Vitals

Emmett “Doc” Brown, eccentric inventor and amateur chronophysicist

Hill Valley, California, November 5, 1955

Film: Back to the Future
Release Date: July 3, 1985
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

If my calculations are correct… 70 years ago today was a red-letter date in the history of science: November 5, 1955. For those who haven’t seen Back to the Future, this was the day that Hill Valley’s resident mad scientist Emmett “Doc” Brown slipped from standing on his toilet to hang a clock, hitting his head on the bathroom sink—triggering his concept of the flux capacitor, which would make time travel possible.

Even a freshly bandaged Doc (Christopher Lloyd) seems unaware of that day’s significance when he’s visited by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox)—not a space man from Pluto but a high school student from 1985 who was flung thirty years into the past by the DeLorean that Doc had transformed into a time machine.

Doc is initially dubious of Marty’s claims to have returned from the future, and it doesn’t help Marty’s case that it sounds like a lie that Bedtime for Bonzo‘s own Ronald Reagan is now President of the United States (“Then who’s vice president, Jerry Lewis?” Doc counters), but a desperate Marty earns Doc’s trust by sharing the circumstances of his accident.

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What’d He Wear?

Doc Brown looks every bit the mad scientist on the fateful day he accidentally conceived of the flux capacitor, clad in a flamboyant silver snakeskin dressing gown more suited to eccentric lounging than scientific discovery. Structured with wide, padded shoulders that add a dash of intentional presence, the robe is trimmed with a black shawl collar, matching black cuffs, and narrow black welting along the breast and slanted hip pockets. Its original sash appears to be missing, with only self-loops remaining.

Underneath, Doc wears a pale-pink shirt detailed with a front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs, its chest adorned with embroidered black triangle motifs that dance diagonally down the right side and over the pocket. A white tie with vertical self-stripes anchors the look, broken up just under the knot by a bold pink-and-white mini-checked diagonal stripe bisected by a slate gray vertical band, which in turn is printed with three interlocking pink S-shaped figures.

The lower half of the ensemble continues the flair: silky black trousers cut with double reverse pleats and finished with turn-ups (cuffs), held up at the waist by a black leather belt with a simple silver-toned square buckle.

On his feet, Doc wears black-and-white moc-toe derby shoes with white vamps and black three-eyelet lace panels, grounded by thin black silk dress socks that continue the leg-line from his trousers.

In true time-traveling fashion, Doc sports two wristwatches: one on the right wrist—a stainless steel case with a white dial, gold-applied even-numbered hour markers, and a 3 o’clock date window on a russet-brown leather strap; and another on the left, with a salmon-gold round dial mounted to a stretch steel band.

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The Car

John DeLorean’s infamous DMC-12 was still decades away from conception at the time of Doc Brown’s toilet incident in 1955, but anyone hoping to read about Back to the Future‘s time-traveling DeLorean can find more in my post about Marty McFly’s wardrobe.

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How to Get the Look

Great Scott!

• Silver snakeskin dressing gown with black shawl collar, slanted black-welted breast and hip pockets, black cuffs, self-loops for missing sash, and single vent
• Pale-pink shirt with decorative black triangular embroidery, front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs
• White vertical self-striped silk tie with pink-and-white mini-checked stripe (with geometric “S” design)
• Black silk double reverse-pleated trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and turn-ups/cuffs
• Black leather belt with silver-toned square enclosed buckle
• Black-and-white leather moc-toe derby shoes
• Black silk dress socks
• Steel wristwatch with white dial and 3 o’clock date window on russet-brown leather strap
• Steel wristwatch with salmon-gold dial on silver-toned expanding band

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

I finally invent something that works!