How to Dress Like the Doctor from Doctor Who

Fantastic! You want to dress like everyone's favorite Time Lord. That's cause for applause! Now get ready to learn how to dress like every Doctor from Hartnell to Capaldi. Geronimo!

Steps

First Doctor

1. Look at William Hartnell's outfits from the classic series. In the very first episode, "An Unearthly Child" he dressed in a dark frock coat, a scarf, and a black little hat. I'd also suggest having a cane to walk with. Remember, he's old.
2. Consider buying a cosplay outfit. If you have the money, several accurate ones are available online for purchase . If you don't, try to gather up some money to buy this, as there is no other accurate match.
3. Get a white wig. Shape it to the shape of Hartnell's original wig.
4. Use aging make-up. If you're really going for it, get some old man prosthetic makeup.
5. Don't use a Sonic screwdriver. The First Doctor didn't use a sonic onscreen.
6. You're done. Now just get ready to wow at Comic-Con.

Second Doctor

1. Get the hair. For Patrick Troughton, you'll need a Beatles mop top wig, or an actual mop top hairstyle.
2. Put together a costume like his. You can buy them online, or put one together yourself. Make sure to include accurate Troughton style braces from the TV series and the bow tie. However, he didn't always wear the bow tie, so you have options here.
3. Get your props. You'll need a recorder (white with red diagonal stripes) and a silver penlight with no other colours than just silver to act as your sonic screwdriver.
4. You're done. Have fun in your costume, and while you're at it watch the Second Doctor's story "The Tomb of the Cybermen". Seriously, it's good!

Third Doctor

1. Review Jon Pertwee's different looks. He had many, many...many outfits! Decide which one you'd want to wear. He often wore a velvet smoking jacket (usually single breasted, but in one story he wore a double breasted purple one) over a frilled dress shirt, above black, charcoal or brown dress trousers with either Chelsea boots or penny loafers. Make sure they are smart and polished. He also usually wore an Inverness cape - typically black with either a red or blue lining. There were a couple of occasions, however, where he wore a tartan patterned Inverness cape. Make sure the clothes fit well.
2. Remember to wear a large bow tie or cravat with each costume (though he would sometimes go without one), and a frilly shirt (this is essential! ).
3. Try a white afro wig for the hairstyle.
4. Top it off with props. All you need is a sonic screwdriver, a pair of leather gardening gloves (if you're going for full authenticity, take these off when you come inside, and put them on when you're outside) and a motorcycle and you're done. Now, Reverse the polarity of the Neutron Flow!

Fourth Doctor

1. Get to know Tom Baker's look. He dressed as a bohemian man with a long scarf and a large personality. Look at his unique dress style and decide what season costume you want.
2. Find the jacket specific to your season's costume. For his first season, you'll need a red blazer or red Levi denim jacket. Either one works well. You'll also need elbow patches (preferably black or brown). For his second season (season 13), you'll need either a brown duffel coat or a replica from hellocosplay.com. It's the exact same thing for seasons 14 and 15. In seasons 16 and 17, you'll need a long brown wool trench coat . For season 18, you'll need a burgundy trench coat that goes to your ankles.
3. Add a vest or waistcoat to the mix, over a dress shirt (any light coloured one works, preferably white). Tom Baker also wore vests, pullovers, and waistcoats in his 7 year run. For season 12 he wore an argyle v-neck cardigan in brown and red, with white diamonds on it. In seasons 13-16 he wore a yellow tartan waistcoat with a little bit of red or brown in places. In season 17 he did wear a waistcoat but it was unbuttoned, so if you are going for this look you could easily go without one. In season 18, he wore a burgundy coloured waistcoat with a paisley pattern.
4. Get pants that match. For seasons 12-17 he wore a pair of baggy grey tweed trousers. An accurate substitute would be a pair of dark gray open-bottomed track pants (make sure there is no logo on it, or you take it off somehow). Alternatively, a pair of grey jeans will work nicely. In season 18, he wore burgundy coloured pants (I'd recommend some sort of dress trousers, or chinos). In seasons 12-17, he held his pants up with black braces, and in season 18, the pants fit well around his waist. However, he still held them up with black clip on braces with an x shaped back.
5. Wear a pair of black dress shoes - preferably wingtips. He also sometimes wore a pair of riding boots instead.
6. Don't forget his hat (which is, again, optional). The Fourth Doctor also wore three different hats. He mostly wore a brown wide-brimmed fedora (like the ones in those 1930s detective movies). Sometimes, he wore a green/brown fedora with a wide brim and a dark brown band. In season 18, he wore a burgundy colored wide-brimmed fedora.In the story 'The Terror of The Zygons' he wears a balmoral (a certain type of Scottish hat) instead of his usual fedora (in this story, he also wore a tartan scarf, which was equally as long as his regular one)
7. If you want, you could also wear a tie or cravat. In season 12, he wore a green, white and blacked stripe necktie (which was not tucked into his cardigan), seasons 13 and 14 he wore a cravat usually in orange, blue or burgundy. In season 15 he wore a conventional necktie for the first time in burgundy, with dark blue polka dots. Season 16 he wore a white cravat tucked into his shirt, and in seasons 17 and 18 he went open neck with no tie or cravat.
8. Make sure you have a scarf. This accessory, along with the coat and pants will either make or break your costume. For an accurate scarf, find the pattern for your scarf and begin knitting. Each season had a different length for the scarf. In seasons 12 and 13, the scarf was long! Take this into account when you knit your scarf. If you just want an affordable scarf, try the scarf from the Elope costume company.
9. Gather his (many) accessories. You'll need a sonic screwdriver and a white paper bag full of Jelly Babies (or a suitable substitute). Optional accessories include a small telescope, a solid blue yo-yo, and some poker cards.
10. Add a wig or style your hair like this. For the hair, you'll need a brown afro. However, if you wear the hat the whole time, this won't be necessary.
11. You're done. Now go have fun, because "There's no point in being grown-up if you can't be childish some times." - Tom Baker (Robot, 1974)

The Fifth Doctor

1. Try out Peter Davison's look. His costume is very Edwardian and easy on the eye. It also gets the ladies. Take notes, gentlemen.
2. Get a coat like his. His coat was a beige colored frock coat with red piping on the edges of his lapel, the outside of his pockets and around the cuffs.
3. Add a jumper. Davison also wore a white cricket jumper. Make sure you get it with red/navy trim near the opening, the cuffs and around the bottom of the jumper. The pattern was different in season 21 to seasons 19 and 20. However, in some stories he would wear a white waistcoat with a paisley pattern, however the jumper is more recognisable. If you plan on wearing this in hot weather, it would be advisable to get a vest instead (sleeveless jumper).
4. Be prepared to sew the pants. They are a pretty unique beige and red pinstripe design, so you may need to get creative and make them from scratch. However, if you are pressed for time or money, you could get away with a pair of khakis or chinos with red pinstripes (you could easily apply these with fabric paint).
5. Get a slim fitting white dress shirt. You'll need to put question marks on the collar (one on each side). Depending upon the season or episode, the question marks look different. Again, these can be painted on with fabric paint (or take the shirt to a tailor). Look at the different serials and choose which style you like the best. He also had the piece of fabric behind the buttons coloured red, as well as the inside of his collar and the underside of his collar, although in season 21 the underside of the collar and the button placket changed to a medium green colour.
6. Wear some braces beneath the jumper (the button on variety). Remember to colour the fasteners brown and put question marks on the straps and look at "Planet of Fire" for the correct pattern. However, should you be wearing the jumper the whole time, these won't be necessary.
7. Get the shoes. Davison wore white cricket trainers. If you can't find an exact match, try white Chuck Taylors/converse.
8. Top it off with a panama hat - specifically, an optimo colonial panama style hat. It could be rolled up and put inside his pocket, and it was sexy enough to get the ladies.
9. Accessorize. An important part of his costume is the signature celery in the lapel. You'll need to get a stick of fake celery and pin it to your lapel. You could use real celery, but you'll need to take it out to water it every now and then (also, it could stain your coat a little bit).
   • Really the only other accessory you'll need the Sonic screwdriver (even though he didn't use it very often, as it was destroyed very early in his run and wasn't seen again until the 1996 movie).
10. You're done! Go off and be adventurous, and remember "Dreams are important. Never underestimate them." - The Fifth Doctor (Terminus, 1982)

Sixth Doctor

1. Be prepared for a challenge with Colin Baker's DIY nightmare of a costume. The Sixth Doctor had a nightmare costume. If you want to get an accurate costume, try searching for a pre-made one online.
   • His waistcoat changed in the Trial of a Time Lord chapter "Terror of the Vervoids".
2. Get the hair. For the hair, you'll need a blonde afro.
3. Add accessories. You'll just need to throw something together like a DIY weapon. You'll also need a sonic lance like the one from Attack of the Cybermen
4. You're done. Remember, "What's the use of a good quote if you can't change it?" -Sixth Doctor (The Two Doctors, 1985).

Seventh Doctor

1. Be prepared for a laugh with Sylvester McCoy. Take a look at his comical sense of style.
2. Get the jacket. McCoy wore two different jackets. In seasons 24 and 25 he wore a light grey colored blazer with two buttons. In season 27 and the 1996 TV movie, he wore a dark brown two-button blazer. He also wore a silk scarf beneath the jacket lapels (you could easily find a replica one online).
3. Add some brown checkered pants.
4. Buy a white dress shirt. It shouldn't be slim fitting and the arms should be slightly baggy.
5. Choose a vest. Sylvester McCoy wore a vest in the TV series and a waistcoat in the 1996 TV movie. In the TV series it was his signature question mark pullover and in the movie he wore a red paisley single breasted waistcoat with no question marks whatsoever.
6. Get the accessories. You'll need McCoy's signature umbrella. You'll also need a pair of spoons cut down to resemble the ones from the show.
7. With the season 24/25 costume, remember to wear a necktie, preferably in red with a blue pattern on it. In season 26, however, to reflect the darker tone of the show he wore a dark brown one - again, with a pattern on it. A pocket square would also be appropriate, with a similar pattern to the tie. You could easily use it as a hatband also.
8. He wore a hat that was very similar to the Fifth Doctor's, but with a smaller and upturned brim. If you plan on making both costumes you could easily get two uses out of the same hat - however, for the Seventh Doctor's costume, remember to turn the brim up as well.
9. You're done. "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do." - Seventh Doctor (Survival, 1989)

Eighth Doctor

1. Study Paul McGann's unique look. He was definitely the most handsome of the classic series Doctors, and dressed very well too. You can find his costume online, or if you want to put it together yourself, you'll need navy pants and a beige double breasted waistcoat, with a darker, long jacket. A fob watch would not go astray either.
2. Get his locks. For the hair, you'll either need to grow really long, sexy hair and curl it, or get a rockstar style wig.
3. Get the Dark Eyes look, if desired. If you want to dress like the Doctor from the Big Finish Audio series Dark Eyes, first off you need to listen to it. It's awesome, and secondly, you'll need a leather pea coat, with gold colored buttons.
   • Next in the Dark Eyes costume, you'll need a white crew neck t-shirt. Any white crew neck shirt will work as long as it has no graphics on it.
   • Get some well fitted black jeans.
   • Add a bag You'll need a brown messenger bag with a shoulder strap. Even an Indiana Jones bag could work easily.
   • If you have short hair, you're good.
4. Try the "Night of the Doctor" look. For the "Night of the Doctor" costume, you'll need to dress very similarly to the 1996 movie costume.
   • You'll need a green frock coat (preferably single-breasted but double-breasted works too)
   • For the belt, you'll need a regular old brown belt. You should cut it appropriately and add an S-link chain for the buckle.
   • You'll need beige colored pants (khakis work).
   • Brown boot spats/gaiters are also required, as this Doctor has a more steampunk look.
5. Accessorize. You'll need a sonic screwdriver. Character Options has recently released a replica of the Eighth Doctor sonic for a fairly reasonable price. For the Dark Eyes sonic, you'll need to build your own as there are no replicas or models for sale - however, should you be desperate, you could simply use the Character Options replica.
6. You're done! "Physician, heal thyself." - Eighth Doctor (Night of the Doctor, 2013)

War Doctor (or Ninth Doctor)

1. Be prepared to dress very tough and serious. You'll need a reasonably long, leather jacket, and then you'll need to distress it for that 'battle hardened' look.
2. Add a double breasted waistcoat over a dress shirt - preferably light brown with pinstripes. You'll need the waistcoat in burgundy.
3. Feel free to take liberties with the pants. However, khakis are recommended.
4. Get boot spats. You should get them in brown suede. Amazon is a good place to get these
5. Add a pink scarf. It may sound silly, but it's the most accurate thing you can find at an affordable price. Tie it accordingly like they did in "Day of the Doctor." However, there is a replica at Magnoli Clothiers - however, it is rather expensive.
6. Style your hair. You'll need to have it in the sort of sticky-uppy style (not unlike David Tennant's). If you don't feel like dying it white, you can always buy a wig and dye that.
7. Either grow a beard or buy a fake one. For fake ones, go on Amazon and search for rapper goatee. you should dye it white like the hair.
8. Add a bandolier, although it may be tricky. Any brown leather bandolier works as long as it can hold a sonic screwdriver.
9. Get a sonic screwdriver.
10. Consider aging make-up. If you're dead-set on accuracy, get some prosthetic make up (like the kind for the Hartnell costume).
11. You're done. "Doctor no more." - War Doctor (Night of the Doctor, 2013)

Ninth Doctor (or Tenth Doctor)

1. Emulate Christopher Eccleston, if you want a pretty easy costume to copy. His outfit is definitely the easiest to put together.
2. Get a long, black, double breasted leather jacket. It should have big lapels and go down to the top of the hips.
3. Add a pair of black pants. Black jeans or work trousers will do the job just nicely.
4. Get a shirt. You'll need a burgundy, navy blue, dark purple, black, or forest green long sleeve v-neck t-shirt, with a reasonably small v (in the show, he actually wore a jumper, but a t-shirt works equally as well).
5. Add the sonic screwdriver and a pair of tough looking work boots - doc martens could do the job, just make sure you don't get the 'smooth' pair. Then all you need is a quirky personality and you're done.
6. "Fantastic! " - Ninth Doctor (Multiple episodes, 2005)

Tenth Doctor (or Eleventh Doctor)

1. Take a look at David Tennant's dress sense. A suit, a tie, and sandshoes. He's the charming bloke in a tight suit who taught me how to get the ladies.
2. Get either a blue or brown pinstripe suit with four buttons. You'll need to make this suit tight on you. Only allow about one or two inches of space when sizing it. For example, if you've got a size 36" chest, you need a 38" chest on your suit.
3. Add a tie - the different ones he had varied, so you have a few choices. Alternatively, you could go without one - if you're going to go this route, spread the collar over your jacket lapel. An undershirt would complete the open neck look.
4. Add a shirt. He always wore slim fitting shirts. With the brown suit, he usually wore solid navy blue, light blue, or sky coloured dress shirts. With the blue suit, he wore either wine coloured, or cream coloured dress shirts.
5. Get the right shoes. With the brown suit, he wore cream (not white!!!) Chuck Taylors (they looked like they were falling apart a little bit, so try to give them that look, or actually beat up a pair of Chucks). With the blue suit, he wore maroon (again, not red!!!) Chuck Taylors (These were also kind of dirty and beaten up). However, in the episode 'Fear Her', he wore black converse with his brown suit.
6. Style your hair just right. The hair is a little bit messy. Try for a fringe, or the more common sticking up hairstyle.
7. Alternatively, if you have a black tie event you are attending and would like to dress like the Tenth Doctor, I'd suggest getting a black, single button tuxedo with notch lapels, and wearing a white dress shirt with a black bow tie and black high top converse/Chuck Taylors (with a white sole, laces and stitching). The bow tie was quite wide on the ends (more so than in the middle) and was self tie, however a pre tied works just as well. He wore this outfit in the episodes "Voyage Of The Damned", "The Lazarus Experiment", and "Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age of Steel."
8. Amp it up with accessories. This guy has more accessories than Tom Baker! You'll need a pair of 3-D glasses (from the episode "Doomsday"), a clear green plastic water pistol (from "The Fires of Pompeii"), a weird "Timey-wimey" detector (from "Blink"), a pair of rectangular plastic frame glasses (like the kind hipsters use), psychic paper (multiple episodes), and a sonic screwdriver.
9. You're done. "There's an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom and consolation to the soul in times of need. Allons-y!!!" - Tenth Doctor (The End of Time Part 2, 2010)

Eleventh Doctor (or Twelfth Doctor)

1. Start with the hair for Matt Smith. You'll need to have long hair. Your hair should come down to about the tip of your nose. You need to wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner. After that, on a cool setting, you need to dry your hair with a hair dryer and brush it with a round brush as you do that. After that's done, and your hair's still a tiny bit wet, use straighteners to straighten your hair. After this, apply product to your hair. Only use a little bit. After that, use industrial strength hairspray. You should use the hairspray upside down so it gets in your roots. Then, put everything in place and spray, then you're done with that.
2. Put together his series 5 look, if desired.
   • Get the right jacket. You'll need a brown tweed blazer with two-button closure.It's a good idea to check thrift stores for a match.
   • Add the shirt. The shirt is an expensive one. You could try a regular slim fit dress shirt in either burgundy or cerulean depending on which bow tie you're planning to wear (in series 5, the shirt matched the bow tie and braces).
   • Use black slim fitting dress pants or black jeans.
   • Try to get matching x-back braces and a bow tie. These either come in burgundy or blue. In series 5, the bow tie was a pre tied variety.
   • Try your best to match the boots. The boots are All-saints layer boots. If you can find a cheaper alternative, go for it. Black Doc Martens work nicely - however, they look like they are beaten up and dirtied, so I'd recommend going for that look.
   • Get a brass wrist-watch, with the face on the inside of your wrist. It completes the series five costume.
3. Copy his series 6 look, if you prefer. You'll need to start with his iconic brown tartan jacket, with elbow patches. Alternatively, you could get the green coat he wore in "Let's Kill Hitler", "The Girl Who Waited", "Closing Time", and "The Wedding of River Song". It works for those extra cold days.
   • The shirts are all in shades of sky blue with white buttons, or white, with a check pattern on the white shirts, and still all fit relatively tight and slim.
   • There are more bow ties, in either burgundy, blue with a horizontal bark pattern, or an Aztec key pattern bow tie. The bow ties are usually self-tie, so learn how to tie a bow tie. There are links to the series 6 bow ties in the tips section.
   • You can take liberties with the boots as long as they're black, however make sure they are clean. Not necessarily shiny, but the whole series 6 outfit was a lot more put together than the series 5 costume.
4. Mix it up with a series 7 look, if you want. In series 7, the Doctor's wardrobe changed dramatically as he abandoned his tweed, his braces, and his old TARDIS interior.
   • His new coat is a purple frock coat.
   • His waistcoat is usually either in light purple, black, or in tweed gray.
   • The boots. Smith's new boots are tan boots that come up to his ankles and lace up, and were light brown in colour.
   • He also wears what appears to be a fob watch (Ah! Remember "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" two-parter? Thank you David Tennant-era!)
   • If you want the costume from "The Snowmen" and "The Time of the Doctor," go with a long purple trench coat. They might be hard to find elsewhere, but if you search for actual replica costumes, you can get your hands on one!
5. If you want to find a cheap suit for the 11th Doctor, go to Value Village. They have a lot of things you could use for the 11th Doctor
6. Add a hat. If you want, get some weird headwear. Go for a fez or a stetson (preferably a fez). Stetsons are cool.
7. You're done. "Didn't anyone ever tell you? There's one thing you never put in a trap if you're smart. If you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there's one thing you never, ever put in a trap...Me." - Eleventh Doctor (The Time of Angels, 2010)

Twelfth Doctor (or Thirteenth Doctor)

1. Experiment with Peter Capaldi's look. He's the new boy on the block.
2. Get the coat. Like Matt Smith, he has a frock coat. His is more of a black or navy blue coat.
3. He wears a blue cardigan with his white dress shirt, however from the episode "Flatline" onwards, he started wearing a black waistcoat (only with his white dress shirt). This is really a matter of opinion on what you want to use.
4. Get a dress shirt, in either white, navy blue or purple. The collar should be big, preferably narrow with no buttons on the collar points, and every button should be done.
5. Add black or charcoal black dress pants. They also may just be suit pants.
6. Wear black boots. Dress boots may fit the bill (the official ones are black Doc Martens, yet again).
7. He sometimes wore a long sleeve black jumper with holes in it, over what seemed to be a white undershirt. He would also sometimes wear a plain black hoodie over it in cold weather (see "Last Christmas" for reference) with the hood over the coat.
8. You're now ready. We have all twelve Doctors (and the debatable John Hurt/War Doctor). It's time for adventure and mystery. Now, "Shut up" - 12th doctor, multiple episodes, and have fun.

Tips

• If you're going to have a group costume, try to pool your money together.
• Try to be as accurate as possible, but still have a budget.
• The Doctor had a mechanical dog called K9 in some episodes. Get yourself a K9 companion if appropriate.

Warnings

• If you wear a Colin Baker costume in public, people might stare. Beware of this wardrobe malfunction. If you are wearing it to a convention and are worried about the stares when you leave, pull a trench coat on over it if possible.

Things You'll Need

• Money
• Costume(s)
• A convention to go to, or a marathon to watch, or a certain day you just want to dress funny on.