How To Dress Like The Eighth Doctor

The Eighth Doctor

After the DIY nightmare of the Sixth Doctor’s coat, and the knitting yourself blind problems of the Seventh Doctor’s sweater, here’s a costume that should be fairly straightforward to get sorted. And we’ve finally left those question marks behind!

The downside is there’s not a lot of choice in terms of color, as there is only one Eighth Doctor costume – it’s the Wild Bill Hickock outfit he found in a hospital locker after his regeneration. That’s right, this Doctor (Paul McGann) enjoys a bit of cosplay too.

The Eighth Doctor

1: Hair – get a brown rockstar wig, something with a bit of curl to it. It doesn’t matter if it looks like a wig, rather than real hair, because if you look at the Eighth Doctor, his hair also looks like a wig. Must be some, uh, temporal imbalance in the, ah, regenerative tissue, or something.

2: Shirt – a white dress shirt with high collars. No question marks! Not even a little one!

3: Tie – it’s a big floppy tie, like the Sixth Doctor’s, only battleship grey, rather than polka-dotted and bright green. The Eighth Doctor does not think that bow ties are cool.

4: Waistcoat – possibly the most elaborate waistcoat of all the Doctors. It’s a six button affair, all silky and embroidered. Just like Wild Bill would’ve worn.

5: Jacket – a bottle-green velvet frock coat. The Doctor has a serious thing about frock coats, does he not?

6: Pants – light grey, high-waisted, held up by suspenders, although you could get away with a belt under than extravagant waistcoat.

7: Shoes – black rubberised ankle-high shoes. They don’t fit the Doctor at first, as indeed nothing does after a regeneration, so he has to wear them in with a bit of walking. Travelling is the Doctor’s solution to any personal problem.

Then you’ll need a fob watch, and a sonic screwdriver with a red top, oh and a tie pin to hold that voluminous tie back. Now, carry yourself like a disgraced prince, all manners and charm, but slightly vulnerable, and you’re there. Just don’t go out in a high wind, or your wig’ll blow off.