Doctor Who: Top 5 iconic Doctor outfits throughout series

Throughout Doctor Who, there have been many outfits worn by the Doctor. Here’s our top 5 favorites!

It’s time for a good old ranking post. There’s been too much drama in the Doctor Who world, and I can understand that everyone needs a break from the seriousness from time to time. So let’s do a good ranking.

I kept thinking about what could be the most fun thing to rank that would get people back in the Doctor Who mood. And then, Roy D. from Twitter gave me a brilliant idea. Let’s rank the Top 5 iconic outfits of Doctor Who.

If we run into a Doctor who has had more than one outfits, I’ll look at all of the outfits they wore. If the Doctor has a particular iconic item in his outfit, then I’ll talk about that. But basically, we’re going to rank the iconic parts or entire outfits! (For instance, the bowtie for Eleven, or Four’s scarf.)

Alright, are you ready for a  good old fashion fun time?! Let’s do this!

Bowties Are Cool

In the #5 ranking, and also Roy D’s favorite outfit piece (possibly everyone’s), we have the Eleventh Doctor’s notorious bowties throughout his seasons. He might have changed his outer coat after Amy and Rory left, and various other small commodities, but the bowties, among everything else, somehow showed the Doctor’s personality more than anything.

Bowties are the more whimsical version of a tie, which we saw Ten wear throughout his run. When Eleven put a bowtie on, we immediately were gained an insight into who he was going to be. Whimsical. Fun. Maybe a little older, because while whimsical, it’s a bit old fashioned as well.

Many jokes were made throughout Eleven’s time as he wore the bowtie, telling him to get rid of it. He, of course, would reply with “bowties are cool“.

Bowties quickly became synonymous with the Eleventh doctor, as did the catchphrase.

Cause you know what? Bowties are cool.

And look at me, I’m wearing a vegetable!

A good quote for an old outfit. The fifth Doctor was known for his cricket outfit and his youthfulness. But what made his outfit stick out was the stick of celery he wore on his lapel of his coat. Though the vegetable did have a purpose, it also showed another Doctor’s whimsical side, as he was a younger regeneration than any of his predecessors.

The celery is a favorite of mine because it made absolutely zero sense! It was such a silly thing to add to the Doctor’s outfit! Anything could have been used for the purpose of the celery, but choosing the vegetable just made it unforgettable.

For anyone who hasn’t watched the Classic Series, or only knows about the vegetable from the Children in Need Time Crash, I’ll explain. The Doctor has an allergy to gases in the praxis range of the spectrum. If any of these specific gases were around, he had to eat the celery which would turn purple.

According to an audio, The Gathering, the Fifth Doctor actually hated celery!

The Doctor’s Grunge Phase

You might be surprised that Nine’s outfit made it on this list, but you’ll soon see why I chose it. This is possibly the Doctor’s darkest days in the entire series, both Classic and New. His outfit reflects that. While his outfits before had been distinguished to whimsical, this one showed an entirely new face. (No pun intended.)

The Ninth Doctor’s outfit was rugged, dark, and included a large leather coat. The look paralleled how he was feeling more than any other outfit. It wasn’t necessarily his entire personality we were seeing – it was his emotions. His depression and his hopelessness after the Time War, and the loss he felt for all of what he (thought) he made of his home planet.

When Doctor Who came back in 2005, it wasn’t to a fun Doctor or an older grandfather-type Doctor – it was to a brooding Doctor Who was trying to make sense of it all. And what gave it away more than his outfit?

The change in 12

What I’ve loved about Twelve’s outfits, so much so that he gets the second spot and not Ten, is that his outfits changed the most, as his personality changed the most. With most Doctors, they stick with their original outfit, to a point. The Eleventh Doctor started this by changing his frock after the Ponds left (which did show how much the Ponds affected him), but Twelve is who has really changed.

It wasn’t a companion that made him change, it was his personality. It was the Doctor evolving through circumstances throughout his time as Twelve. He started with another almost-rugged outfit again. The sturdy shoes, the thin coat, all reminder of older days. That was when he was struggling with who he was, if he was a good man.

In the second season of his tenure, the Twelfth Doctor came back with basically the same clothes, but it was a softer presence. The first time we saw him, he was playing his guitar and teaching the word ‘dude’ a couple centuries too early. By the end of the season, his velvet coat appeared. Much different than his original. It made him look older, and not as tough. Everything about him became softer.

In his final season, the Doctor wears an array of outfits, and they’re all to show his different personalities. No other Doctor has his clothes so tightly paired with how he’s feeling than the twelfth Doctor.

LONDON – FEBRUARY 28: A Model wears Tom Baker’s Dr. Who costume, prior to Iconic Costumes Of Film And TV, The Angels Star Collection auction at Bonhams auction house on January 28, 2007 in London, England. In auction the costume is expectet to fetch GBP 1500 – 2000. (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)

You’re standing on my scarf.

Ah, but what else would get the top spot except for the most notable fashion sense and item throughout Doctor Who history? See anyone wearing a long, colorful scarf on television or at a convention, and you know they’re cosplaying the Doctor.

Sometimes the scarf makes the man iconic, or the man makes the scarf iconic. In this case, it’s both. The Fourth Doctor is often known as the most popular Doctor, and many people’s favorite Doctor — even those of us who have only watched a couple of episodes. We talked earlier about the whimsy of a celery stick on a lapel, but what’s more fun than a colorful scarf?

Would the scarf be as iconic if it were around the neck of a lesser known Doctor? I highly doubt it, but it helps!

There are many iconic outfits throughout the years, and I’d argue that any could get the top spot depending on who’s making the list! This is just my list, but it’s certainly not definitive. Whether your favorite outfit is a long coat, question marks, loud colors, or a simple slim coat, we all love the Doctor and all of his outfits.