A Happy Doctor Who-lloween

It’s a Timey-Wimey-Wibbly-Wobbly Halloween this year in our Doctor Who family costumes! For fans of the BBC show, we dressed from left to right as Robin Hood, the Impossible Astronaut, the TARDIS in human form, the Last Centurion (Rory), and the Eleventh Doctor. Check it out because… Bow ties are cool!!!

If you haven’t seen Doctor Who—buckle up, baby! Science fiction meets history meets cheesy awesomeness… we love this Time Lord flying through all of time and space saving worlds and blowing minds! We laughed, cried, jumped, and could not stop. I didn’t understand when people enjoyed being scared until I experienced the Matt Smith episode on Weeping Angels (we didn’t watch the doctors in order so that’s the one we saw first). I hate scary movies, but man that was my first enjoyable movie experience being scared. This is coming from the girl who has a lifelong phobia of Dracula because I saw the funny version as a child.

My goal with costumes is to be able to easily wear them after Halloween, and to only create at most half of them (making costumes takes time and storage). Hence why we opted for more flexible roles rather than more iconic characters (e.g. Daleks, Cybermen, Oods, the literal police box). All the parts of my costume that I purchased are new staples in my wardrobe—woo hoo!

Robin Hood Costume

One of the fun episodes for me of the Twelfth Doctor is meeting Robin Hood! It’s perfect for my little Prince of Thieves (who steals my heart in this outfit) since he loves hoodies! I made the hooded vest, hat, arm cuffs, quiver, and soft-tipped arrows. The kids are very much into pretend play now and the pieces can work for Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Little John, Brave, Cowboys/Indians, etc.

Tardis Costume

Check out my lo-tech costume this year for the coolest space ship ever! The Tardis can fly through space and time, looks like a police box on the outside, and once appeared in human form with a steampunk/Victorian/80’s hair vibe. Most costumes I’ve seen have taken the police box literally. I really liked the fun light up hair fascinators, and the dresses that open to reveal the interior of the Tardis!

This is my take on a retro fashionable Tardis. Start with a trench coat in the iconic Tardis blue. I chose a preppy collared dress I already had (feels very English and maybe Clara Oswald to me); a galaxy print dress would be cool, too. Add themed accessories (star and moon jewelry, cog wheels in a belt, light up stuff, Cybermen or Dalek pins, maybe even a hand in a jar if you’re feeling it haha). Slicked my hair in a high bun (if I could do it over I’d probably go for a ponytail top knot), and I wanted some great blue eyeliner for a bold futuristic look but instead used blue eye shadow I already had that didn’t show up too well. Finish with a digital version of the actual Tardis interior when the coat is opened! My chosen accessories: a light up scrunchie (nod to the light at the top of the police box), simple key necklace, scarf with a subtle window-pane pattern, and Oxford-style shoes. There were a few details I didn’t get to finish that would have been awesome (a telephone shaped purse, metallic or constellation nails, and a wrist watch). Top it off with a ringtone of the Tardis landing sound! Or steal your Doctor’s sonic screwdriver 🙂

The Impossible Astronaut

This costume was easy because I didn’t have to make it! I just had to meet a lady 30 miles away to score a high quality suit with helmet in August for a little over $20. It has fabulous patches official NASA patches, plenty of zippers/pockets/buckles, a comfortable lined collar, and a realistic looking helmet with a retractable visor.

The Last Centurion Costume

This kid loves any excuse to hold a play weapon and can be a fierce little warrior. Rory the Last Centurion, who wields a sword and protects his sweetheart for over a thousand years in Doctor Who, was a natural fit! I made him a gold fabric chest plate with muscle definition, girdle, soft sword, and a gladiator “helmet” hat to keep his head warm. The red hooded cape was recycled from an old “Little Red Riding Hood” Costume when L was his age 🙂

The Eleventh Doctor

Our favorite Doctor Who is played by Matt Smith, and wears a tweed blazer and bow tie. Jer is not usually into dressing up for Halloween, but he happened to have and be into the outfit! I love that he can wear it outside of the holidays and that he’s adorable in it. The only thing we bought was the “sonic screwdriver”, which all of us had a great time playing with.