Uniqlo Red Check Cotton Shirt
Amy's red check shirt is one of her top three most iconic looks (the other two being kissogram and Vincent and the Doctor) and while it is the easiest to replicate with an alt, it's also one of her rarest items if you want to go screen accurate. In fact, this top is so rare that for large swathes of time over the years I almost stopped looking altogether.
Some cosplay items are rare because they were created by a niche designer who didn't mass produce the item (Amy's J for Jasper Conran coat), some are rare because the designer made so many similar items that it's almost impossible to locate the correct one in thousands of search results (Clara's Asos dress from Kill the Moon), some are inexplicably rare to a very common brand (Clara's Topshop mac from Death in Heaven et al) and others are rare because they are themselves particularly perishable (Rose's blue Punkyfish hoodie from Army of Ghosts). This top falls into the latter category.
I think our minds can automatically run to flannel with this kind of pattern. While I was not expecting a thick flannel I didn't anticipate it to be as light as it is. I knew from item descriptions that this was a cotton but wow, is it a light cotton. You can actually see your hand through it! I don't think the transparency is as obvious when it's worn because the pattern distracts - I tested it in full sun to see and it appeared pretty opaque on.
I'm really a fan of this soft, diaphonous cotton but you can see that this is the reason why this top is so rare. This kind of checked shirt never really goes out of fashion and so people tend to keep it in their wardrobes. Further, like the Punkyfish hoodie - it's fragile. It's been a decade now since this was produced and I would say this top just hasn't endured. The top also doesn't say 'Uniqlo' on its neck tag. It does on the care tag further down, but at the neck it simply says, 'The Shirt Collection.' This also possibly buries it in resale sites, but I still maintain that its fragility is the key reason, given I've been searching under both those terms.
I have never seen the Uniqlo blouse on resale sites in the wild. I've haven't seen it for sale by another collector in over five years and even then, it went fast and it went for over $AUD500. I was able to obtain it from another cosplayer who contacted me and we made a trade. I can think of two other Pond Sisters (the name we Amy Pond cosplayers give one another!) who own this. Given its predominance in season 6 and immediate, recognisable association with Amy it is definitely one of the most sought after pieces. If it does appear for sale by another cosplayer in the future you can expect to have extremely tough competition and to pay a lot of money. The $AUD500 sale was many years ago now and while the fabric of collectors has changed somewhat, this is still an exceptionally desirable item.
This is Amy's flagship oufit for season 6. She wears this top in a number of promotional images for the season, as well as in The Impossible Astronaut, The Day of the Moon and then with the Topshop Aviator Jacket in The Rebel Flesh and the Almost People. It has two sister shirts that are very alike - grey and pink - that are also seen throughout the series. They all have the same features with slight variations to their check (the pink has a fuzzier, softer outline). The shirt has three quarter length sleeves and does not button right right up, but leaves the neck exposed. It's actually a very reasonable fit, too. For the longest time I didn't know how Uniqlo even sized this blouse, but I now know it uses four sizes only: XS, S, M and L. I have the M and it fits perfectly. There's plenty of room in the chest and sleeves, so no pinching or gathering when arms are raised.
Never give up looking for the cosplay pieces you really desire! It may take a very long time, but with perseverence, dedication and patience you stand the best chance of obtaining them. Don't rely on luck - most of the time it's not luck. Luck would be finding things in your first week, month or even year of searching. Finding your rare cosplay dream item can be laborious and frustrating but never give up! It's out there somewhere.
The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon
The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People