Peter Capaldi: Style Icon

It’ll come as no surprise to the readers of this humble blog, that I’m a big fan of Peter Capaldi. His work both on screen and off is always a joy and his take on the Doctor is one of my all time favourites – in addition to this, he’s not only a brilliant actor, director, and gentleman, but a snazzy dresser.

Capaldi clearly brought his unique sense of style Doctor Who when he took on the lead role, and over the course of his tenure, we’ve seen an interesting style revolution; he’s moved from minimalist ‘rebel Time Lord’ to cosmic hobo and into a neo-dandy with an interesting sense of the bohemian to it.

It’s all well and good taking elements of the twelfth Doctor’s style and incorporating them
into your own wardrobe (as I’ve shown how to do before), but it’d perhaps be easier to take lessons from the man himself.

Peter Capaldi is clearly a gentleman of good taste and unique vision when it comes to his wardrobe – He has a penchant for Paul Smith, Doc Martens, and slim fits.

When dressed for everyday casual, Capaldi tends to favour printed t-shirts worn under modern, slim cut navy suits in what appears to be a lightweight cotton. He’ll sometimes mix this up with chinos and a blazer in a contrasting colour in order to add a little more variety.

The t-shirts Peter seems to favour are either light in colour (white or cream) or very dark in colour (navy or black) there seems to be little in the way of mid-colours, so I’d recommend steering clear of these. The shirts are often Paul Smith, but not always. Peter seems to be quite fond of prints of a vintage or faded design, often incorporating skulls or skeletons. This probably hearkens back to his punk roots…!

For more dressy occasions, the t-shirt tends to be substitute for a collared shirt in a louder print; we’ve seen Capaldi wear shirts printed with lots of different patterns, from polka-dots, to planets, to plants, to florals, and beyond.

Since taking on the role of the Doctor, Capaldi seems to have created these basic looks for himself as a sort of shorthand; a uniform for the actor that ties him to the character in a number of ways, while also allowing him to express his personality a little more.

The main feature that both the Doctor and Peter tend to share (aside from a face!) is the love of Doc Marten brogue boots – whether these are the original Loakes or the Doc Martens’ Affleck boot, I don’t know.

When the weather permits, he also seems to prefer Ray-Ban sunglasses, though I’d imagine Peter’s are a little less sonic than the Time Lord’s…

For those who follow the @AAWTIS Twitter feed, you’ll know that I’ve recently invested in a few bits and pieces with a distinctly twelfth Doctor feel that I’ve discovered work brilliantly for more casual Capaldi influenced looks.

You can see from my take on the Capaldi style, pictured below, that I’ve been favouring this relaxed cotton blazer from Fat Face, printed t-shirts from wherever I can find them, my tartan chinos from Asos, and these Doc Marten style shoes from Office (though the Doc Marten brogue shoe would be an even better substitute for the Affleck boot!)

This look not only evokes the look worn by the twelfth Doctor in series 9, but Peter Capaldi on is more relaxed days – it’s a stylish and comfortable way to keep cool in the warmer months while remaining quirky and secretly geeky.

I’d recommend Paul Smith, (if your budget will stretch that far!), Doc Martens, Asos, Label Lab, and Topman for similar styles to those mentioned here; I think a crucial thing to remember is that trousers should be slim without being skinny, and t-shirts should be a little roomier for comfort.

If you’re going for a blazer with a t-shirt, I’d suggest an unstructured cotton number as they wear a little more relaxed and don’t feel as mismatched as a proper suit jacket might.

Peter Capaldi is clearly a man who cares about his appearance, indeed, as many actors who have played the Doctor care about their clothes. Capaldi has his own unique, stripped down style which draws influences from punk, mod, and dandy fashions and combines them in interesting, refined, and simple ways to give an overall air of ease, comfort, and classicism.

While Peter can certainly afford luxury brands, (and he doesn’t shy away from them!) his look can be emulated relatively cheaply if you shop around and know the key details to look for.

What do you think to Peter’s dress sense? Do you have any similar looks you admire? Let us know!

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