knew death actually could take people away that I love, I found myself worrying that it would take away someone else. If it can take away one person, why not another? Why not my mother, my sister, my boyfriend? I started to worry that they would be taken from me too. And it was like I spent more time worrying about them dying than grieving about my grandmother. 
At this point however, I was still shook up from the real grief that I couldn't really pay much attention to the niggling worries of others dying. It wasn't until my parents announced that they were going to split up that my worries expanded beyond what is normal. The shock of my dad leaving us robbed me and my family of our continued grief for my grandma, as this new development took the spotlight. And to me, it felt like everyone was leaving. In the space of one month, my grandma had gone, my dad left, and my family was falling apart. In a way, I felt that we'd had a stroke of bad luck, and it made me paranoid that this bad luck would continue. My brain going at 100 miles per hour, I constantly searched for any way that anyone else I loved would leave me. Everywhere around me, I would start to obsessively search for anything at all that could lead to some one I loved being killed. And it wasn't just big things, it was the little everyday tasks.... crossing roads, plug sockets, slipping over... anything. 
When I was a bit younger, I had OCD. All the time, I would line up items and things in the house because everything felt disgusting if they weren't perfectly aligned. And I also had to do certain activities a certain number of times, otherwise something bad would happen. Thankfully, I managed to get out of that stage by pure will and determination to pull myself away from the habits, and now i'm pretty messy. But unfortunately, the OCD progressed into a worry obsession, which means I now worry obsessively because I think that if i don't, something bad will happen. This is why I worry about bad things happening to my loved ones; because if I can think of every possible way of a death occurring, I then believe that I have the power to stop it from happening. I do think that in some twisted messed-up way, that this is logical, but it is also self-debilitating, exhausting and rather pointless.
Over the past couple of months, I've had therapists in the form of the NHS, friends and family, and I've also had to argue with myself day in and day out to get myself to see sense. It is like I have two sides to my brain- the rational positive logical side, and the irrational negative illogical side which doubts everything the rational side thinks. The two sides are in constant battle, which as you can imagine is very tiring. The main thing with my worry though is that no matter how hard I try, I CANNOT control what happens to somebody else. I do not hold that power. This thought does help me relax, knowing that I don't have to come up with solutions to every possible life-threatening problem... as it is physically impossible. It would be very upsetting indeed if the worse were to happen to someone I loved, but worrying about it beforehand wouldn't make it any less sad. There is the belief that if I prepared myself for the worst, it wouldn't hurt so much when it actually happened, but even then I would still be very sad. So now I just think, what's the point being sad forever worrying about something that is inevitable, and will inevitably make me sad whatever emotion I use now? In other terms, being sad and worrying now will never change the inevitable sadness; and neither will being happy and choosing not to worry. 
Knowing this now, I am very slowly starting to improve, and learning to worry less about something bad happening. Sometimes, I can feel myself being relatively calm for hours at a time, and I'm even starting to have periods of time when I'm not worrying at all. However, since I have both anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders, it will take a long while before I'm free of my worry about death, and an even longer before I can start to stop worrying altogether.Therapy has helped me come up with techniques and apply them to combat my worries, but worrying is a habit I've had for a long while so time and practice is still needed to improve. 
Now, I have good days and bad days. On the bad days, I wake up so very scared that something awful will happen, I worry excessively about every little thing, I cannot control my anxiety and I have panic attacks. But on my good days, everything seems much happier and simpler. I wake up excited for the day, use my rational head to numb my mundane worries, and get through many hours feeling relaxed and free of  panic. It's an up and down roller-coaster that will eventually just keep going up. And I hope that when that time comes, I can look back at my mental health disorder in a positive way. Rather than regretting it, I hope that I will look at it and realise how much it helped me grow and develop; how going through the bad stuff was what I needed to help me eventually just see the good.
I wrote an anxiety post on my Tumblr blog a couple of months ago for anyone who suffers from extreme anxiety and worry. It is basically a bullet point list of things to help when times are tough; it includes lessons learnt both from my therapist and from my own experiences. Here is the link: http://because-its-amazing.tumblr.com/post/118795803487/for-anyone-who-suffers-from-extreme-worrying-and
I felt quite fearful of putting this stuff on here, due to it being rather personal, but sometimes I just need to get stuff off my chest and writing it all down helps a lot. Thanks for reading :) x