The Impossible Task of Costuming Time Travel | Doctor Who 

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During last couple of years Bernadette's filming outfits went from "lovely Edwardian lady" to "slightly unhinged Missy" and I love it😀

I never realized that Vastra’s clothing was specifically a mourning dress. It’s really suitable since she’s lost her family so she’s actually mourning them and not just using a convenient way to hide her appearance.

I actually love that most companions dress quite anachronistically. Even with a wardrobe, the person dressing would only have a modern person's idea of what they should look like. Rose looks like she used a Tim Burton film for reference.

The comment on Strax loving to sew because it gives them an opportunity to repeatedly stabbed things absolutely floored me. it was incredibly on point. Pun intended.

I actually love Nine's constant costume, because it fits his character so well: he's fresh out of the Time War, he's witnessed (and probably committed) atrocities beyond imagining, he's a walking maelstrom of guilt and trauma; in short, he's exactly the kind of person to go "Yeah, fuck period accuracy - I'm wearing my leather jacket, and everyone can just fucking deal."

I don't know if it was planed this way (probably not) but I think Rose wearing that outfit in the Unquiet Dead episode (steampunk/goth instead of victorian) actually makes sense. The Doctor just sent her to the wordrobe and told her she could chose something. She wears what she *thought* looked victorian, not what's actually historically accurate. And since the Doctor and 9 espeially doesn't care for accuracy, he just let her wear whatever. At least that's my headcanon. 😊

I like to think that Donna's unusual outfit choices are a result of the doctor telling her what to wear and her ignoring him, instead choosing herself based on what she thinks and what she'd want to wear. Theres no way she'd listen if she didn't have to

So we all agree Bernadette should def play the Doctor? Or is that just me?

I think Donna's dodgy Pompeii outfit can be explained by her going to the wardrobe room of the TARDIS and picking the first vaguely "Roman" thing she saw. I doubt Donna would have much (if any) knowledge of historical dress and probably wouldn't have listed to the Doctor even if he'd tried to help her, because if The Doctor isn't going to put in any effort, why should she?

One of the selling points for starting Who back in the 60's was that they could make good use of their minuscule budget by using the exhaustive mass of the BBC's costume archives (from making so many historical dramas) as well as standing set pieces.

Bernadette has entered full-blown professor mode and I love it. If she started giving keynotes and lectures at conferences I’d be so thrilled.

I'm sure this has been said by others, but we learn in Torchwood that Jack actually gets stranded in the mid nineteenth century, and has to live through history to catch up to the doctor. He isn't committing to historical accuracy out of choice, but necessity! it makes sense they committed to his wardrobe being accurate, it's a lovely touch. loved this video!

Bernadette as an alien who stole a sentient space-travelling go cart with a magic screwdriver, just travelling to the past to document, study, and recreate all manner historical dress from like, every time period/region possible is definitely a series I would binge.

14:57 Hi Whovian here! The reason that the High Council wear red and yellow is because of the Chapter they are in! The Doctor, Master and all the members of the High Council are members of the Prydonian Chapter, who’s colours are red. There are other chapters such at the Patrex chapter (who wear purple) and the Arcaliran chapter (who wear brown and green), but Prydonian’s are more likely to be decision makers and become rulers (such as Lord President) which is why we only see them in red. Oh and a time lords chapter is from when they went to the Accademy, which most Gallifrayans don’t go to, and as the Doctors family has essentially been down graded (long story), their family’s children don’t go anymore hence why their not wearing the fancy cloths in Hell Bent.

I do not know Bernadette's opinion on Barbie, but I would really love a video of her redesigning the dresses from the more historical movies. The "redesigning Halloween costumes" videos and the "redesigning romance novel cover" are some of my favorites she'd ever made, and I just really love her art style.

I am just marveling at Bernadette's costuming. She's somehow managed "menacing whimsy". It's most impressive. If she was on a book cover I'd have no idea if she was supposed to be the heroine, romantic interest, or mastermind villian (because who would suspect such deviousness from a Lady?!) Brava!

The whole getup is obviously a Missy cosplay but that bit when Bernadette does the little dance while waiting for the siren to pass is so in-character it makes me wanna go rewatch those seasons immediately.

Let us also give credit to the designers of Classic Who. They fulfilled all of the described categories on a shoestring budget. The costumes may not be as flashy as New Who but the creative work is to be applauded.

As a HUGE Doctor Who fan, it makes me really happy to see someone put so much time and effort into creating such a detailed and interesting video. Thanks Bernadette, this was really great.

omg. Just when I thought i couldnt love this channel more, she does a DOCTOR WHO episode with an absolutely on point Missy costumes? amazing. also amazing is how she subtly channels slightly unhinged missy with all the random sitting poses. I'm definitely here for this. also. that crochet dalek is ADORABLE.

Her ability to sound modern and yet old fashioned and fancy will never cease to amaze me

Love this! A couple of points: the BBC's costume department is HUGE, and Doctor Who uses it all the time to save having to create new costumes. Therefore, the historical accuracy of any costume will be determined by 1) what they can find in there that fits the actor in question with minimal adjustment, and b) the budget and commitment to historical accuracy for the show that any piece was created for. 2) I nearly fell off my chair laughing at the swanee whistle cover of the theme song at the start 😂

thank you for mentioning how amazing and seamless the Vastra prosthetic is!! a lot of fans really hate the modern Silurian design but it makes characters like Vastra more grounded and believable - and it looks so beautiful

I have more to add to the thing about layering clothes in Gallifreyan society! Gallifreyans are established to be majorly touch telepaths (though more powerful psychics the Sonomancer proves they can do telepathy without touch, maybe depending on skill and power?), and Time Lords are pretty prudish so I imagine they don’t want to be sharing big thoughts and feelings constantly so the many layers of clothes probably prevents accidental psychic connection. Despite their prudishness, Time Lords seem to be incredibly connected to eachother. Drax and the Doctor recognise eachother even though the Doctor has changed his face three times and, knowing Drax, Drax at least once in The Armageddon Factor. Probably cause of some Psychic Time Lord Stuff. Different incarnations of the same Time Lord (or even the same incarnation at different points in life) can share information and thoughts through ‘‘Contact.’’ Four mentions some kind of interconnected Time Lord hivemind that he was removed from after they kicked him out. Nine laments being unable to ‘feel’ the Time Lords and knowing he’s alone in the universe after he thinks them all dead (in Rose, maybe?). Ten remarks that he can smell out the Master during The End of Time. Time Lords are very psychic and very connected already, so I think it makes sense they wouldn’t want to be connected physically either. Edit: Also, Time Lords have so many senses. Scherzo says they see, hear, touch, smell and taste time. Father Time says they can taste atmospheric gasses and pinpoint specific ones (in the book, the Doctor figures it’s the argon in the air which bothers him). Rose (the episode) says they feel the planet they’re on spinning beneath them. The Gift says they hear ‘the music of the spheres’ all the time, which is the sound of planets spinning around suns and suns around the galaxy. There are specific Time Lords called Visionaries who literally see the future. I’m also pretty sure they feel the magnetic field of planets but I can’t remember where from I heard that. They’re processing so much information all the time it’s no surprise they cover themselves head to toe in heavy robes or just clothes to limit the input as much as possible.

2:55 Fun fact, this was a plot point in the Classic Who episode The Gunfighters! The companions dress in "cowboy" outfits that are SO themepark-y that they end up pretending to be travelling performers because to the real cowboys they look ridiculous. (Yes this happened 20 years before Back to the Future made the same joke)

"This is one of the few times he's allowed to repeatedly stab things" lol I love your take on that. That definitely seems in character for Strax.

One thing I'll note for Gallifreyans, in the classic series there were more varied designs and they actually carried cultural meaning. In "The Deadly Assassin", there are six "Chapters" in Gallifreyan high society with seats on the High Council, each represented by a different colour, as well as there being certain government roles which had their own colours (like the Gold Usher). Red was for the Prydonian Chapter, which the Doctor, the Master and Romana belonged to, as well as most Lords President because they were originally the only Chapter whose members were allowed to be elected, as Rassillon supposedly originally intended. So the obsession with red in the revival era would most likely be due to his influence during the Time War. But honestly with the amount of information of questionable canonicity available on Time Lord history (looking at you, Lungbarrow) there is no reason for anyone but the most devoted anoraks to know what's canon and what isn't - and that includes the writers at this point. (also back in the 60s they had much more minimalistic black and white robes which Russell inadvertently retconned into being school uniforms in the Master's flashback, so the 2nd Doctor was executed by someone essentially dressed like Angus Young)

2:42 [dances in Missy] ❤ perfection ❤

My mum cos-played as Mme Vastra for a workplace dressing-up competition. Sadly, the rest of the entries were distinctly disappointing which sucked given the amount of effort mum put in to sourcing her charity-shop Victorian costume and the sheer amount of work in finding and then using face-paint. She frightened the life out of the other employees. And that was _before_ the "Victorian ghost woman" flipped up her veil.

honestly nine is responsible for one of my favorite jokes in the series re: conforming to period dress, which is literally the second episode. he sends rose off to change into something more appropriate (which... i mean... yeah...) and she comes back and is like "aren't you going to change" and his response is "i changed my jumper." it was just a fantastic little moment and was great, especially in the context of nine's overall behavior, but that's a separate speech. one thing that unfortunately didn't get touched on but i personally loved was the visible effort they made with the costuming and tardis design of jo martin's doctor in series 12's "fugitive of the judoon". while the clothes are modern, the style chosen for both her outfit and her tardis very specifically lines up more with the classic series style for the doctor, which is a wonderful design choice in my opinion because it gives a bit of a hint as to where she fits in the doctor's timeline and narrative. also, missy being nice and victorian for the most part while rocking hot topic studded bracelets is never not funny as hell to me.

I'm a 55 year old engineer and as you do, fell down a RU-vid rabbit hole and came across Bernadette Banner. I can wield a sewing machine, can mend as required but my hobbies are woodturning, wood work, metal and leatherwork......yet I'm hooked. A fabulously talented creator who looks stunning in the walking skirts and jackets all made during her posts. It is the structure and may I say engineering of the garments that have me hooked, coupled with very engaging presentation and camera work that is amongst the best on RU-vid.

One of my favourite moments in terms of fitting in is in The Gunfighters. The First Doctor, who always dressed in a vaguely Victorian suit lands in the 1880s for the one and only time and immediately begins to lecture his companions about the *always* fits in. Plus it features the Back to the Future III gag almost 30 years early by having Steven and Dodo pull Hollywood style cowboy and cowgirl outfits out of the wardrobe only to get weird stares from all the locals. But I also love the Monk, who's another Time Lord who's solution is simply to dress in a monk's robes. Because the pace of change of those is so much slower than normal fashion there's a range of almost 1,000 years of human history where he *more or less* fits in.

Traditionally, Time Lords belonged to one of six Chapters, each with their own colour. Prydonians (which the Doctor, the Master, and Romana all belonged to) wore scarlet robes and were the most politically powerful house. Gallifreyans in general are less sensitive to temperature than humans, with the Fourth Doctor wearing his usual costume in Antarctica in the Seeds of Doom. Prior to the Time War, Gallifrey was less of a wasteland, and also that Time Lords tended to live inside covered cities with very fancy climate control, so they're not affected by environmental pressures in the way humans are. It is also important to note that the Seventh Doctor says that Time Lords "have an infinite capacity for pretension" in Remembrance of the Daleks. Sorry. I'm a huge Classic Who nerd.

I didn't think it was possible to adore the fabulous Ms. Banner more, and yet, here she is, being even more brilliant in her insights of the use of costuming as a language.

Love how much more relaxed and playful Bernadette is in this video than others I have seen.

"Realistically unfathomable": We blame the TARDIS. She is technically everywhere at once and inhabited by a thief, from whom she might have picked up the habit of nicking what's needed when it's needed. LOVE THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I love that you have a Cyberman head on your mannequin.

I always put Dr. Who's costumes in the 'campy homage' category. They obvious love the historical settings and characters, but also it's ok if we see the pieces that aren't exactly right. They aren't trying for perfection, but they get the important details right, which we notice and appreciate!

I know that the episodes haven’t been released yet but Ncuti Gatwa’s costume choices are very interesting and break a longstanding Doctor Who trend by being deliberately period appropriate and unique. We don’t know if they will keep this going but the looks so far are stunning.

This is absolutely wilding to me - I did a may term (aka one month) class in college that was costume design for Doctor Who! We were given a script for an unreleased/mock episode (I'm still not sure which) that was set in the 1920s and had to research and design all the key costumes for it, do the budgeting for materials and costumes for extras, basically everything. We worked with a costume designer who actually worked on Season 4 of DW (she was incredible and I cannot remember her name!) and overall it was an amazing class. So to hear Bernadette talk about hire houses for historical costumes vs what pieces would have to be made special for the episode is fascinating to me because yeah!! I've done that!! So thank you Bernadette for the brain rush of memories and reminding me why this sort of costuming is and always will be fascinating to me

Watching Bernadette evolve, style wise, over the last few years, has been a delight. She just seems to grow more confident and wonderful in her content and presentation, and I, for one, am fangirling.

12's opening Hell Bent costume is a red velvet jacket too, that's what he disgards. There's a deleted couple lines where 12 puts the High Council to work in the sewers. Ohila observing _"How like an aristocrat to view honest work as punishment."_ Steven expressed regret for deleting it, cos it communicated how alike 12 is to the Time Lords, much as he shuns them. Costume analysis is on-point!

Finally, as many of us have long suspected, Bernadette comes out as a major Dr. Who geek. I approve and relate. Your Missy cosplay (including the creepy claw hands) is spectacular! I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this. It brought up many questions I, myself have asked many times about how accurate and why certain characters choose certain styles and preferences. 🐹

WOW. 😮 What a brilliant mix of cosplay, fangirling, loving homage, and fascinating analysis of costume as storytelling and character building device. Absolutely blown away by this. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 This is one of my favorite Doctor Who fan-created videos EVER. I'm recommending it to literally every Whovian I know. 💙💙💙

This video has to be a favorite of mine. It has been stated that the Doctor and his companion doesn't *need* to dress in period clothing to fit in as the psychic field of the TARDIS takes care of that (along with language ect.) so I've always considered the companions as 'history-bounding' through time but I love the thought put into the significance of costume choices that have been made to help show character details. I enjoy making crossover designs and so thinking about the 'identifying details' to make characters recognizable in different universes is something I gravitate towards. Hearing your take on some of the choices made was super interesting. I can't remember if you have done it already (will check after this) but I'd love to see the Doctor's character choices contrasted with the Angels of Good Omens as they go through time and the challenge of making a recognizable outfit through different eras of human history and yet still staying true to the character. It would be fascinating to hear your thoughts on that!

Last time, I said Bernadette's pinstripe dress had Missy/the Mistress vibes. Guess she decided to go for the full look this time around. Excellent Also, the Time Lords seen in "The End of Time" and after are only wearing red because it's the color of Rassilon's chapter of the Gallifreyan Houses (the implication being he ran a pogrom on the other houses); in the classic era, the Time Lord houses wore different colors depending on what chapter and such they were a part of (white, green, blue, etc.).

How could you NOT like this video? I've never even watched Dr. Who, but I was very interested in how a TV show handled the multiple clothing choices they had to make. The sponsorship advertisement at the end was one of the most creative ads I've ever seen! You go, Bernadette! Im a big fan! ❤

Two of my absolute favorite genres are colliding here: - Knowledgable and skilled speaker speaking about their area of expertise - Giving serious and rigorous examination to a topic that never expected to receive a serious and rigorous examination Wonderful! Also, I 100% expect the Jenny the Production Budget standing on the neck of the Production to be the next wildfire meme. And... Time Agent Bernadette... are you sprinkling your speech with a little bit of Appalachian accent there? Mysterious character development. Hmm.

Bernadette, I applaud you for delving into the wibbly wobbly world of Doctor Who costumery. It's interesting to hear the opinion of someone who is so invested in historical attire. Especially when it comes to shows about time travel. This was both informative and entertaining.

Your thoughts on Gallifreyan clothing actually tracks with the original Doctors. One wore a full morning suit; Three went for colors and flashy cuts; Four went with the long coat, a hat (frequently), and his iconic scarf; and while I'm not as familiar with 5-8, they mostly seemed to wear coats, with some combination of hats, vests, waistcoats, and ties, and didn't shun bright colors. It looks like Nine started the more sober color palette.

As a fan, I honestly never stopped to think about how crazy it would be to cloth a show set everywhere and when. Quite an undertaking. The review of the Paternoster Gang gave me a huge appreciation for the details they gave them. The Master revelation and the surprise cosplay...omg. This was such a cool video, Bernadette.

This video was everything I hoped for and more! The subtle Missy and Jack cosplays are killer! I'm so so glad to see other people who pause the episodes to peer at costumes! We were recently in Edinburgh and saw the Doctor Who exhibit and I took so many costume photos! I always want an episode where they see in the wardrobe. They could borrow half of Angels for day and imagine how cool that would be seeing the doctor and companion play dress up!

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EPISODE. I didn't think I could love Doctor Who and Bernadette more (separately), and then they merged and my heart exploded. Such an amazing idea and fantastic study on a crazily varied wardrobe. Amazing!

The TARDIS being a sentient, time traveling go-kart is officially my favorite description! Excellent class, Prof. Banner.

I knew you were dressed as missy! Cool. I also want to say as a Brit who constantly sees the dire state of the BBC’s budget I have always been pretty aware of how much goes into these episodes. Like the amount of effort even with the lower budget sometimes is impressive. I can’t image the amount of research there has to be done. Actually I can, it’s a lot, the amount of stuff on top of just researching a location would be so much work. Probably really cool though, you’d learn a lot. (I get pretty freaked out about commenting so I hope that I’ll keep this comment up, I may not though.)

As a long time Doctor Who fan, loved this breakdown! Also love when the show itself nods to the costume choices, like Rose being prepared for the 1970s and ending up in 1879 where they refer to her a a 'naked lady' the whole episode, or that the (ninth) Doctor protests that he changed his shirt when it looks exactly the same as before 😂 much nerding out

Now all I want from life is a knitted baby Dalek. Also I love this analysis. Doctor who has been a huge part of my childhood and it’s costuming I always found amazing not because of historical accuracy because let’s be real it is not the main point of the show but it really shows the characters and makes me feel cozy and homey. I love it so much❤

There is NOTHING about this video that i didnt love❣️From her whistling theme song, to her squeeeing over the stuffed Dalek, to "hes basically shaped like a thumb"! I have been a huge fan of both Bernadette's channel and Dr Who since both their inceptions, thank you for not mocking the show or its fans.❤❤❤❤️

If Gallifrey is more of a desert climate, then dressing in layers makes a lot of sense. In the desert, temperatures fluctuate SO MUCH MORE than they do in a climate where the air is humid. Dry air provides much less insulation than humid air does, so nights get very cold even when daytime temperatures soar into the triple digits farenheit.

That's such an interesting take on Galifreyan dress style, I love it. Traditionally academic robes differ based on degree and field of study. The hood and gown lengthens as you move from Bachelor's to a Master's to a Doctorate and many Doctoral robes are scarlet in color to differentiate them from the "lesser" black color. So that's the image that always comes to mind when looking at Galirfreyan robes that they're all walking around in full Academic dress which displays to anyone (from the academy) exactly how far above them they are.

Madame Vastra's mourning outfit actually fits very well with the character too, as her backstory involves her sisters dying.

Bernadette’s Lady Mob Boss outfit has come doubly in handy today, and is making me wonder where she actually got pattern inspiration. The brooch and mascara ties it together so well.

The analysis of Strax has me ROLLING

I think the Tardis can make clothes as needed. Also, since Doctor Who is a BBC show, they've historically been able to raid the BBC wardrobe department and reuse costumes from historical dramas. They aren't limited to just their own costuming department or rentals.

This is my new favorite RU-vid video to ever have existed! I find historical fashion so interesting to just deep dive into especially when it comes to why people wear what they wear. The analysis of how the availability and cost of different materials interacts with the social expectations in different societies is just a fascinating thing to delve into!

Missy’s outfit I found was iconic and a real stand out for the character as a way to define her, to me she didn’t give a damn about what others thought of her outfit she wanted to dress how she wanted and she did. Also the channeling of missy in your outfit and poses through the video were amazing and absolutely hilarious.

The fact that you are able to create a logic for different settings and races of aliens and such is an incredible testament to the costume department. I can’t say how hard they thought about what clothing materials would be available to the Silurians, for example, but the fact that they mesh together and CAN be reasoned shows dedication. I adore Doctor Who for so many reasons but the world building is probably top of the list. Even the dumbest and most random characters or plots were thought out on some level.

16:30 In the classic/comic/big finish series, it is stated that Timelords are usually touch-telepaths, and that the doctor tends to wear long sleeves to prevent accidental mental intrusions, and though canon is hard to determine in other media, that could just be a thing of courtesy in their culture.

A note about Timelord dress. Before the Time War, the coloration of their ceremonial robes were actually tied to their Chapter. Of which their were six, Pridonians with reds and oranges, Patrexes with pinks and purples, Ceruleans with light blues, Dromeians with silver and grey, Scendles with light yellows, and Arcalians in greens and browns... There were also robes tied to specific positions, for example the gold usher who regulated debates wore gold, members of the Celestial Intervention Agency wore black and white robes (or sparkly blue and white in one appearance), and the president of the high council wore white and gold. So vibrant colors would have significant cultural and identity tied value, which is probably why when Rassilon was resurrected, took over as Lord President Eternal, he abolished the chapters and had them all wear that singular red and gold color scheme mimmicking his own.

The thing I love about the hypothesis that layering is a huge part of Gallifreyan culture is that every version of the Doctor and Master has worn a costume with multiple layers of clothing. Makes you think!

I always liked to think that the Sixth Doctor's outfit was actually the height of fashion...in a future century. After all, he didn't *make* it, it was already in the TARDIS' wardrobe! I like to imagine a missing adventure where he takes his companion, who's been sneering at his outfit, to that century where they can see *everyone* dressed like that, and everyone has nothing but compliments for the Doctor's exquisite fashion sense... (BTW: First time I'm seeing your channel, and I like the cut of your jib!😎)

I feel like a really good example of the doctor's assistants dressing believable anachronistically (so as to keep them visually outstanding from the human's around them, who aren't time travellers) is Amy in the episode "Hungry Earth"-- the whole "I dressed for Rio!" line coming up again and again. She's dressed in a style that is very fitting for the time period and location of early 21st century Wales, but for a totally wrong temperature, so she still stands out as a time traveller (despite having tried to dress appropriately). These kinds of accidental anachronisms from the doctors assistants are so satisfying to watch-- like it shows how they're less confident in their position as time travellers, and that they see themselves still primarily as human earth citizens, yet they cant help but make the mistakes only a time traveller could make. idk it feels oddly wholesome

This was ridiculously fun! Love how you broke down the subtle and not subtle ways the costuming influences the vibe of the show

Also worth mentioning that since doctor who is made by the bbc the show has an incredible ace up it's sleeve since historical drama's are the bbc's bread and butter. They essentially have an entire department of talented and experianced costume designers and access to all the bbc's incredible wardrodes for all their serials. I would not be surprised if someone with the time and dedication could find the exact bbc drama some or all of these costumes would have originated from

The chuckle at 18:59 as Bernadette falls onto a couch while clutching a Dalek just made me smile 😊

The level of detail you go in to analyze this (and anything in all of your videos) is nothing short of brilliant! Thank you for this wonderful interpretation!

I've never been so glued to a youtube video, thank you for this! Also, loveee the painting reference at the end there. So gorgeous!

I've binged most of Bernadette's videos since Jan, and it's fun to watch her outfits change. Early Bernadette - soft, non-threatening, comfortable, welcoming. Later Bernadette - literally turns into a villain figure.

When I thought costube couldn’t get more incredibly niched for my own preferences, BAM! Here comes Bernadette talking about Doctor Who and creative process❤️

This was wonderful!!!! My personal headcanon for why the Doctor just always wears the same clothing (or similar clothing) is that they have something like Sensory Processing Disorder. Each incarnation has different levels and requirements for comfort, so once they find something that is comfortable and fits their personal taste, they stick with it.

Brilliantly done! The Missy cosplay was absolutely spot on. Makes perfect sense and I’ll pay closed attention on my continued rewatch as we ramp up to the new series and new Doctor.

Bernadette! Speaking as one of those Whovian fans who know pretty much everything (whole 1st series, Novels, Short Stories, Compendiums, Audios, and new series - yes, I am a complete geek), as well as a fan of yours: This was FANTASTIC! Thank you for this video, it was really fun and wonderful to watch. I learned a few things about how costuming speaks to us that I feel like I should have known or kind of understood unconsciously to a point, but which you put words to and clarified. I learned a few new things about the characters and the work put into the show because of this. It's nice to hear that some of the historical designs were far closer realistic than I thought they were. That's the BBC for you. I wonder if you included some of the first series what you might think then. Your analysis of Gallifrey and Time Lords/Shobogans (Upper/Lower castes) is so excellent and close to spot on that I actually teared up a little that you were able to get so much of this context through dress! What can be conveyed through clothes is just so much more than I realized! Your analysis of The Master can also be applied back to his first series regenerations, interestingly. Huge applause at your nod to Missy! I wondered about that from the very start if your video, and the quip at the end made me certain. Gorgeous and so well done.❤ Thank you!

Hi! Pausing the video partway through to mention the Gallifrey/Time Lord speculation and just wanted to say how impressed I am-you picked up on some of the most generally agreed on aspects of Time Lords (huge thing for a show that’s almost 60 years old and has over 1000 original works of fiction with the same main character, not counting spin-offs). The layering thing could totally be a social status thing-another fun bit of information is that the Time Lords are very, very touch averse (they are a species of touch telepaths, so I suppose it makes sense) and the layering helps provide that extra level of distance. In Classic Who, you also saw most Time Lords wearing gloves, which also plays into that. And while the revived show leans really hard into the red, in the original show, there are several different “chapters” of essentially noble families, each signified by their color of clothing. I don’t know if we’ve got an actual answer for what happened to the other chapters-possibly all dissolved in the Time War? Anyway, just wanted to say you picked up on so many details that are actually talked about in obscure books and by fans who read those obscure books, and it’s so cool to me that you got all that just from the costuming in like three episodes.

Good grief, it'd not occurred to me before.... you'd make an outstanding Dr. Saying this, ive been a fan since the 1960s, a life long fan. The producers at the BBC should snap you up as costumer and as Dr, you are PERFECT. Your American accent is an asset, it'd not detract.

I love every aspect of this. And I think she's put more thought into critiquing or delving in deeper than even the actors of dr.who, in the best way possible, and even the costumers have put into designing the costumes.

The coming together of Bernadette and Doctor Who, what's not to love? This is going on my list of favourites, that's for sure!

I love the layering & classism idea. That's a fantastic little detail I'd totally glossed over. The High Council wearing red (ceremonial?) robes might be because they are all of the same Chapter/School/House. I don't really understand the distinctions between the houses, but Prydonians wear red or orange, and Arcalians wear green. Beyond the TV series there are others, like the Ceruleans who (appropriately) wear cerulean/light blue and the Dromeians who wear grey or silver. The sheer quantity of red-robed Gallifreyans might indicate that under Rassilon's rule the Prydonian House has a stranglehold on Time Lord society, which is fitting, as I half-remember him being one of the first Prydonian Lords in addition to founder of Time Lord society, so he would absolutely favour keeping his own house in power.

Bernadette, this was wonderfully done, researched and executed. You got me all emotional when you were talking about how billions of tiny moments will be eventually lost. I hope you'll be able to interview some people from the costume department of Doctor Who in the future. Kudos to you for putting so much effort in your add too. :-)

About a year or so ago, I remember searching to see if you had ever done a Doctor Who related video before, and was sad to see you hadn't. So quite expectedly I'm incredibly obsessed with this video now-this is my favorite one yet. Thank you Bernadette!

I absolutely love when you analyses of fictional worlds with an eye to the feasibility of their fashion. You take it seriously enough and do enough research that it doesn't seem like baseless conjecture, and it encourages me to look at fictional worlds from an additional perspective!

my favorite costuming choice in early new who is in “the end of the world” with one of the background ambassador characters. you can actually see the pair (well, one of them, but they dress identical) that i mean at 18:36 at the left side behind the gold orb-headed aliens. it’s a medieval beekeeper!! i love that they so clearly were running out of cash to make more costumes for the extras and looked thru a historical archive for the most alien looking thing they could rent. that’s why they always have their hands tucked away - so you can’t tell they’re just humans wearing robes and a wicker mask!

This is a new side to Bernadette Banner that I did not know about, but am rather interested in. I used to watch Doctor Who in the 1970s, and 1980s, when Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy were playing the Doctor. I perked up when she said that the Time Lords seemed to wear a lot of red. As I understood it back in the 1970s, the Time Lords were found in different houses: Prydonians, who wore red or orange, and two others, which for some reason I cannot remember, but they wore purple, and green robes. The Lord President of the Time Lords wore whatever colour of house that had been chosen to rule, and then there was Gold Usher. I'm trying to pull these memories from as far back as 50 years ago, so my memory is very hazy. After all, I am 64 years old! I guess the Prydonians ruled in the episodes that Bernadette has seen, and that is why there were so many Time Lords wearing red. I have never seen the newer Doctor Who, so I have no idea who these modern actors are. It is nice to know that younger generations can still watch and enjoy Doctor Who! ~Janet in Canada

What aninsightful, interesting take on Doctor Who costuming! I especially loved your appreciation of the Master--my favorite character by far. I'd love to hear your take on the classic series Masters, too. Especially Anthony Ainley's costume with his dramatic black velvet coat. Also, your Missy cosplay is sublime!

This video turned out to be more amazing than I thought!! Never thought Bernadette would love the Master/Missy so much! 😅 Also interesting to point out Vastra’s choice of mourning clothing, seeing as when we see her in ‘The Snowmen’, she’s joining the Doctor in his mourning of Amy and Rory, which would make sense.

Only Bernadette can make me passionate about the costuming of a show I have never watched, and yet that I appreciate to watch through her own "Sewing Queen" perspective. Not to mention that she also managed to make me watch an ad just as passionately as I would have watched a tv show, which counts as a double miracle.

Absolutely amazing video! This was so much fun and your Missy costume, makeup, and mannerisms were spot on!!

The mental image of Strax making his own clothes by "stabbing" the material is so funny, I need it in show.

I adore your costume analysis of this show! And all the little silly moments with the Dalek plush and Handles ❤️ also your Missy costume/mannerisms, as well as your Captain Jack Harkness look for the NordVPN bit, brought me so much joy!

As a big doctor who fan and hopefully a future prop master, i love how masterful they handle the props and the set. Thank you for showing me the costume side of that show. It is the same level of diversity, quality and thoughtfulness. This series is a masterpiece, and you helped me to see even more of that artful complexity i love. Thank you

Loving this survey of costumes! 🥳 Watching your videos always encourages me to take the next step in sewing a piece for my own wardrobe.