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 Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:04 am
I've been trying to understand the steampunk fashion, but can't grasp the concept of it entirely. It seems to be more than just cog pieces attached to goggles, and brown, black, & white victorian clothing. Some people like to mix it in with the Gothic/Victorian trend, while others tend to take a more " Sherlock Holmes"route. What is the true steampunk fashion? Where do accessories like this go from welder to steampunk? I'm wanting to deconstruct steampunk, and find out what works and what doesn't. Create that balance of elegance and gadgetry. ~Please post more examples of steampunk accessories that could be examples, or you just might have questions about yourself. ^_^
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:11 am
It's not a very well defined concept yet. Often, it's enough to just say "this is steampunk" and it works (or at least, that's how most people do it).
Other than that, you've pretty much hit the basics on the head already. Brown, black, and white are typical cloth colors, whereas metal is almost always brass or copper, but can be bronze or iron depending on the use -- you might have a brass monocle and an iron stove, but you wouldn't want a pair of iron goggles. Leather is another big material, and is one of the more common steampunk materials (it's brown, versatile, and fits RIGHT in with most steampunk settings). Gothic/Victorian/Sherlock are just settings and backdrops that give you somewhere to bring steampunk to life and give it a feeling of realism, or that "suspension of disbelief" mindset. As you probably know, steampunk's number one priorities are Steam and Anachronism, so you can pretty much make steampunk out of any setting, though in particular, historical settings made anachronistic work best (in contrast with futuristic settings which can only be considered anachronistic if history is altered during or before our time, otherwise it's just as speculative as any realistic view of the future). Wood is another popular material, but it only comes into fashion when you start building props (like back-mounted steam gadgets and whatnot).
One thing to remember is that steampunk is usually assumed to be set in an environment full of do-it-yourself tinkerers, aviators, inventors, etc. And while not everyone would be covered in soot and damp from steamy humidity, it's very likely that even the most dapper dandies would get dirty along the way, and that manservant might not always be around to boot up some machine for you, so it doesn't hurt to have some tinkery bits around just in case.
Another thing of note is that steampunk, in order to be good at least by my standards, has to have a sort of attitude to it. Like that first pic in your post with the lady with the aviator cap... It's just got a certain feel to it that screams steampunk to me (though others might disagree). You can slap some things together and go "woo, I'm steampunk" but unless your heart is in it, it just won't be all that cool. Your second pic, for example, where someone just slapped a gas-mask on a gentleman in a suit, just looks like something of an illustration from a James Bond book or movie. That last pic is alright because you can tell that whoever made that outfit at least knew some of the basics of steampunk (brown, leather, period clothing possibly used anachronisticly).
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:13 am
TINSTAAFL I've been trying to understand the steampunk fashion, but can't grasp the concept of it entirely. It seems to be more than just cog pieces attached to goggles, and brown, black, & white victorian clothing. Some people like to mix it in with the Gothic/Victorian trend, while others tend to take a more " Sherlock Holmes"route. What is the true steampunk fashion? Where do accessories like this go from welder to steampunk? I'm wanting to deconstruct steampunk, and find out what works and what doesn't. Create that balance of elegance and gadgetry. ~Please post more examples of steampunk accessories that could be examples, or you just might have questions about yourself. ^_^ The only thing I think that defines steampunk fashion-wise is victorian and neo-victorian clothing.The googles, brass etc is mostly people adding the 'punk' flair, but it gives steampunk that certain character.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:45 pm
And there I have to play devil's advocate again: If Victorian was an essential part of steampunk fashion, what about:
1) Steampunk with a non-victorian background (Victorian is just the most common setting, but not imperative)
2) Lower-class tinkerers (who, most of the time, do not have any Victorian feel about them at all)
3) Foreign cultures (I've seen some wonderful Steampunk outfits based on Eastern clothing)
I think I have to go with Xeigrich's opinion instead - there's no definite rule to what's Steampunk and what's not. All that "Victorian!", "Brass!", "Goggles!", "Lots of cogs!" are just indications to go by, but in reality you don't need either one to create good Steampunk fashion - and neither one automatically makes an outfit Steampunk.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:09 pm
I agree with Xeigrich in that the genre is still pretty loosely defined. And personally I wouldn't have it any other way. The loose association allows for a lot of play and imagination when coming up with your idea of steampunk. Most people seem to have a similar idea as to what comprises steampunk and what doesn't, but when those people put their ideas on paper, so to speak, by making costumes then you get to see the diversity of the genre played out. I dislike the idea of giving one type of setting such as high-class Victorian because it limits the culture and geography of your imagination. I prefer a western/cowboy look when I design steampunk things. Not that Victorian isn't great.
Brass, copper, leather, browns and blacks are your friends.
If you use it sparingly then glass or mostly glass instruments such as beakers, tubes, and baubles work particularly nice. Especially if you're a tinkerer/alchemist/scientist of some sort then attaching glass instruments on the end of metal doohickeys is neat. Just be careful!
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:34 pm
To elaborate on Nisha Lan's mention of "Eastern Steampunk," I do believe I once saw steampunk set in Feudal Japan. Not anything Miyazaki/Ghibli related, I think it was an amateur manga, but it was definitely amazing and even though it lacked all of the typical neo-Victorian hoopla, it still felt perfectly steampunk. Even with all of the flowery Japanese stuff tossed in there.
It really makes a lot of sense, too, since Asian cultures like China and India made a lot of early technological advances and are credited for inventing many of the machines and contraptions we take for granted today. So, envisioning an advanced steam-based industrial revolution occurring anachronistically in China or India (oh, oh, or Russia, even if just by proxy) isn't even as far-fetched as a Victorian steampunk. This also brings to mind 20,000 Leagues and Capt. Nemo, who was Hindu. The only reason I think these cultures didn't advance faster than Western countries in the real world is a lot of political mess like much of India being under the "British Raj" and China doing god-knows-what back then. They just didn't have the widespread power and domination of England.
This makes me wish I knew more about pre-modern China... I just might write a far east steampunk short story! (Don't hold your breath, anyone who might find this interesting, I'm a terrible procrastinator)
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:05 pm
lol Thanks everyone! mrgreen
I'm takin' notes on this.
So, is it more the atomosphere that adds something special to steampunk, can outfits do it's part by itself, if the background is basic enough?
@ Xeigrith: If you ever find that manga again, please send a link over this way through PM or whatever way best fits.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:15 pm
TINSTAAFL lol Thanks everyone! mrgreen I'm takin' notes on this. So, is it more the atomosphere that adds something special to steampunk, can outfits do it's part by itself, if the background is basic enough? @ Xeigrith: If you ever find that manga again, please send a link over this way through PM or whatever way best fits. I'm afraid that probably won't happen. It wasn't online, it was on paper, and it belonged to a friend of mine who I lost contact with. I think they got it at a con.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:26 pm
TINSTAAFL So, is it more the atomosphere that adds something special to steampunk, can outfits do it's part by itself, if the background is basic enough? Oh I have to say the atmosphere and background is of particular importance if you're talking about a movie/book/comic/game. But the individual costumes are the focus when in underpopulated/underdeveloped places. For example: Imagine a scene in a packed, coal-smoke filled, grimy city. There are tons of people moving about their daily business or merely strolling the streets. There are rich, poor, and street urchins everywhere. In this type of setting people, especially the poorer classes, are less likely to wear gadgets or anything more expensive than your basic leather browns and maybe goggles. The wealthy classes might wear nice, Victorianesque clothes and a couple cool gadgets if they aren't tinkerers themselves. The inventors are really the only ones who'd be wearing the most outlandish stuff that is mostly associated with steampunk. In this type of setting it is important to have buildings with tall smokestacks, steam whistles, big pipes, small pipes, soot-caked, brass and copper "shinys", domes, and vents. Because there are so many people in a city the focus is going to be on the picture at large. Now in a more rural setting, perhaps outside of town or even out in the Great Plains, because there is such a drastic lack of buildings and people in comparison with a city the focus will shift to the individual people. Now you still should keep in mind the type of people and that they would wear, but you can make it more noticeable or garish. So in my opinion, it really matters as to the setting. Big industrial steam cities, think big picture. In a frontier setting, elaborate on individual people.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 2:51 pm
@ Xeig: More about other cultures and alternate times, could it be possible to create a medieval or renaissance steampunk? What about early 1900s (20s-30s) steampunk?
Any accessories that don't come to anyone as stereotypical steampunk items, or just add-ons that anyone could tell me about? My "welder" example, is more of what I'm talking about.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:02 pm
To me, Steampunk is more of a mental thing. If something feels steampunk to you, then you can consider it to be Steampunk. For example, I can't dress Steampunk everyday, but I can wear my goggles anytime. They are cheapo ski goggles with mirrored linses (no time to modify them yet), but when I wear them I feel Steampunk.
There aren't many set 'rules' of Steampunk. The goggles, cogs, Victorian, brass, and whatnot are mainly guidelines. They are all optional, and can be mixed with anything from the time period between 1870 and 1920 (admittedly this is bound to change depending on who you talk to), any culture or with anything that is 'timeless' or sci-fi-esque. I've seen Steampunk ghost hunters, pirates*, scientists, and even a combination Steampunk-Lolita. It all depends on how you view Steampunk and how you want to look.
*Yes, I know this one is the band Abney Park. They have an interesting mix of cultural styles just within the band, if you care to note.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:15 pm
blue_lutra There aren't many set 'rules' of Steampunk. The goggles, cogs, Victorian, brass, and whatnot are mainly guidelines. They are all optional, and can be mixed with anything from the time period between 1870 and 1920 (admittedly this is bound to change depending on who you talk to) So, games such as Bioshock wouldn't be classified as steampunk, since it's based around the 1960s? Guidelines are thus expected if we're talking about stereotype though, right? What if I was trying to introduce steampunk to someone. Do you think the stereotypes should be introduced? Other than goggles, what other accesories could one use to go steampunk? (We have a lurker, and I might be trying to introduce some materials to this person) *Abney Park = heart I love Airship Pirate
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:41 pm
I thought Bioshock was set around the 40s. No matter, I still consider it to be Steampunk. It has the gritty, dilapdated feeling that I think a Steampunk-style apocalypes would result in. I also just love the music.
When I introduce Steampunk I start with the stereotypes, because most of the people who ask me 'Why are you dressed like that? What's Steampunk?" aren't as interested in knowning what Steampunk is, but more need a reason for why I'm different. The go-to explanation for me is "It's like Jules Verne meets The Time Machine at the industrial revolution." (That is often followed by, "Who's Jules Verne?" -sigh-) When someone is interested, I explain more in depth.
Steampunk accessories would be things like goggles, as stated, certain types of hats, pocket watches, and old style jewelry.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:48 pm
blue_lutra I thought Bioshock was set around the 40s. No matter, I still consider it to be Steampunk. It has the gritty, dilapdated feeling that I think a Steampunk-style apocalypes would result in. I also just love the music.
When I introduce Steampunk I start with the stereotypes, because most of the people who ask me 'Why are you dressed like that? What's Steampunk?" aren't as interested in knowning what Steampunk is, but more need a reason for why I'm different. The go-to explanation for me is "It's like Jules Verne meets The Time Machine at the industrial revolution." (That is often followed by, "Who's Jules Verne?" -sigh-) When someone is interested, I explain more in depth.
Steampunk accessories would be things like goggles, as stated, certain types of hats, pocket watches, and old style jewelry. This might be going off-topic, but why do you think that steampunk isn't as popular as some of our other subcultures like emo, goth, and whatnot? Hell, if I was to wear my goggles to school, people would be like "what the hell?" but when an emo kid wears women's pants, and weird hairstyles, they're accepted by everyone as just another individual? I've come at a loss on this. I think Bioshock was set in the 60s; I could be wrong though.. So, could steampunk go out of the context but in a backwards setting? Like examples I've already stated such as renaissance and medieval?
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 4:05 pm
A main reason for Steampunk not being as popular as emo or goth is that our music isn't as close to mainstream as their's is, and if it is mainstream, it's the mainstream of the past. The more the public sees something, the more they accept it. Most high schoolers don't look twice at kids with crazy hair and piercings nowadays, because so many people have those qualities. They're seen as part of a group, not as an individual, as you put it.
What I've seen of subcultures/fads, is that people see something they like and cling to it. They try to squeeze into the girl pants of the fashion/lifestyle ideals, while steamers cut and patch and modify Steampunk to fit ourselves. A lot of groups are counter-culture, they want to be different, while, as I see it, steamers just want to be ourselves.
As for going backwards, I'm not sure. There are the technological facets of Steampunk that one must bear in mind. While the ancient Greeks could make things that ran on steam, would they have been able to make a steam engined train? Would a medeval blacksmith have had the resources or knowledge to make a steam powered horse? I think the low technological points of the past encouraged the high points (i.e. the Renaissance being right after the Dark Ages).
(This is the most interesting conversation I've had all day!)
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