Steampunk -- A First Attempt

01/23/11  SUCCESS!

I can not explain what an amazing evening the Edwardian Ball was....it was a feast for the eyes at every turn.  The sheer volume of creativity was astounding.  Everything was just amazing!

I added to the Steampunk feel a few things:

- very delicate silk crochet gloves

- walking stick (world market find--it was broken so I got a great deal then screwed in a draw pull as a finial)

- a glass locket with a curl of hair hung from black ribbon (home made mourning jewelery--don't worry nobody died)

- a course silver rope necklace with a keyhole locket (from Michaels)

- a single "white out" contact to give a macabre look to the whole thing.

The evening got very warm so eventually I removed my jacket.  I was very tightly laced into my Vollers corset so there was an abundance of cleavage -- but the setting was appropriate for such a display.  I would not display such cleavage at a historically correct period function.  Here are some pictures with some other of the costume goers.

Getting ready to leave this shot shows the back bustle which although draped differently than my original plan still came out well enough.  I was bothered that my hair-piece didn't look so great because I did not pomade my hair, but then again it was dark most of the evening so that was a detail that most likely wasn't too glaring.



01/22/11  Tonight is the Ball.....here is the website if anyone is interested:  http://edwardianball.com/           

The outfit has come out well, right now I don't have photos of the finished project but will have those after the fact.  Historically it is a disaster....a little bit of this and a little bit of that, a mishmash of 1880s - 1910.  But Steampunk doesn't have to be correct.  Getting the bustle right was a bit of a challenge and I'm not sure I really am thrilled about the finished product...it is different that the photos above...closer to the body with both soft and angular edges.  I did like the boned gusset at the bottom.  It definitely has a Cirque feel to it.  Photos will be updated soon. 

December 2010:
Going to the SF Edwardian Ball at the end of January, 2011, I wanted something darker to wear. I went years ago with a mock late 1890's ballgown which was just too cheery and bright.  This year I decided not to recreate anything authentic but rather do something with a Steampunk/Goth kind of feel.

I knew that I would build this around my Vollers corset.  I found a wonderful pair of lace up black "high button" looking boots, and fab stripped fabric.  Sadly the suit I thought I'd sew wasn't meant to be because the bolt of fabric only had three yards.  This was a stripped fabric with a black herringbone weave background and brown velvet stripes.  It was a bit stiff but not too much so that I couldn't get some drape out of it.

I built the skirt from a contemporary evening skirt pattern.  To get the inset to flare stiffly (and not in any way period correctly) I ran covered boning along the bottom.  I then draped the over skirt and bustle.  The pics are all in a pinned stage, we'll see what the final looks like.

The short jacket was a find on Ebay.  It had some plain see-it-everywhere trim on it which I cut off and replaced with this wonderful upholstery fringe that has a great period look.  Now all I have to do is get everything sewn in place.