Dear readers,
If you immediately understand the below, well done you, you will hopefully love this. If not, this post may be slightly confusing but hopefully entertaining and somewhat educational none the less! At the very least, it promises fun! At least, I had fun. Hmm…
Now, let’s say you’re not a Whovian (in which case, you should seriously reconsider your television viewing life choices) or missed yesterday’s Google Doodle. Let’s begin there. Saturday, November 23 was ‘The Day of the Doctor’. Why? Oh, because Doctor Who is now 50 years old!
Doctor Who is 50 now, 50 has never been so cool.
The longest running sci-fi show in the history of the universe (so far as we know), millions around the world celebrated this weekend and wished the Doctor a very happy birthday. As part of my own celebration, and in preparation to catch the special episode in theaters tomorrow with some other Whovians, I decided to get a little timey-wimey myself with an Eleventh Doctor cosplay!
All of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will – where do you want to start?
First of all, boo-ya! Ladies and gentlemen, I tied my very first bow tie.
Moving on. Everyone has a Doctor. It’s usually your first Doctor. I started my journey into Doctor Who the summer before Matt Smith debuted as the Eleventh Doctor and Steven Moffat took over as showrunner. So I started with reruns here and there, mostly of Ten, but Eleven was the first ‘live’ Doctor for me. And, while I can’t rate the older versions yet and I love Nine and Ten, there’s no denying Eleven is my Doctor.
I am definitely a madman with box
If you’re looking to do your own Eleventh Doctor cosplay, a decent one on a budget, check out Formal Tailor. I ordered a bow tie and braces/suspenders for $25 – no shipping costs – on Saturday and, quite fittingly, received them the following Saturday (the Day of the Doctor!).
You don’t have to get any of the other stuff with the bow tie, and you can order a self-tie version.
These Y-braces were on sale, and are a pretty good match to Eleven’s braces in Series 7
Matt Smith brings the most recent incarnation of the Doctor to life so wonderfully. What I love most is that you can see how old and, in some ways frayed, the Doctor is, and you get glimpses of instances where he is just tired. Tired and perhaps a bit dangerous.
I am and always will be the optimist.
And yet, we can watch the Eleventh Doctor and completely see how after all this time, he is still in awe of everything around him – the universe, the people and creatures in it. Eleven is professorial in his getup and experience, he’s wise, and still has that twinkle in his eye and dance in his step.
The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.
Eleven is also goofy and, you know what? I like goofy. Matt Smith’s delivery is hilarious and clever and brilliant.
Yowzah!
Fish fingers and custard, bow ties & fezzes are cool, and this 900+ year old still writes a Christmas list.
I do!
Now every Doctor needs a trusty sonic screwdriver.
You know how I sometimes have really brilliant ideas?
You know, to get him out of trouble (assuming trouble doesn’t come in the form of wood)…
Sorry.
I picked up an Eleventh Doctor sonic screwdriver from Barnes & Nobles. It was $26, and you really won’t find a replica screwdriver for any less. Amazon is worth checking (for everything!), but in this instance with shipping it was the same or more, and with the added iffiness of whether it would ship in time.
I didn’t quite have the jacket so the screwdriver was a must. I also had a gift card…No guilt! (It’s also kind of really fun)
The rest of the clothes I had in my closet. The shirt I’ve had for quite a while, actually, so check out your closet first, too! You probably have a red, blue, or plain/small patterned white button up that could work quite well.
Hello. I’m the Doctor.
The pants are Jolt skinny black jeans – you can find them at a few different department stores, or search online (these are about a year old, but black skinny jeans are always in style aren’t they?). Find yourself a pair and roll up the legs a bit for Eleven’s slightly-too-short pants look.
Basically, run!
The shoes are Z London, $16, from Marshalls. I didn’t get the iconic, elbow-patched tweed jacket this time around, but will take my knit blazer-sweater (from Banana Republic – few years ago) with me tomorrow as it still manages to fit with Eleven’s look. And that’s it!
A pair of black socks, maybe add a fez (here’s a cute fez headband idea!) or handy vortex manipulator and you’re good to go traipsing through time and space with amazing companions, saving worlds as the Eleventh Doctor.
Geronimo
I have to thank my patient and completely non-judgmental brother for being my willing cosplay photographer on Saturday! He was a great sport.
It’s a great time to be a Whovian right now, or to jump into Doctor Who if you’re unfamiliar. I think all Whovians enjoyed the heartwarming (doubly heartwarming?) tributes this weekend – Moffat wrote a fantastic 50th Anniversary episode which was simulcast around the globe, and I really loved Mark Gatiss’s work on ‘An Adventure in Space and Time’, detailing the events surrounding the conception of Doctor Who in 1963. Very touching.
Ugh, the feels.
Time for this Timelord to go to bed. Yes, even the Doctor needs rest. Thanks for reading, cheers! Until then…
The adventure is afoot... 
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