If the Victorian fashionista met a gadget-loving adventurer, their blended styles might look something like steampunk chic.
“It applies modern sensibility to historic fashion,” said Jocelynne Weathers, a Tucson Steampunk Society organizer and owner of Lady in Waiting Fashions, a steampunk and Victorian costume business.
Inspired by science fiction worlds where steam-powered machinery makes life go, steampunk fashion draws from Victorian and Wild West aesthetics.
“The awesome thing is that there are no rules,” said Lizzie Mead, who owns Silver Sea Jewelry and makes steampunk pieces. “If someone says, ‘That’s not steampunk,’ you laugh at them.”
While most go steampunk for cosplay and costume events, some of its flair has creeped into mainstream fashion. Victorian styles with full gowns and suggestive corsets have strutted down the runways before, and for the fall-winter 2012 season, Prada released a line of steampunk-themed menswear.
For the ladies, we have a primer of steampunk fashion essentials. Some of it, you might be able to sneak into your day-to-day wear — though we would skip the corset and goggles at work tomorrow.
