However, look close enough and there are several nods and homages to Doctors past. Here's how the Whoniverse so far may have influenced Thirteen's sartorial choices...
A very interesting choice as another recent Doctor once sported similar clothes: Matt Smith. As well as his bow tie, the Eleventh Doctor wore bright red braces under his tweed jacket.
Although Whittaker’s braces are mustard yellow, the comparison is unavoidable, especially considering the costume designer behind this outfit, Ray Holman, also put together Matt Smith’s wardrobe.
The stripes (2, 4)
A key feature of Whittaker’s new getup is the stripes that appear on her black jumper and along the edges of her grey coat. The colours look very similar to the pattern that appears on Fourth Doctor Tom Baker’s famous scarf…
You know, the one that Unit’s Who fangirl Osgood wears in the modern show?
But those stripes are also a horizontal echo of Bill’s top from the last series.
And they might also remind some fans of Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor too. Just look at the stripes on his jumper and the coloured edges of his similarly beige jacket.
But many have pointed out that the stripes, combined with the braces and blue trousers, resemble a look favoured by another alien, Robin William’s Mork from classic US sitcom Mork and Mindy.
Or Star Trek's Wesley Crusher...
We're guessing it's not what Who intended, but we'll take a sci-fi reference wherever we can get it.
The Coat (2)
This seems like an amalgamation of several past Doctors: the grey colour of Sylvester McCoy’s jacket tailored to the length seen on David Tennant’s and Tom Baker’s coat (not to mention Time Lord Romana's too).
(BBC, TL)
BBC
And is that a hood we see hiding around Thirteen’s neck? If so, this could hark back to Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi’s hoodie phase (not to mention the hooded top Whittaker wore herself when she was first unveiled as the Doctor).
The high-waisted trousers (5)
It’s not a look we’ve seen in any Doctor from the modern series, but turn back time to Second Doctor Patrick Troughton and you can see high-riding trousers held up by braces.
The earrings (3)
Okay, this isn’t technically a call back to another Doctor, but it’s worth mentioning that Whittaker is now wearing earrings – at the top of the ear and at the lobe. Possibly going for a swashbuckling space pirate vibe?
And, if you really want to get geeky about it, we haven't had a main Doctor Who character who regularly wears noticeable earrings since the days of Donna Noble.
We'll let you decide if that's a good thing or not.
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This article was originally published in November 2017
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.
