Whoosh~ There goes the airship narrowly missing my head while I linger on the balcony overlooking the bustling night crowd. The carriages rustle by and I heard the sound of the trains chugging through in the background. The air was filthy, the steam saturating the atmosphere and leaving a thin gray veil coating the goggles resting upon my forehead. My corset was killing me, but there were bigger matters on hand. A war was raging and my pursuers were gaining on me. My eyes linger on my ray gun and I sigh catching my second wind. A gang of people bust through the weather-beaten wooden doors and suddenly--my alarm goes off.
I wake up.
What a dream. I must've been on the steampunk tag for too long because it finally translated over when I went to sleep. For those of you who are unfamiliar with steampunk, it's essentially an alternate universe set where the digital era has never came-to-be. It tends to be set in the Victorian era. So think corsets, top hats, extravagant dresses, high collars and cravats. The idea is, what would've happened if modern technology never came to be? So dwell on those thoughts while you drool over the incredible fashion inspired by this fantastical universe.
Courtesy: Ruffled blog
The boy meets the girl. Girl likes boy. Boy likes girl. After a while, they decide to get married and since they're both artists what do they decide to do? Throw an extravagant, whimsical wedding with a steampunk theme. First, let me say, I LOVE IT. And even that is an understatement because there aren't words to express how awesome their wedding is. There's a rustic, elegant vibe to their slightly quirky, fairytale like wedding. The suspenders on the groomsmen are a nice touch to the groom more put together attire with the three piece suit, highlighted by his crimson red vest, top hat and goggles.
The bride captures her fairy-like, steampunk edge perfectly with her chaotic bottom and simple top. She has this structured, but unstructured at the same time manner. I'm not sure if you understand what I mean but let's just say that "within the chaos, you can find structure."
If there's anything that makes swoon worthy and make me weak in the knees, this is certainly one of them. And I'm sure you'll feel the same way after you finish going through their photos. In fact, I would even classify this as "fashion porn." After all, if there's "food porn", why is that there can't be fashion porn?
Courtesy: steampunkcostume.com
Now one of the beauty of steampunk fashion is the intricacies. There's nothing minimalist about the fashion here. Nope. Just take a look at the shoe. I love the little cogs and the level of detail. I love how you can follow the chain as it weaves from the front of the school to the back, interlocking with the many cogs. It may not be practical (can you imagine someone wearing something like this every day?) or long lasting, but nobody can ignore its prettiness factor.
Courtesy: Etsy seller JaredBeever
It seems as though one of the "key factors" of steampunk fashion is the importance of time. Many of the accessories I've come across that are steampunk-inspired often have cogs, dials or some sort of time element incorporated into their outfits. Wings are also a contributing factor, seen mostly in jewelry and occasionally in the shoes.
And for those who are genuinely interested of seeking out this sub-genre, Steampunk Couture is one of the places I would go in acquiring the pieces. There are also many Etsy's sellers who have handmade accessories and outfits that can be purchased.
Courtesy: hopie-chan.deviantart.com
So for those fashion-ambitious readers out there or just anyone who has a general appreciation for any history-related or pretty, I do recommend checking out the steampunk genre. I will leave you tonight and hopefully drift back to my wonderful (in the steampunk universe sense) and slightly dismal (I think I was about to get into a fight) dream where I'm apparently being attacked by a band of kidnappers who killed my dream! estrangedhusband and now is coming after me. Well, now I suppose I know what the ray gun is for.
Posted by Miranda on January 27, 2012 at 12:37 PM EST #
Posted by Leah Touhy on January 27, 2012 at 04:31 PM EST #