Steampunk and Imperialism

A fair number of people have pointed to steampunk, decrying it as a genre that encourages and glorifies imperialism.

And equally vocal amount like to ignore the cultural oppression, limitation of rights and blatant racism that is part and parcel with Victorian era London, and a lot rarely think outside Victorian era London. (A lot also completely neglect the tech and history in favor of the fashion, but that’s not the point of this post.)
I actually hail from neither of those camps, but allow me to state a firm thesis before continuing on:

Steampunk is not an opportunity to justify, glorify or ignore imperialism and its ramifications.

However.

(The following post seeks to establish a firm middle ground about imperialism in steampunk, as well elements of racism and sexism derivative of the era. If you are an angry anti-imperialist, please use your brain before responding. If you are an apologist, likewise. So long post ahoy.… WE RIDE!)

Affordable Steampunk 3.0: Accents and Thrift Stores

Remember to check out the previous Affordable Steampunk posts. Still re-copying the posts over.

Meanwhile, for our old hats (hohoho) today we'll be discussing a little bit about accents.

~Now, I recently received a very helpful tip about steampunk fashion - equestrian stores hold a lot of very steampunk-y looking items for less expensive than what you can order custom made. I myself have bought clothes from equestrian for their reminiscence of the steampunk style, but the only equestrian store I live near is a little on the expensive side because they hold the monopoly on the market.

~Back to accents - we all know that no industrial/Victorian/Wild West/steampunketcetera outfit would be complete without accessories and accents. Whether it's a set of neat goggles atop your aviator pilot hat, or a set of brass buttons for your vest, accents can change a normal garment to a more classic fashion.

Buttons

~If you find a really nice vest, or cool pants, you can always replace the current buttons with some brass-nobbed ones, or sew buttons on the sides of the pants. Buttons - even classical/Victorian-looking ones - are easy to find at a craft/sewing shop near you, often for inexpensive prices. Don't forget to root through your old junk drawers to see you if can find anything serviceable. You can make a buckle for just about anything, though try to remember - beauty in simplicity. You don't want to over load it. Jackets and coats, pant cuffs, shirt sleeves/cuffs and vests are all prime meat for buttons. 

Goggles

~Much like gears, you've got to find a firm middle ground with the goggles - don't tack them onto every outfit you put on, especially if your current outfit fits more in an aristocratic or formal setting. Goggles are for airship crew (only the crew on the open deck, though!), workers in the steam/welding rooms, wastelanders/desert travelers, and scientists. Goggles are not for aristocrats. (Honestly, though, do what you want, no one's stopping you.)

On to finding them - you'd be shocked at how inexpensively you can grab goggles at a workshop/hardware depot like Sears or Lowe's. (Sears is actually now an everything store, I was just there the other day and they had plaid shorts.) Welding goggles, eye protection goggles and motorcycle goggles are usually decently priced for very good quality - far superior to the cheap plastic ones you paid twenty-nine ninety nine USD for on Amazon.com. Don't stop there, though - motorcycle stores often have really cool goggles for sale at great prices. Everywhere you go, don't forget to hit the clearance rack.

Glasses

Where goggles may not apply, glasses will. You can find inexpensive but comfortable costume glasses both online and in shops. Round frames reminiscent of Harry Potter or the darkened shades that perch on the tip of your nose can be found literally everywhere - thrift stores, costume shops, everyday clothing stores. For whatever reason, it's now cool to wear non-prescription glasses - take advantage of this trend to find yourself a decently priced pair of Victorian era glasses in a store near you. You can attach monocle clips and magnifiers for a neat look.

Jackets/Coats

~Use your judgement on these for what is steampunk and what is not - if you're reading this without scratching your head, chances are you have a pretty good idea of what steampunk looks like. 

The problem with good steampunk jackets is that they're pretty hard to find made-to-order without paying a bunch of money on expensivesteampunkjunk.com or something like that. However, it's easy to find garments that can be modified to suit you in thrift stores and consignment shops. Back to the whole buttons thing - accents can change a garment's entire look. Remember to keep in mind coloring and what looks best on you when choosing your purchases.

The troubles of ordering online

But I will say something about ordering online -
While it's a convenient and often easy way of obtaining steampunk items, it does have a few issues that make it a little leery.
~You get what you pay for. If you find a pair of goggles for two dollars, there is a very good reason they are only two dollars. aside from them murdering you with the shipping
~You usually only have pictures to go by. Sometimes, the pictures look better than the real deal - or are a completely different item entirely.
~Delivering/damages can be a huge problem. Shipping may take a while, especially if you're cheap like me and you don't want to spend a ton on shipping. And there's no telling what's happening to your package from point A to point B.
~They're running a racket with the shipping. I just bought a monocle for 2.95 USD. It's costing me 9.95 USD to ship. And what's worse, they didn't show me that value until I placed the darned order - ugh. When you can, apply for free shipping.

Here are some ways to get around these unfortunate problems when ordering online:~If there are reviews for an item, read them. They'll often tell you what kind of quality and material the items are, how they hold up, and if they're worth your time. My rule of thumb - if there are at least two bad reviews of an item (the item itself, not the shipping/handling or delivery) there's a very good chance I'm not buying it. If there's one incredibly well-written bad review of an item, I won't buy it.
~Try to look at as many pictures of the item as possible. Make sure you know what you're paying for and that you like the look of it. Check out quality, sizing, customer satisfaction rate, etcetera.
~Try to group as many orders together as possible. This will reduce your shipping cost and may even make you eligible for savings and bonuses.
~Leave a review/file a complaint if you're unsatisfied. If they deliver something to you that's broken, torn, not the item you paid for, or the wrong size, do not back down. Contact them, leave a well-written and polite but unsatisfactory review, send e-mails, do whatever - don't let yourself get stiffed.

Hope this helps, I'm leaving for now. Once again, some of my items are coming in - the picture post of how to turn normal items steampunk (COMPLETE WITH PICTURES!) is on its way! 

Affordable Steampunk 2.0: Thrift Stores

The continuation of my copying-over from posts off of my Tumblr account.

Anyway, first off, I'd like to say this: I do not consider myself an authority on steampunk, nor do 

I think my words are the end-all and been-all of steampunk fashion. This is just something I hope can be useful to anyone reading. 

Now, to continue; my original post said something about thrift stores.

Oops, thrift stores? I meant to say my favorite place to shop omg.

Ahem, in case you didn't know, thrift/consignment stores are stores that sell items at a far lower price than the norm. Thrift stores sell any and everything - consignment shops usually sell brand-name items for less.

The upshots:

-You can find things at almost ridiculously low prices.

-You can find older, sometimes out-of-style things that are harder to find in any normal store

-You can snag some of the most amazing junk

The downshots:

-Some of it is cheap quality, not-so-gently used, or plain just don't fit. Found an awesome pair of strappy, brown workpants today in a thrift store. They didn't fit.

-You can find a load of garbage instead of what you want.

-You have to look.

That last one is pretty important - steampunk-diving in thrift/consignment shops is fairly time-consuming. Today, I went through four shops before I found anything worth my time. Patience is key.

Another thing, when shopping steampunk; keep your budget firmly in mind, but don't let it cripple you. It's perfectly alright to splurge every now and then, but you must consider what will work best for you -
Do I get the expensive but awesome designer steampunk style boots? Or do I opt for more variety by being able to use the money to purchase three different garments?
Do I get the plain, but less expensive, items that might not work as well? Or do I spend all my money on only two items that I have about twenty ideas for already?
...And so on. 

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions - just what suits you best. Factors to consider are versatility, compatibility, expense, every-day wear, and whatever else might affect you personally. Is this something you could also wear in a non-steampunk outfit? Is this something you'd wear regularly? Does it fit well? Does the color suit you? Does the fit look good on your body?

Also, a couple protips:
~An added gear does not a steampunk outfit make.
I've seen a lot of people raging about (a) I GLUED GEARS ON SOMETHING EET EES STEEMPINK NAO or (b) HOMG TEENAGERS THINK ANYTHING WITH GEARS IS STEAMPUNK.
In my own humble opinion, there's a firm middle ground - gears are called for when there is an aesthetic use for them. Gears can add a cute, cool or neat accent to any outfit and also be useful; e.g., hairpins, buttons/clasps, buckles. Recently I replaced the buckles on a pair of brown boots with some gears - they make very serviceable buckles for tightening/loosening the boots. So with the gears - you can do it, just try not to overdo it.
~Goggles are not a necessity for every outfit, especially if you're designing a steampunk character. If your character's an aristocrat, they are not going anywhere that will need goggles. Likewise, if you're making a wastelander/desert character you might want to include some goggles so your character can keep the sand out of his/her eyes. Feel free to add them if you like, but they aren't necessary.
~Try to remember that an item needs to be necessary or at least useful. Don't overload with five different pocketwatches and a monocle and goggles and a hat and blah blah blah. There is such a thing as beauty in simplicity. 

Very soon, I'm going to put up the picture post tutorials for Affordable Steampunk. Stay tuned for more! 

Miles out.

Affordable Steampunk 1.0: An Introduction.

Affordable Steampunk 1.0: An Introduction.

I'm copying these over from my Tumblr account, which is under the same name. I will continue posting my other Steampunk Fashion posts, but not all at once.

I notice a lot of my friends, online and IRL, mention that they love the steampunk fashion but think it's really expensive.

And they're right. Straight-up, pre-made, brand-name specially designed steampunk items are fairly expensive most of the time. It's the same principle that the alternative retailers like Hot Topic rely on; they have the monopoly on the market, and they know we'll pay for it.

But I have news: steampunk is actually fairly easy to do at a low budget.

I dress steampunk daily, and most of my outfits fall under the 100 USD mark. I tend to use exotic world looks as well as the Victorian-inspired styles one typically sees in steampunk fashion. I find ways to modify inexpensive garments without spending a lot of time or money. This is something easy that anyone can do if they're strapped for cash - steampunk doesn't have to be expensive.

So for the shoes:

Boots are coming back into fashion. If you walk into Target, Wal-mart or similar stores you can find some really neat, alternative style boots that can be easily rendered to look steampunk. For example, I bought a pair of brown, heeled boots from target for twenty-two US dollars (compare at some of the prices for steampunk boots, the lowest starting at sixty-five USD!) and simply replaced the buckles with gears that I found in an old clock. And for the people who like to yell that "GLUING GEARS ON SOMETHING DOES NOT MAKE IT STEAMPUNK AUTOMATICALLY," yes, you're right. But putting gears on something also doesn't make it not steampunk automatically, and in this case it worked quite well - the gears serve as buckles for tightening/loosening the boots as I see fit. Gears are something that deserve a firm middle ground in steampunk fashion - it's okay to have them, just don't overload with them.
You don't even have to alter some boots you find - they'll simply make a great addition to your outfit, steampunk or not, at a fairly decent price. Boots with buckles, straps, notches and laces are becoming popular again, and they're pretty easy to find at decent prices if you know where to look.

Hats:

Have I told you about arts and crafts? Seriously, run up to Michael's, Joann's, or a craft store near you, and you can find all sorts of goodies, from attachable charms (they have gears, keys and vials!) to hat fabric, fabric dye, and the tools for making an ordinary hat special. You can buy yourself a basic, solid color top hat, aviator hat, or anything you think you can make work and completely re-vamp it to have yourself a steampunk hat. I recently attached a spectroscope to a hat. You can't actually wear the damn thing because it falls off (good job me!) but it was easy to do and it looks cool. Sticking feathers in hats is easy and fun - use softer colors like brown or cream to add a neat look to a Stetson or a bowler. Throw the right pair of goggles on top of a hat and it looks good.

Accessories:
Brass and faux-metal accessories that have a unique, world look to them are getting trendy, fast. I recently entered an accessory store and found bracelets made of brass keys, bronze cuffs, pocketwatch necklaces, fascinators and other items that can be easily rendered steampunk or already encompass the look. They're far less expensive than the pocket-watches and jewelry you'll find at a steampunk convention or online at a steampunk shop. Check out accessory stores near you to see if they have items catering to your distinct taste.

One more thing - 

Thrift stores are your best friend from now on.

You'd be amazed at the crazy things you'll find in a thrift store. Make a date out of it.
If you look at something and think, "You know, with [such and such] that could be a great steampunk style," then it's probably not a bad idea to get it, if your budget allows for it. There are all sorts of things [shirts, pants, vests] that don't initially scream STEAMPUNK! but with the right accessories and garments could really make your outfit unique.
You can also find a lot of junk in thrift stores: goggles, old clocks, weird science stuff, junk you can take apart - and all at fairly low prices, depending on the store.

So steampunk is either an expensive or labor-intensive fashion- I'll admit, it's not the easiest thing to maintain. But it's fun and rewarding when you have a unique outfit at a fairly affordable cost.

I will be adding the other posts with more suggestions on where to look or what to look for soon. But in the meantime, I hope this helped anyone who read it. Steampunk may be a unique and difficult concept to work with, but it doesn't have to strain your wallet as much as your imagination.