The Tenth Doctor's physical appearance was the subject of frequent praise, especially by himself. The Fourteenth Doctor subconsciously took on the same appearance.
General appearance
The Tenth Doctor was a handsome man with a tall, slim frame, finely boned hands and face, thick brown hair, pale skin scattered with freckles, and large, dark brown eyes, (TV: The Parting of the Ways [+]Loading...["The Parting of the Ways (TV story)"], Born Again [+]Loading...["Born Again (TV story)"]) which he recognised were his first of that colour. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (novelisation)"]) Cindy Wu observed through his eyes that he was older than he looked, and identified the older looking Third Doctor as a younger incarnation by looking into his eyes. (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]Loading...["The Lost Dimension (comic story)"]) Similarly, River Song could tell that he was younger than she was familiar with by looking into his eyes. (TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"]) He had a mole between his shoulder blades, (TV: Born Again [+]Loading...["Born Again (TV story)"]) and fillings in his teeth. (TV: 42 [+]Loading...["42 (TV story)"]) He went clean-shaven, (TV: Time Crash [+]Loading...["Time Crash (TV story)"]) even avoiding growing a beard over a five day period through sheer concentration. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Prisoner of the Daleks (novel)"]) While he was on the cusp of regenerating, the Tenth Doctor was observed by George Litefoot as looking to be no more than 40-years-old in human terms. (AUDIO: The Jago & Litefoot Revival [+]Loading...["The Jago & Litefoot Revival (audio story)"])
Seeing himself as a "handsome bloke in a tight suit" with "amazing hair", (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"]) the Tenth Doctor was noted for having vanity issues, (TV: The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"]) to the point that he used his severed hand to prevent a complete regeneration, reasoning that he did not want to change, rhetorically asking why he would do so after seeing himself. (TV: Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"])
While he was possessed by Lady Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17 at New New York Hospital, Cassandra stated that he was "slim, and a little bit foxy." (TV: New Earth [+]Loading...["New Earth (TV story)"]) Donna Noble described him as "too skinny for words", (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem [+]Loading...["The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)"]) remarking that his jacket "wouldn't fit a rat", (TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Loading...["The Runaway Bride (TV story)"]) while the Eleventh Doctor described his skinniness as a "special effect". (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
Steve Woolfall thought the Tenth Doctor looked like "that Casanova bloke". (PROSE: The Doctor Was Involved in the Dummy Massacre [+]Loading...{"writer":"Steve Woolfall","1":"The Doctor Was Involved in the Dummy Massacre (short story)"}) Jackie Tyler claimed that the Tenth Doctor "looked like a prawn, but [was] good in a crisis". (PROSE: Judge, Jury and Executioner [+]Loading...["Judge, Jury and Executioner (short story)"]) Rose Tyler also noted that he was tall, skinny, and had "some really great hair" (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"]) and also compared his appearance to the earnest singer of a boy band from the early 2000s. (PROSE: He's Behind You [+]Loading...["He's Behind You (short story)"])
The Tenth Doctor was considered attractive by people he encountered on his travels, with Mickey Smith even noting that he was "better-looking" than his previous incarnation, (COMIC: The Lodger [+]Loading...["The Lodger (comic story)"]) and River Song even nicknaming him "Pretty Boy". (TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"]) Clare Pope tried to arrange a date with the Doctor upon meeting him, (TV: Partners in Crime [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"]) and Gwen Cooper, who had heard of the Doctor from Jack Harkness, commented that he was "nice" upon seeing him, having believed he would be "older", though Ianto Jones commented that "he [was] not that young". (TV: The Stolen Earth [+]Loading...["The Stolen Earth (TV story)"]) Kath Braxton called him "absolutely scrummy". (COMIC: The Age of Ice [+]Loading...["The Age of Ice (comic story)"]) Minnie Hooper described him as "gorgeous", "handsome" and "a looker", eagerly taking the opportunity to have a photograph taken with him, with Oliver Barnes eager to follow Minnie. (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"])
Despite going to great lengths to join him as a travelling companion, Donna was not physically interested in the Doctor, even being repulsed by the prospect of "mating" with him, describing him as "just a long streak" of "alien nothing". (TV: Partners in Crime [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"]) She later dismissed the notion that he was "pretty". (TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"])
Rose Tyler compared the Tenth Doctor's appearance to the earnest singer of a boy band from the early 2000s. (PROSE: He's Behind You [+]Loading...["He's Behind You (short story)"])
The Twelfth Doctor poked fun at his tenth incarnation's youthful appearance, nicknaming him "Bambi" because of his brown eyes. (COMIC: Vortex Butterflies [+]Loading...["Vortex Butterflies (comic story)"])
Hair and grooming
The Doctor was happy to have sideburns and to have more hair than his previous incarnation. (TV: Born Again [+]Loading...["Born Again (TV story)"]) Though he initially seemed disappointed at not being ginger, he came to take great pride in his dark brown hair, wearing it in various ways throughout his adventures, such as un-styled, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) slicked back, (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"]) in a quiff, (TV: Fear Her [+]Loading...["Fear Her (TV story)"]) or flattened forwards. (TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Loading...["The Runaway Bride (TV story)"]) At some point, he began to experiment with back-combing his hair. (TV: Fear Her [+]Loading...["Fear Her (TV story)"])
Wilfred Mott described the Doctor's hair to the Silver Cloak as being a "modern style", and "all sticky-uppy", (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"]) while the Doctor himself described his hair as a "just-seen-a-ghost" hairstyle. (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons [+]Loading...["The Weeping Angels of Mons (comic story)"]) The Twelfth Doctor once recalled having "electro-shock" hair. (COMIC: Clara Oswald and the School of Death [+]Loading...["Clara Oswald and the School of Death (comic story)"])
Clothing
Main attires
The Doctor's attire was often accompanied by a double-breasted overcoat of cinnamon brown Alcantara with peaked lapels and a royal blue lining. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) which the Doctor claimed had been given to him by Janis Joplin. (TV: Gridlock [+]Loading...["Gridlock (TV story)"]) He usually removed in preparation to flying the TARDIS, (TV: New Earth [+]Loading...["New Earth (TV story)"], Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"], Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"], Human Nature [+]Loading...["Human Nature (TV story)"], etc.) upon entering a property, (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"], Fear Her [+]Loading...["Fear Her (TV story)"], Evolution of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)"], The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...["The Sound of Drums (TV story)"], etc.) or when about to do something of which the coat would get in the way. (TV: Gridlock [+]Loading...["Gridlock (TV story)"], Evolution of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)"], Utopia [+]Loading...["Utopia (TV story)"], Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"])
The Doctor had two main suits made up of a single-breasted blazer and trousers; a dark brown suit with blue pinstripes, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) and a blue suit with red pinstripes. (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"]) Under his suits, he usually wore a dress shirt and a loose tie under his unbuttoned collar, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) or wore an open-necked shirt with a T-shirt and white or grey top underneath. (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"], Planet of the Ood [+]Loading...["Planet of the Ood (TV story)"]) For footwear, he wore Converse All Stars trainers, (TV: Time Crash [+]Loading...["Time Crash (TV story)"]) coloured in cream, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) black, (TV: Rise of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)"]) red, (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"]) and yellow. (TV: The Infinite Quest [+]Loading...["The Infinite Quest (TV story)"]) Despite his protests, both his war and eleventh incarnations stated the trainers he wore were sandshoes. (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])
His shirt colours of choice were plain white, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) cadet blue, (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"]) navy blue, (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"]) sky blue, (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"]) olive green, (TV: The Impossible Planet [+]Loading...["The Impossible Planet (TV story)"]) scarlet, (TV: 42 [+]Loading...["42 (TV story)"]) dark navy blue, (TV: Utopia [+]Loading...["Utopia (TV story)"]) and navy red. (COMIC: The Ghost Ship [+]Loading...["The Ghost Ship (comic story)"]) His t-shirts were coloured army green, (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"]) cadet blue, (TV: Fear Her [+]Loading...["Fear Her (TV story)"]) crimson, (TV: Planet of the Ood [+]Loading...["Planet of the Ood (TV story)"]) navy blue, (TV: Midnight [+]Loading...["Midnight (TV story)"]) and plain white. (COMIC: The Ghost Ship [+]Loading...["The Ghost Ship (comic story)"])
His ties included a dark chestnut brown tie with subtle flora woven pattern on, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) a mocha and celestial tie with a woven geometric pattern, (TV: New Earth [+]Loading...["New Earth (TV story)"]) a dark chocolate brown birds-eye weave tie with very subtle brown circles in a diagonal grid, (TV: School Reunion [+]Loading...["School Reunion (TV story)"]) a mahogany tie with bold swirly woven design in turquoise, (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"]) a gingerbread brown tie with repeating s-shaped woven motif, (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"]) navy blue tie with burgundy circles in diagonal grid, (TV: The Impossible Planet [+]Loading...["The Impossible Planet (TV story)"]) a walnut brown tie with stylised peacock-eye steel and walnut motif in honeycomb grid, (TV: Love & Monsters [+]Loading...["Love & Monsters (TV story)"]) a herringboned burgundy background tie with mauve random flora random design, (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"]) a deep navy blue background tie with crimson flora random design, (TV: Daleks in Manhattan [+]Loading...["Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)"]) plain maroon, (TV: The Infinite Quest [+]Loading...["The Infinite Quest (TV story)"]) a ribbed umber tie with a white and sky-blue repeating stylised flora design in diagonal bands, (TV: Utopia [+]Loading...["Utopia (TV story)"]) a brown tie with raised diagonal stripes of navy and light blue, (TV: Partners in Crime [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"]) a burgundy tie with diagonal ebony black stripes, (TV: The Poison Sky [+]Loading...["The Poison Sky (TV story)"]) a plain blue tie, (PROSE: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage [+]Loading...["The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage (short story)"]) one in wood brown with semi-random floral design of cornflower blue flowers and bronze foliage, (TV: The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"]) and a black and red striped design. (COMIC: Lady of the Blue Box [+]Loading...["Lady of the Blue Box (comic story)"])
Kevin Jones thought that the Doctor's clothes made him look like he worked in menswear. (AUDIO: Technophobia [+]Loading...["Technophobia (audio story)"])
Accessories
Because he became long-sighted after his regeneration, (PROSE: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (novelisation)"]) the Doctor would occasionally don a pair of dark tortoise-shell rectangular frame glasses, (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"]) which he affectionately called his "brainy specs". (TV: Time Crash [+]Loading...["Time Crash (TV story)"]) While on San Helios, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to darken the lenses to effectively turn them into sunglasses. (TV: Planet of the Dead [+]Loading...["Planet of the Dead (TV story)"])
Other costumes
After arriving at the Powell Estate following his regeneration, the Doctor was stripped of his predecessor's clothing and placed in a set of pyjamas and a dressing gown by Jackie Tyler, which he kept until he chose a new outfit from the TARDIS wardrobe. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"])
For certain formal occasions, the Tenth Doctor would also don a white shirt with a black bow tie and tuxedo suit, accompanied by dark Converse All Stars trainers. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)"], The Lazarus Experiment [+]Loading...["The Lazarus Experiment (TV story)"], Voyage of the Damned [+]Loading...["Voyage of the Damned (TV story)"])
When posing as John Smith in 1913, the Doctor wore a suit made up of a blazer, waistcoat, and trousers of charcoal grey tweed with a white shirt and a bow tie. (TV: Human Nature [+]Loading...["Human Nature (TV story)"], The Family of Blood [+]Loading...["The Family of Blood (TV story)"])
After sentencing the Kotturuh to a lifespan of fifteen minutes, the Doctor adopted a set of Time Lord robes, coloured scarlet and orange as per his Chapter, over his usual suit. He believed it was appropriate as he was "ringing in the dawn of a new era" and explained to Brian the Ood that it was what his people had worn when going into battle, though purely ceremonial by his era. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Loading...["The Knight, The Fool and The Dead (novel)"]) He continued to wear the robes whilst in the Dark Times, even on a desert planet. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Loading...["Tales of the Dark Times (comic story)"])
In his private life, the Doctor often dressed much less formally. When he slept, he wore a pair of boxers decorated with illustrations of the TARDIS. He would often sleep in a plain T-shirt, and, while he would usually choose between suits during the day, he also would occasionally wear less formal attire if cooking or spending time with Rose-the-Cat and K9. (COMIC: A Rose by Any Other Name [+]Loading...["A Rose by Any Other Name (comic story)"]) He also owned a pair of pyjamas which more closely resembled his pinstriped suit. (COMIC: To Sleep, Perchance to Scream [+]Loading...["To Sleep, Perchance to Scream (comic story)"])