The Twelfth Outfit

This is an article that I had originally written for my electronic class that was to have been put in an online 'zine'. Unfortunately, all the pictures got edited out, despite leaving in the references to these pictures, and the picture they did use didn't show the Doctor in his new outfit, so I was a bit disappointed. To make myself feel better, I'm posting the original version here.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Outfit

The Doctor is in!

 

As many of you are no doubt aware, the latest actor to portray the time travelling alien in the long running sci-fi show, “Doctor Who”, is Peter Capaldi, replacing the outgoing actor, Matt Smith. You may also be aware that his new outfit has been revealed as well. On January 27, the BBC released the first promotional image of the Twelfth Doctor (or is it Thirteenth? Or Fourteenth?) and the outfit he will adorn for his tenure. Gone are Smith’s beloved bowtie, purple coat and vest. Now the Doctor is sporting a stripped down back-to-basics outfit that makes him look just a little bit like a vampire. Or a magician. Can someone Photoshop a top hat onto his head and see how that looks?

So from bowtie to no tie, costume designer Howard Burden has the Time Lord sporting a style that comes across as a less fancy version of the late Jon Pertwee’s style (pictured below for comparison). The actor who portrayed the Third Doctor back in the early ‘70s rocked the Austin Powers look before there was ever an Austin Powers, with his frilled shirts and velvet jackets. Plus, there’s the red inner-lining of his cape that goes with the inner-lining of Capaldi’s coat so well. Plus, the style of his white shirt matches the basic style of Pertwee’s frilly number, just less “frilly”. Pertwee’s really puts one in mind of the “puffy shirt” from “Seinfeld”, doesn’t it? 

Capaldi seems to have taken on a dark blue Crombie Coat, which only has its top button done up to allow the audience a fine view of the red lining. Underneath, instead of Smith’s waistcoat, Capaldi has gone with a cardigan that most people would associate with a boring old man. Instead, it complements the Crombie coat nicely, keeping it from being a suit and giving the outfit a slightly more “finished” look. Who would have thought cardigans would ever look cool? When Smith’s Doctor started wearing the famed bowtie, sales in bowties skyrocketed by ninety-six percent. Who knows what this will do for cardigans? 

There was a tiny bit of confusion over what type of shoes the incoming Time Lord would be wearing. Originally, it was believed that the Doctor would finally be wearing a pair of Doc Marten boots. This turned out to be a mistake, and the booths were in fact made by Loake – a Kettering-based footwear firm with a warrant of appointment to the Queen. It also transpired that Capaldi had bought the boots himself – a size 10, UK size.

Capaldi has said of his new clothes, “He’s woven the future from the cloth of the past. Simple, stark, and back to basics. No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100 per cent Rebel Time Lord.” He has also been confirmed to have had quite a bit of say in how the Doctor should dress. Matt Smith (pictured left) originally had little say in his own outfit, having originally been given a look that made him look a little too much like a pirate for his liking. He felt it was too much like “how someone else would dress the Doctor, rather than how the Doctor would dress himself.” Roughly a week before filming his first episode started, he insisted on being allowed to redo the outfit, and he insisted on a bowtie, similar to Patrick Troughton’s (pictured right) when he played the Doctor in the late ‘60s. Showrunner Steven Moffat was resistant, claiming it would’ve made it look like a “parody” of Doctor Who, but as soon as they got Smith in the bowtie and suspenders, he seemed to suddenly come alive and become the Doctor. After having been proved wrong on that front, Moffat was much more prepared to give Capaldi more “free reign” with the wardrobe room.

 

The next series of Doctor Who is currently one month into production, having begun in early January. It is currently believed to consist of thirteen episodes, including the Christmas Special. It is expected to air in August 2014. Peter Capaldi shall be co-starring with Jenna Coleman, who shall be continuing on after eleven episodes with Matt Smith throughout 2013.