TMoRP Day 9 – The New Doctor’s Outfit

The BBC revealed the costume that Jodie Whittaker will be wearing as the 13th Doctor earlier today. Here it is.

Apparently the outfit is controversial but you can put me down in the “Hell yes!” column. It perfectly meets my single criterion for the costume of a modern Doctor – something that a real person might wear, but that probably no real person would wear.

(The small army of cosplay designers currently measuring up capri pants patterns excepted, of course).

When I first saw it, I formed two impressions: one, that the costume is absolutely intended 100% to troll the haters who can’t get their heads around a woman playing the Doctor, and two, that surely her ankles would get a bit cold.

Happily on closer inspection I can see I was wrong about one of those opinions, as she is clearly wearing warm socks. Phew!

Seriously though, I love it. The T-shirt that’s a little bit rainbow pride and a little bit Mork from Ork, the bovver boots because of course, the bright blue pants and a coat that definitely looks like it will swoosh in the wind to amazing effect.

A few years ago I was on a panel discussing the we-hoped-inevitable eventual casting of a woman in the role of the Doctor. When the conversation turned to the topic of the costuming, I was convinced that they would go with the obvious conservative choice of an Edwardian governess with slightly offbeat colours and probably an elaborate hat. You know, Mary Poppins but with gadgets only slightly weirder than a flying umbrella.

Then along came Michelle Gomez’s Missy in that exact outfit, and oh, suddenly all bets were off.

Honestly, I can’t wait to see Whitaker in action. But not before one last marvelous hurrah from Peter Capaldi at the end of the year.

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2 Responses to TMoRP Day 9 – The New Doctor’s Outfit

  1. Well said, Dave. I can’t see why people are getting their knickers in such a knot. The braces made me pause for a moment, but overall it’s an eclectic outfit reflecting an alien distracted by things of a galactic nature, rather than what the hell to wear.

    I’m genuinely relieved the costumiers haven’t selected anything along the lines of Lara-Croft-style, crop-top, boobs-up-front attire. I’m so sick of superhero/comic/gaming females in cutaway lycra!

  2. Lexifab says:

    Well, the dissection of each new Doctor’s outfit is a time-honoured tradition, so it’s not like this is anything new. But I do think there’s a whiff of snotty opining about what women wear feeding the beast this time around.

    What I’ve always love about the Doctor’s costuming is how it reflects that he (now she) does not quite get it. The almost-but-not-quite insight into human culture, which is brilliant in the abstract but a bit fuzzy on the actual details. It’s an important character note which is more than “the Doctor dresses flamboyantly so is always the centre of attention”, even if admittedly that’s how it started.

    I do think anything involving tight lycra or figure-hugging leather would probably have been the wrong direction to take the character πŸ™‚

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