In the nearly sixty years the series first premiered, the British science fiction adventure series Doctor Who has featured over a dozen actors in its leading role of The Doctor, a time traveling alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Opinions range and vary widely as to who the best Doctor of all time has been, and opinions are usually based on some very key traits.
Who is the funniest? Who is the wisest? Who is the most comionate? Who is the best actor? But very rarely do you find a definitive ranking of the best Doctor of them all based purely on their sartorial decisions. That's where we come in. Below, you'll find a ranking of all thirteen iterations of the beloved time traveler based on his or her fashion choices.
The Second Doctor
There's nothing particularly bad about the Second Doctor's outfit. In Patrick Troughton's portrayal of The Doctor, the Gallifreyan opts for a more modest costume consisting of an over-sized suit coat, a bow tie, buttoned dress shirt, and often loudly patterned tros.
It's a decent outfit, but it does seem ill-fitting to the personality and the adventure that comes with being The Doctor, and causes the Second Doctor to just appear far more reserved than some of the later Doctors are.
The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor also has a much more conservative and proper costume, but there's a certain fashionable flair added to the mix that elevates it slightly above the Second Doctor's. Traditionally, the Third Doctor can be found in a crisp, velvetesque suit coat, with a puffy collared shirt, bow tie, and slacks.
But in addition to the added flair of the puffy collars and snazzy bow ties, Pertwee's Doctor often dons a silken, brightly accented cloak, befitting of a magician more than The Doctor.
The Eighth Doctor
Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor had the shortest tenure of all the Doctors, but he didn't have the worst costume of them all. With that said, there's nothing especially exciting about it, either. The Eighth Doctor's style is nearly Victorian, as wears old-fashioned suits and cravats and waistcoats.
Though his costume may be comparatively simple, he also sports some of the most memorable hair in the history of The Doctor, with lavish, nearly shoulder length curls.
The Sixth Doctor
There's making a statement with your clothing, and then there's making all of the statements with your clothing. Take one look at Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor, and it's not hard to figure out that there's something truly special about this space traveler, donning rainbow from head to toe.
The bizarre pairing of essentially all colors of the rainbow reflected in his suit and tie and slacks is only made all the more, well, quizzical, when you notice the question marks embroidered on the collar of his shirt. Doctor Who, indeed.
The First Doctor
The First Doctor, most memorably portrayed by William Hartnell, has yet another conventional costume in 19th century styles: proper suits, waistcoats, distinguished ties and slacks. But unlike some of the later Doctors, whose clothes were even more conventional, Hartnell's Doctor is far more talented at accessorizing.
In the above photo alone, you can spot a winter cap, a lavish scarf, and a pocket watch appended to his collar. That, plus Hartnell's grandfatherly gravitas, elevates the First Doctor's style.
The Seventh Doctor
The questionable question mark saga continues with Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor, who looks as though he's about to attend a polo match or a golf tournament. Dressed in a posh white suit and hat made of straw, McCoy's Doctor's outfit also consists of a sweater with those same red question marks as the Sixth Doctor and loudly patterned ties.
But perhaps the most memorable and noteworthy part of the Sixth Doctor's ensemble is, as with Hartnell's First Doctor, his choice of accessory: an umbrella with a brilliantly red handle shaped like a question mark.
The Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor, though one of the shorter tenured and more polarizing Doctors in the history of the series, represented a major change for Doctor Who. Not only was Christopher Ecclestson's Doctor the first Doctor for the new era of the series, he was also the first Doctor to really seem as though he were dressed for an adventure.
Eccleston's Doctor also seems more imposing through his costume, a dark leather jacket and darkly colored shirt and tros to go with it. He's ready to get up to trouble, and his outfit shows it.
The Fifth Doctor
Yet another Doctor who has quite the bizarre gift of accessorizing is the Fifth Doctor, as played by Peter Davison. Dressed as though he were ready for cricket match, Davison's Doctor's costume consisted of light-colored suits and slacks and shirts, as well as a Panama hat.
But most memorable, beyond the bright colors, were the addition of two very key accessories: a cricket ball kept in his pocket, and a stalk of celery pinned to his suit coat collar.
The Tenth Doctor
David Tennant's Tenth Doctor is one of the most beloved versions of the Gallifreyan Time Lord of all time, and his costume also happens to be one of the best, too. Consisting of comfortable yet dashing striped suits, dark ties, and Converse sneakers, the Tenth Doctor is often regarded as one of the more accessible Doctors, and one of the more dashing ones, too.
But what really puts the costume to the next level is the frequent addition of a lengthy trench coat, and Tennant's memorably spiky and messy hair.
The Twelfth Doctor
Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor took a little while to find his footing in the series, but his sartorial choices were spot on from day one. Returning to the more traditional frock style coats of many of his predecessors, Capaldi's Doctor also recaptures some of the fun magician style, too.
With dark blue and purple suit coats lined in brilliant red, a buttoned waistcoat, crisply collared white shirts, and an unforgettable mop of messy grey curls, Capaldi's Doctor's style was never in question.