Girls Steampunk Guide

First of all, the basic idea is Victoriana with a twist, such as long skirts, laced pointy-ish toed boots, corsets, cravats, parasols and lace work well as a starter, and then you get to have fun!

Airships, hot-air balloons and the like are really popular, hence long scarves, aviator flap-hats, and goggles. Goggles are also good for mad scientists. Lots of steampunk outfits are fairly basic, leather coats, boots, puffy shirts, then the awesomeness is in the details, and it tends to help if you have an idea of who you are if you want to delve deeper.

Basic steam stuff is cogs, goggles, watch parts, copper, bronze, black, brown leather, silk, vials, guns and weapons with extra looking glasses, lenses, unexplained barrels, etc. But when you realise that you can deviate it to include time travel and deep-sea exploration, is when you can make things more interesting. (it also means you may be able to get away with pants!) Wear a cheongsam, put chopsticks in your hair and call yourself an Asiatic explorer, wear puffy pants, sling a belt over your waist, wear a fez and carry a gun and you're a zouave. Carry bits of plant in glass bottles and say you're a botanist. Wear an old apron and a red cross and you can be a steam nurse - giving yourself a distinct persona also means you have the means to counteract people who try to pick at discrepancies!

An Easy DIY Steampunk Costume: {*}
A Second Life Character, wearing pants! {*}
A Zouave: (*)
A very Cool Hat: {*}

Thanks to Sarah Johinke for this guide!

General Guide

My idea of Steampunk Fashion: A real world reproduction of clothing that could be found in Steampunk literature. Usually worn is Victorian clothing but with an imaginative twist to historical reality, sometime with a touch of fantasy. Something intricately crafted that delights the senses, entertains the wearer and engages the viewer. Sometimes wearing goggles, top hat, corset (Steampunk status symbols) or at the very least round, coloured glasses with ladies wearing ornate hats and gloves and sometimes striped stockings. To be visually stunning and have steampunked appendages, whether it be a hand, arm or complicated eye piece or carrying a backpack with pipes, coils and dials or carrying bronzed well-crafted weapons.

Observing many photos I feel Steampunk fashion is broken into five major character styled groups: High society finery, working class, mad scientist, adventurer/explorer or military. All are very accessorised.

All the groups could have various steampunked appendages. Ladies have nice hats, fans, parasols and beautiful jewelry featuring cogs and clocks and wearing boots laced or buttoned up; working classes are accessorised with tools of the trade and wearing much leather or thread, worn, soiled clothes and greased, the mad scientists have experimental equipment such as Steampunk robots, improved body appendages or weapons, the adventurer/explorer has belts with pouches and pockets aplenty filled with compasses, spy glasses, maps, books and weapons for hunting or protection just like a boy scout would have everything they needed when camping out. Cogs and dials, clocks, keys, leather, wood and brass used in abundance. Aviator adventurers wearing pilot hats, badges, scarves and backpacks with dials and coils or wings beautifully riveted and hinged with gears. Cogs added to the corsets and used abundantly to assemble intricate jewellery as necklaces, earrings, chokers, wristbands or featured on a hat.

Makeup applied to the body can also add to the look of Steampunk. Cogs applied around the face, down the neck and across the chest. Hair/wigs woven into intricate designs. Some people are experts at using ebay to acquire bits and pieces. Beautiful jewellery, corsets, coats, top hats, goggles. Sometimes at bargain prices, sometimes not. Many a Victorian wardrobe can be made to order at a price. But you can find great things at second hand/charity stores, garage sales or markets, even toy stores.

Kmart have a great selection of Nerf guns that can be added to and re painted. Cheap variety stores sometimes have cheap toys that have flashy lights or plastic canisters or spice jars that can be re-worked. Steampunk weapons don’t have to be made from actual wood and brass but I have seen talented people who have worked in just those materials. You can paint plastic up to give the illusion of wood and brass and it’s not as heavy.

There’s nothing you can’t put together with a glue gun or some screws. Steve Scholz even incorporates paper-mache into some of his projects.

One of my favourite Steampunk costumes was put together with what I had in my wardrobe, no sewing required. Costuming for me is what’s in the detail, what you can accessorise with and doing it on a budget.

My white costume consists of a white gathered skirt worn under a white taffeta skirt to give a sense of layered clothing. The outer skirt was originally the bottom half of a wedding dress.

I had a white 80’s style vest with pockets that looked very much like a man’s fishing vest with a white cheesecloth blouse bought on sale at Kmart worn underneath.

A large wide white elastic belt worn over the top gives me a waist.

A lace jabot worn around the neck adds old world charm with an antique looking broach pinned in place gives a touch of Victorian splendor.

A white belt around the waist with some discounted MP3 pouches adds to the explorer look and finishing touches of Pith helmet, lace fingerless gloves and a white lace parasol complete the ensemble.

Thanks to Catherine Scholz for this guide!