Steampunkesque Costume
Last night I sat down with Torchwood Season 2 Disc 1, the long coat I’d bought over the summer that had a nicely steampunk look, a toolbox, a bunch of jewelry-making supplies, and a whole lot of broken pocketwatches. My goal was to create a vaguely steampunkish costume for Halloween, even though nobody at CLU understands steampunk.
I’m not a costumer, and I don’t have the time, money, or inclination to quite go as all-out w/regard to steampunk fashion as some jaw-droppingly amazing aficionados, but I figure that two and a half hours later, I had a reasonably interesting coat. Fortunately, I already had some props in my costume chest, like a cheap faux aeronautical helmet and goggles, a nicely cut black vest, a cane, wide-cuffed leather gloves from a RenFaire costume, and a leather belt with wide brass buckles and grommets.
As a nod to my novel and to Michael Pearce over at the Gilded Raven, who is working on a Hawkwindesque dirigible captain costume with wings for the Halloween party, I picked up a pair of angel wings and some bronze spray paint, and tonight I’ll spray them. I also own some brush-on brass paint from another project, so I may go for baroque and get into painting them and adding wire and maybe even some ornate metal clock hands, if they seem to be working out well.
Since dangling watches are the major motif on the jacket, I think I’ll call myself a time traveler from the past come to see the future — and being rather disappointed by it. I have a small, antique leather suitcase that I may carry with me, if I can make up some steampunkish travel stickers to (temporarily) affix to it. I may also make some cards I can hand out, since nobody here gets it. Inspired by the essay “Five Thoughts on the Popularity of Steampunk” that noted, “The Future: UR Doin It Wrong,” I’ve been brainstorming such pithy “definitions” as:
Steampunk: This present isn’t the future we’d dreamed of.
Steampunk: The future was supposed to be more elegant than this.
Steampunk: What did we do with all the zeppelins and time machines?
Steampunk: Everything looks better in brass and mahogany.
Steampunk: The best operating systems run on steam and clockwork.
Steampunk: Wouldn’t you rather commute by dirigible?
Steampunk: The future in art deco and polished brass.
Steampunk: Everyone looks better with brass goggles.
I regret dumping a huge bag of clock gears and parts last year, but the context was being overwhelmed by all the stuff I’d inherited after my mother’s unexpected death, which led me to get rid of a lot of interesting things I might have kept today. Well, can’t worry about it; at the time, it was the best thing for me to do. Still, if I’d started this earlier, I’d go out and buy more bits and pieces to add to the wings!
I’ll be sure to get a photo of my cobbled-up costume on Halloween, so all the truly elegant steampunkers over at Steam Powered can laugh. Maybe next year I’ll get serious about costuming and join ya’ll….
drupagliassotti @ October 29, 2008