Fashion Fridays at the Steampunk Workshop

Libby Bulloff — Fri, 11/13/2009 - 18:19

A few weeks ago, over some fine whiskey, Jake von Slatt asked me if I would be interested in writing for Steampunk Workshop on the topic of fashion trends within the genre. Part of me jumped for joy at another opportunity to collaborate with Jake...and admittedly, a voice in my subconscious whined "What's left to talk about steampunk fashion? It's been at the summit of the internet zeitgeist for years, it's been done to death with a gaggle of goggles and shades of sepia, and it's mainstreamed." portmanteau - libby bulloff 2008

However, these reasons are exactly why I do have a lot of things to say about steam fashion. While it has popularized to the point of being represented at cons and clubs, and while it has appeared this week (albeit unnamed as such) in the New York Times, steampunk has not become highly visible as a common street fashion trend. Or, if it has become a fashion trend, it hasn't yet entirely metamorphosed into a functional, sustainable style. Fashion lasts a season (if that); style is internal, eternal, and transcends time. Sound familiar?

In yesterday's post, Jake quoted the author of the NY Times article, David Colman, saying “There are all kinds of societies that are about dressing up in period costume and then going back to your oversize jeans the next day,” he said. “This is about style as a way of being.” [emphasis Jake's] And this very style is precisely what I intend to talk about in my posts here. I want to talk about a wider vintage influence on modern style, not just bastardized Victoriana. I want to avoid things already labeled with the dreaded s-word or coated in functionless gears. I want to talk about DIY and bespoke, as well as off-the-rack. I want to talk about attainable and affordable garments that can be acquired for a plethora of body types and sizes and genders, not just what's chic for a femme in size 0 with the funds to buy couture. I want to talk about clothing that can be worn to work, not just to parties or LARPs. I want to talk about color, not just brown and cream. And, I want to talk about the notion of accessorizing both yourself and your surroundings in a way that makes you feel like you're living the dream.

Oh, and just to spite Mister Colman, I want to make certain he understands, very clearly, that we are not hipsters.

Who am I to open this discussion? My name is Libby Bulloff, and I'm no fashionista. I'm a photographer in Seattle. I take brightly-colored portraits of wonderful people from a variety of subcultures. I also contribute to Steampunk Magazine, and I have my own project blog called Exoskeleton Cabaret.

Please let me know in the comments if there's a specific subject you'd like to see covered in future posts, or say hello! Thanks to Jake for adding me to the Steampunk Workshop family.

[Photo by Libby Bulloff of Finn von Claret and David S Dowling in Gasworks Park, Seattle.]

I just read through the

kany — Thu, 01/06/2011 - 12:22

I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good. This is a great article thanks for sharing this information. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.

There is perhaps no need to

zebracop — Mon, 10/18/2010 - 22:25

There is perhaps no need to try any more. There is an agricultural university right in Bangalore where excellent work is going on. One Mrs Kale’s work on earth worm culture (wormy culture) has been acknowledged world over as a viable nature friendly technology. The question is why cant BBMP take on the challenge. As mentioned in one of my comment above, the BBMP has taken up door to door garbage collection from our RWA at HAL III stage. A famous architect of repute in Bangalore, now retired, was responsible for the transfer of technology developed by him.

A new Obsession.

DraconicFeline — Fri, 12/04/2009 - 08:50

I am a young "Polymath", geek, "unique" anime, history,mythology,
art, pc games,rpg's, manga, manhwa, technology, neo-victorian, literature, poetry, rock music, classical music, fashion design, cooking, cosplay, martial arts, vampires, magic, hypnosis, helping people, Japanese traditional & popular culture, fantasy loving working lady.

I have recently been drawn into subcultures and came across Steampunk and its cousins. I have always been attracted to the charming elements that is associated with it and now I know others do too. I am without a doubt a steampunk-catgirl. ^_^

Most of the clothing items that are a part of steampunk are neat, practical and flexible pieces of clothing when individual and if simplified a little work well in common living.

It shouldn't be too long before it really does become a way of life and a definate style. I personally favour brighter colours and natural hair but I can still pull off the look.

and i managed to break my

skyesidhe — Sat, 11/28/2009 - 05:54

and i managed to break my wireless router and post twice. I win!

Hooray

skyesidhe — Sat, 11/28/2009 - 05:53

Hey, just wanted to say thanks and welcome! I've been a lurker for a long time, but finally decided to register and comment because this is something close to my heart. I manage to wear a pretty workable style in my day to day life, and it's exciting and challenging, it's lead me to expand my range of eras and to work a lot more soft bustle and light boning into my pieces. Anyhow, its nice to see someone excited about living in rather than dressing up and bringing those ideas and resources here for fashion as there have been so many of those ideas represented faithfully on the workshop in so many other areas!

Social Situations

nclcntwll — Tue, 11/17/2009 - 13:56

For the last year I have slowly been cycling through my wardrobe replacing my items with steampunk inspired pieces. I am a massage therapist so there is one bit of clothing I am not going to be able to cycle out as I need the scrubs to maintain health code standards, that is unless I can figure something out. Until then they are obligatory to keep. I also have a part-time job helping out a local jewelry store where the dress code is business casual. I find that I can wear a pair of nice old school slacks a vest and a sweater or a blouse that really gives me a nice business aesthetic like the bank clerk from that time period that I love so much. When I go out on the town I dress up in nice clothes.

So, essentially what I'm saying is that if you are doing this on an everyday basis, or at least attempting to even if you can't always because the budget is tight and you can't get a brand new wardrobe, you need clothing for all kinds of social situations. You need work clothes, you need dress up clothes, you need running around in the dirt clothes. Wow this is starting to sound exactly like the kind of wardrobes most people have, and most people have had for a while. I'm not including royalty or nobles and the whatnot because how many people are in those positions and steampunk fans? So add a little reality to your desired fantasy aesthetic.

Huzza!

William Dio — Mon, 11/16/2009 - 17:14

I am beyond myself! I discovered the concept of "Steampunk" about a year ago and was very much pleased to see that other people took interest in the aesthetics and values I favored. Alas, I soon found myself very frustrated by the limitations most aficionados inflict upon the general ideas. In my mind, steampunk should not be about dressing in fancy costumes once in a while and pretending to be someone else. It should be about everyday clothes and decisions. It's not about dreaming of an idealized past but about fully living the present.

It will be very refreshing to follow your views on the subject.

General Praise

stephen davies — Mon, 11/16/2009 - 16:36

Thoroughly excellent Site Sir... I have been interested in this sort of thing for years, but I have just discovered Steampunk, I suppose I have finally come out. Ever thought of building a Van Der Graff Genorator?

While I know Libby doesn't

Jake von Slatt — Tue, 11/17/2009 - 11:18

While I know Libby doesn't mind at all being addressed as 'sir,' I think you may be asking your question of me.
The answer is: Yes! Stay tuned.

You're damn right I answer to

Libby Bulloff — Fri, 11/20/2009 - 22:41

You're damn right I answer to "sir". :)

Glad to see this discussion.

Waterbug — Mon, 11/16/2009 - 00:40

Glad to see this discussion. It seems easier to find old furniture and gizmos to mod than clothes. BTW, I'm male.

Living in Phoenix AZ there are a lot of estate sales where I can find very cool looking old shoes in perfect condition for very little money. I like leather wing tip type. Very comfortable too. For less than $10 I can even wear them in the shop. Why not?

Suspenders are my latest everyday item. Way more comfortable than a belt and they keep my britches up much better without the tight waist. And apparently ladies like them too from the comments I've been getting.

I've also been wearing a vest as an almost everyday item. I had been buying them in second hand shops but found a better source, tuxedo rental shops. They seem to have a never ending supply of used vests they want to unload and they have almost no buyers so prices are low. These also come in very nice bright colors and patterns that go well with jeans.

Also at the tux shops are white shirts with winged tipped collars which seem Victorian to me. And at less the $8 a shirt I can wear them in the shop, garden, etc... without too much concern. In the AZ sun a loose fitting long sleeve white short is great.

A slouch felt hat tops it off. People in AZ think it's a cowboy hat, but no matter. Very comfortable.

The one item I am not looking to replace are jeans. Greatest clothing invention ever. Good enough 125 years ago, good enough today.

I wear vintage safety goggles, with wire mesh sides, when wood working. They work much better than modern plastic types, fog less and are more comfortable. Common on EBay for $25-$40. However, goggles in public would be unseemly to me.

Subtlety in a mundane world

Sukotto — Sat, 11/14/2009 - 21:17

I'm interested in seeing how people subtlety weave steampunk fashion elements into their mundane clothing. It's all well and good walking around on the weekend wearing a Sky Pirate or Spark outfit... It's entirely different dressing for your daily life as a cog in the bowels of a large corporate machine. I'd love to see what other people are getting away with wearing to their office. Ps. Where do I click on this page to get an email notification when other people post a comment? I'd like to follow this discussion.

Email Notification of New Comments

Jake von Slatt — Thu, 11/19/2009 - 11:30

Hi Sukotto,
I think I have email notification installed and working, I hope you don't mind being a guinea pig!
-Jake.

It's working well, thank

Sukotto — Sat, 11/28/2009 - 12:38

It's working well, thank you.
I have the following suggestions:

There should be an easy way to subscribe/unsubscribe to the comments without the requirement of posting something. Perhaps a checkbox near the "Add New Comment" link that separates the article from the comments?
The email contains a copy of the entire article... that seems a bit much though I suppose it's a matter of taste

(edit: clarification, html)

I share your interest! There

Jake von Slatt — Sat, 11/14/2009 - 22:04

I share your interest!
There currently isn't any way to be notified by email to a new comment in the thread - but I will consult with the boffins in engineering and see if we can add such a feature.

I look forward to hearing more

Clutch — Sat, 11/14/2009 - 15:35

I am interested to hear your take on Steampunk. I like the victorian sense of style and am into DIY and inventions. These are all things that drew me instantly to Steampunk. I prefer functional gadgets but I do believe the idea is to enjoy ones self and not everyone has the ability to create workable props. I think there is room for everyone but do hope it doesn't get cheesy.

Hey, just wanted to

melissiagoodwin — Sun, 07/31/2011 - 13:56

re: I Look Forward

Libby Bulloff — Sat, 11/14/2009 - 20:14

The only sort of cheese I'm into is the edible kind, in which case, bring it on! :)
Definitely--the idea is to have a good time. I'm hoping we can do that here!

I do concur, madam!

zerol8on — Sat, 11/14/2009 - 04:32

— and I greatly look forward to the verbiage that you shall be publishing here. I thank you kindly.

Wonderful - I am so excited

kaeldra — Fri, 11/13/2009 - 19:14

Wonderful - I am so excited to read these! It sounds as though your sense of steampunk and mine are quite nicely aligned. I can't stand non-functional gears, and LOVE color!

Hear, hear!

Choklit — Fri, 11/13/2009 - 19:04

I am thrilled to bits about this new column... I can't wait to see and read about all sort of lovely and interesting things here. Thanks, Libby!

A subject to address

munineye — Fri, 11/13/2009 - 18:50

You might want to address the disparity of clothing choices. I've found that a lot of women head for the high-end looking stuff, things with lace and silk and ruffles. I tend to choose more conservative fashion, especially focusing on a working class aesthetic.
There are also those that choose to follow Victorian style very closely, and those that spin out to miniskirts and dreadlocks. Don't get me wrong, all these choices have their merits, but I think the lack of consistency or defining image may make defining steampunk as a style difficult.
I for one am consistently annoyed when someone can slap a pair of goggles on a fancy outfit and call it steampunk. Or put gears on a bag and suddenly it's steampunk. For these things to be a style, it requires more than a pair of goggles and a glue gun, at least in my opinion. I'm quite sure there will be those who disagree with me, but that's the point of the internet, no?

style versus genre?

skyesidhe — Sat, 11/28/2009 - 05:59

that's one of the things I love! I love that you can inspire your own wardrobe with as much or as little as you want, and mix it all up. I think the important thing is to have a consistent idea of what it means to -you- to be steampunk and to be consistent in your own personal style. if you mix ideas or if the style is pan-era and pan-genre that can be really great, as long as you manage to always look like you. and to always be comfortable and have fun! I think the point is to be thinking about what you want to go for as a look rather than just taking the easy way out and thinking that is a whole style..you're right...slapping some "steam" oriented key words onto something doesn't make it steampunk, it makes it firmly no style genre, which if it's an informed choice who am I to argue, but if you pass it off as an aesthetic movement or ideal...we may have words. ;)

re: A Subject to Address

Libby Bulloff — Sat, 11/14/2009 - 00:21

Munineye, I think you and I are going to see eye to eye. :) Though, I have absolutely no issues with miniskirts and dreadlocks at all. And I don't intend to spend my posts trying to define what is or is not steampunk so much as describe it. I trust that my audience is intelligent enough to draw their own conclusions. And of course, above all, we at the SPWS are all about the shiny bits and having a good time. :)

You're quite right about women leaning toward super-dressy and less functional attire, and I definitely want to address this. Good point, and hope to see you about.
Thanks, everyone, for the thoughtful comments!