Wednesday, January 27, 2010
S.P.A Group Hits 100th member!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Steampunk Styles Part One
Okay so, we know what steampunk is, at least I hope you do. So now lets explore the many aspects of my personal favorite part of the theme: the fashion. In future posts I will talk about specific themes of steampunk, but for now lets focus on the basic elements of steampunk fashion.
Goggles - The trademark of a steampunk adventurer, goggles are essential to the steampunk look. I'm not talking about sportsmen styled goggles here, they need to be big and fancy. Of course you can go with a simple approach. Spray painted and modified welder's goggles are perfect for this.
Boots - Boots are a common item, but not necessary. Heavy boots for men, or possibly Calvary ridding styled are optimal. Ladylike numbers, laced work well for women.
Victorian Clothing - Looking at period costumes is an easy way to get the right idea. You want to use a Victorian outfit as the base costume for your character and add on from there. Long coats, trousers, boots or dress shoes, waist coats, cravats and britches work well for men. Corsets, dresses, bustles and petticoats are great for women. Of course you are not limited to gender, any woman can go for the tomboy/pirate look if she wants. And I suppose if a man wanted to put on a dress, petticoat and corset, I wouldn't be there to stop him. Let's just hope he has a good reason for doing so.
Accessories - Canes, weapons, parasols, fob watches, fans, pipes, etc. Anything someone of that time period might be carrying is the perfect accessory. But, again, you are not limited to this. Use your imagination! Make some strange invention out of items laying around and use it as a prop.
Fabric - Argyle, Floral and pinstripes are great, however solid colors tend to be more common.
This is a picture of me. I just threw together a quick costume for a small steampunk get together. It took me 5 minutes to do. It consists of a white dress shirt with the collar popped and un-tucked. A pair of long khaki cargo pants with pockets on the side. A black/grey stripped vest with a pocket watch. Cavalry riding boots and a skull head cane I picked up from "Spencer's" one day at the mall. And finally: the black welder's goggles. In this case I felt that the goggles looked pretty good for the basic outfit so I haven't modified them yet. I pushed back my hair and put on some "guy-liner" and there you go! A simple outfit that portrays the essence of steampunk.
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"I'm the dandy highwayman so sick of easy fashion!"
Friday, January 22, 2010
San Japan
So why do we care? Well it's a great place to cultivate a steampunk culture. This is a place where people dress up in odd outfits to look like odd people from odd shows...odd...RANDOM EVEN!!!!!
I have attended the past 2 gatherings of this particular convention. Jon joined me at the 2009 convention. From then on, we knew this would be a great place to walk around steampunked. That is exactly what we plan to do. So we'll be gathering the crew of the A.S. Eden Falls and hopefully have epic pictures from all the fun! We also want to create SPA posters/pamphlets that we will be handing out to everyone we can find. Well, that is the point of Steampunk AWARENESS.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Goggles
~ Jon
Saturday, January 9, 2010
My Introduction
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
SPA Ranking system for members amusement
I originally got the idea last night while watching "Star Trek: Nemesis". I decided to look up the rankings of Starfleet and decided that I would love to have a ranking system of our own. The Starfleet ranks went as follows: Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, Rear Admiral, Admiral, Admiral of the Fleet. (The ranks vary depending on the year, but that was the general theme)
Well of course Starfleet ranks does not apply to a steampunk atmosphere. So here's what I was thinking: any new member is "Expendable Crew", followed by "Valued Crew", "Midshipmen", "Lieutenant", "First mate", "Captain", "Commodore", "Admiral".
The special stuff that comes with the ranks will come later when I have had time to think about them.
A new beginning...
What is SPA one might ask.
It is an organization dedicated to spreading the word about a wonderful theme of life known as “Steampunk”. Next question then is what is steampunk? Well that’s the point of this organization!
Steampunk
A fantasy/fiction world that is set in an era where steam power is most commonly used. Commonly none as the 19th century and Victorian era. Those aren't the only style's of it; another prime example would be 'alternate history', or 'post-apocalypse'.
The origin:
The term "steampunk" was originally a tongue in cheek variant of "cyberpunk". The prototypical "steampunk" stories were essentially cyberpunk tales that were set in the past, using steam-era technology rather than the ubiquitous cybernetics of cyberpunk but maintaining those stories' "punkish" attitudes towards authority figures and human nature. Originally, like cyberpunk, steampunk was typically dystopian, often with noir and pulp fiction themes, as it was a variant of cyberpunk. As the genre developed, it came to adopt more of the broadly appealing utopian sensibilities of Victorian scientific romances.
Steampunk fiction focuses more intently on real, theoretical or cinematic Victorian-era technology, including steam engines, clockwork devices, and difference engines. While much of steampunk is set in Victorian-era settings, the genre has expanded into medieval settings and often delves into the realms of horror and fantasy. Various secret societies and conspiracy theories are often featured, and some steampunk includes significant fantasy elements. There are frequently Lovecraftian, occult and Gothic horror influences as well.
“Steampunk is an adventure from a time that never was, but one we wished had been. Steampunk is taking modern technology and adding a Victorian esthetic, an esthetic from back when people really knew how to make things beautiful, make things last. Steampunk is escaping from your beige, plastic world.”