Steampunk Costume Week
Now that you know your steampunk personality, it’s time to get down to the Really Important Part of this whole steampunk month thing: COSTUMING.
YOU KNOW YOU WANT A STEAMPUNK COSTUME.
And you don’t have to do much to create a steampunk-tastic outfit. Just check out this video to see what I mean:
(Sorry I have a cold and sound congested.)
Inspiration for your Costume:
I didn’t want to spend much $$ on my costume, but I did browse lots of online shops for inspiration. While I love the Lolita look, it didn’t really fit with my novel (The Spirit-Hunters is more Victoriana than steampunk).
So I decided to make a “prim-and-proper” dress (from an old prom dress!) and then accessorize for a steampunk flare. But I’ll get into all that later this week. For now, take a gander at some images and places I used for inspiration, as well as the final costume result (courtesy of Amanda Plavich‘s magical camera skills).
How to make a Steampunk Costume (from Threadbangers)
DragonCon 2010 Steampunk Fashion Show
Dressing Steampunk: How to Get Started
Steampunk-ified ME (photos taken by Amanda Plavich)
😀
You tell me: Would you ever dress up steampunk (or is that too lame and only for kids)?
♥ DON’T FORGET to check out my Leviathan giveaway and my A Great and Terrible Beauty giveaway (which are both still running and open internationally). ♥
February 21, 2011 @ 2:03 pm
I’ll have to watch your video once I get home tonight (dumb work firewall), but I LOVE all these pictures. And I definitely don’t think dressing steampunk is just for kids. But OMG how cute would Super Spawn be as a little steampunker?! Best. Idea. Ever.
February 21, 2011 @ 2:12 pm
YES. Best idea EVER. Steampunk Super Spawn — GAH, I’m dying from the awesome cuteness of it!
February 21, 2011 @ 2:30 pm
I am so gonna do it! I’ll steampunk us both out for our next round of family pictures, I think. 😀 Won’t that be awesome?!
February 21, 2011 @ 2:34 pm
Ooooh do I want to make a PPA outfit now. You look so FAAAABULOUS in your photos, and I love the way you’re making it cheap for us mofo’s with no money. I wish I could dress steampunk every day. My students would go bonkers. But I could make a utility belt! and! and! with special pockets for my iPhone that make it NOT LOOK LIKE AN IPHONE. Oooooh.
I find the parallels between Japanese Lolita Goths and the steampunk movement very interesting. Is that what you meant by the “Lolita look” in your video? Like this: http://maddierose90804.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/gothic_lolita_90.jpg
I love the bustle on the second Steampunk Couture photo. I’d be totally down with that.
February 21, 2011 @ 2:38 pm
You DEFINITELY need a utility belt. You can start a new cool fad. 😀
And yeah, the Japanese Lolita is what I meant… Lolita fashion has gotten really tied into a certain steampunk look, like this: http://images.cosplay.com/photos/19/1973966.jpg
It’s pretty ROCKING, and I’d love to make a costume like that… But…it wouldn’t really *fit* with The Spirit-Hunters. Alas…
February 21, 2011 @ 3:28 pm
Love…love…love the pictures.
February 21, 2011 @ 3:29 pm
Awww, thanks!! 😀 😀
February 21, 2011 @ 5:20 pm
Oh my gosh, Susan. lol Your video is fantabulous! 😛
Of course, the costume was quite wonderful, as well.
February 21, 2011 @ 5:58 pm
Hahaha–thanks, Amanda.
And it’s not the costume that’s so wonderful, but your PHOTOGRAPHY. <3 <3
February 21, 2011 @ 7:20 pm
BTW, I was sick this weekend, so I’m behind on my editing! I should have everything up in the next day or two! Sorry I suck!
February 21, 2011 @ 5:21 pm
Ok, first of all, LOVE steampunk-ified you. You should wear that every day. It fits. 🙂
This is my favorite post yet! I love costumes, and I love the whole steampunk look. Those Steampunk Couture pics you posted are just to die for. I bet I could turn my wedding dress into a pretty kick-ass steampunk costume. Not that I’m actually going to do it, of course, just that it has a shape that would really lend itself to costumery. 🙂
February 21, 2011 @ 5:59 pm
Oooooh…steampunk wedding dress. SO Mrs. Haversham and yet SOOOO COOL.
But no, you probably shouldn’t do that to your wedding dress. I (shockingly) could still fit in my sophomore prom dress…and for some reason, my mom still had it! 😀
And yes, steampunk clothes should be an everyday thing. 😉
February 21, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
HOW CAN YOU BE TOO OLD TO DRESS UP!? I can’t believe grown-ups would actually leave all this funness to us. Goshes.
I love the drapery of the Victorian dresses, how the fabrics fold and… I don’t know, pleat? all on top of each other. Am also digging the breeches (that’s what they’re called, right?) – they’re super flexible, which is why we wear them when horseback riding. 🙂
And can I say that dress of yours is BEAUTIFUL?
February 21, 2011 @ 6:01 pm
Grown-ups should dress up more often. I had SO MUCH FUN getting my costume together and standing (in the freezing cold!) on old trains while Amanda photographed me.
And aren’t all the bustles and pleats and flounce and whatevers just AWESOME on Victorian fashion? Completely impractical, but beautiful all the same. 🙂
February 21, 2011 @ 8:15 pm
I’d love to wear steampunk stuff every day – Only without the corsets 🙂
February 21, 2011 @ 8:37 pm
Hahaha – no corsets is right! Good point! I’ll just take the tailored blazers, brass goggles, and awesome boots, thanks. 😉
February 21, 2011 @ 8:57 pm
I LOVE THIS! I’m def coming back tomorrow to see how to make those wicked goggles. You look fab, Susan 😉
February 21, 2011 @ 9:09 pm
Aw, shucks, Brandi! Thanks!! 😀
February 23, 2011 @ 1:46 am
Your costume is so awesome! And I love that you used a prom dress =)
February 27, 2011 @ 6:12 am
I totally would, and I’m sure I will sometime soon! I’m going to use all these links as my reward when I’ve finished revision on my next chapter. I will go steampunk shopping!
March 16, 2012 @ 10:32 pm
What a joy to find such unique style statements. Really cool photographs.
July 14, 2012 @ 3:25 am
I’m 53 and having a Steampunk Wedding on 12-12-12 so NO not just for kids! lol
May 2, 2013 @ 9:57 pm
Help? I’m loving this outfit, and can’t seem to find any guides that apply.
It sounds like you’re of like mind in preferring not to spend hundreds on cloth and a weekend strapped to a sewing machine. Still, you still pulled off a good looking outfit, with a skirt that covers your ankles. Can you give a bit of an explanation?
(Incidentally, I’ve posted a link to your belt article on pinterest. I hope you don’t mind. It’s a clever hack on its own, and your site seems like a fun place for steampunks to stumble across.)
May 2, 2013 @ 10:22 pm
Hi Joy! I found an old prom dress (the violet colored base dress above), and then bought some navy fabric that I safety pinned over it. You can’t see there, but I gathered the fabric in the back so that it would almost look like a bustle. I found a brocade blazer at Urban Outfitters that looked Victorian, and then I added some gloves (from a costume shop) and hat (also from the costume shop). Other than my homemade steampunk gun, belt, and goggles, that was really all I did. 🙂 Does that help at all…?
May 3, 2013 @ 5:55 am
Yes actually that does help. The blazer and the bustle overlay were a good enough color match that it’s easy to assume that they were somehow connected.
I’m going to make a wild guess that it was about 3 yards of fabric that was at least 45″ wide?
If you feel sheepish about the safety pins, don’t be. Ancient greeks looked cool, but a lot of their outfits were essentially sheets with two fashionable pins. Most old cloaks were just wrapped and pinned too. Really! (proof http://www.garbtheworld.com/items/g0091.shtml )
Thanks for responding!