‘Doctor Who’ Season 8 Spoilers: A Deeper Look At Peter Capaldi's Rocking New Style

When “Doctor Who” Season 8 premieres on August 23, say bye-bye to bowties. Peter Capaldi is stepping into some way cooler duds when he begins his run as the Twelfth Doctor, and that was a conscious choice on the actor’s part.

“I’d always seen him in dark colors, maybe because that’s how I started with 'Doctor Who' in the black and white days—all those Doctors tended to be dark,” Capaldi told Entertainment Weekly.

Capaldi also wanted to “avoid items that can be fetishized and turned into merchandise.” That meant no bowties, carrots or funny hats. The look that resulted is somewhat reminiscent of Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor.

Nine also had the same tough guy exterior on "Doctor Who" Season 1. He wore a leather jacket and combat books, and his outfit was usually entirely black with the occaisonal touch of dark blue (as seen in his t-shirt above). His only accessory was a watch.

Twelve seems to be more polished and has utilized a bit more color. His navy coat features a red lining, and he wears a white shirt underneath his navy waist coast. His trousers and boots are both black. The look is a little "rock n’ roll," and Capaldi said that was intentional.

“I went to art school, I like rock & roll, I like German expressionism,” Capaldi said. “We tried to pack all these things into quite a severe look, which I think looks cool, while being quite classic as well.”

Interestingly, the Doctor seems to be wearing one accessory. He has a ring on his left hand. Is the Doctor wearing his wedding ring? Perhaps we haven’t seen the last of River Song. Showrunner Steven Moffat wasn’t sure if he would bring back Alex Kingston for the new season when he talked to Doctor Who Magazine (which Doctor Who TV reported), but it seems that the ring doesn’t belong to the Doctor. Capaldi doesn’t take off his own wedding ring for roles, according to Zap2it. So will the Doctor acknowledge that he is wearing a wedding ring or will the show ignore it? We’ll have to wait until Season 8 to find out, but expect plenty of other guest stars throughout the season.

“Doctor Who” Season 8 premieres on August 23 at 8 p.m. EDT on BBC America. Do you love the Doctor’s new look or would you prefer he bring back the bowties? Sound off in the comments section below.