So now that you’re all aware of how awesome steampunk is, you’re thinking, “But it’s so awesome! How can I possibly design my own steampunk costume that will be as awesome as everyone else’s?” Never fear, dear readers; I am here to tell you all about the world of steampunk and how understanding it will help you design your very own, very awesome steampunk costume!

The basic premise of the world of steampunk boils down to one simple principle: It is a world in which Newtonian physics are king. Imagine if no one ever bothered to learn about atoms, if Einstein had never come along with his theory of relativity, if the threat of world-wide destruction via atomic bombs had never been made possible.

That is the world of steampunk. It is very science-oriented, but with gears and cogs; pure mechanics. Nothing is digital, nothing is atomic, there is no quantum theory. Perhaps it’s so popular because it can be considered the layman’s science.

What makes steampunk different from most science fiction is the synthesis of science with fantasy—using science to create a fantasy world. Steampunk basically says, “Anything that can be done with magic can be done with science, and we’re the ones to do it!”

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With Maker Faire only hours away, news is pouring in as to what we should expect. This time, they’ve got something planned for the steampunk fans.

Comedian and self-proclaimed geek Heather Gold is broadcasting a live show from Maker with a panel of steampunk senseis that are sure to answer your questions and get you thinking about the forward progress of steampunk DIY.

Steampunk tinkerer and master of The Steampunk Workshop, Jake Von Slatt, will be in attendance. Heather will also be discussing matters with Steampunk Magazine editor and purveyor of authentic steampunk fashion Libby Bulloff as well as Abney Park lead vocalist Captain Robert.

The agenda is to dig deeper into steampunk culture, address the emergence factor, discuss it’s place in modern pop culture, and get down to the nitty gritty of this cultural disguise that is capturing more and more.

The panel will be at 4:00 p.m. at Maker Faire, and Abney Park will be playing the event. If you have golden tickets, bring us back some videos!

You might catch yourself in a public place wearing a costume that may not be deemed as “normal”. So what, right?

…well… you may want to go in numbers. As cool as it is to be socially offbeat, costume fans need to be supplied with reinforcements whenever possible.

A lot of costume fans find that they would have fun getting dressed up, but don’t know where or when to do it. Unless you’re holding a sign on a street corner to advertise business, you’re going to get funny looks.

So, as a generous task, we’re providing you with a solid list of people and places to find other costume fans to fraternize with.

The Search For Fellow Costumers Begins Online

The first place to look for a community is online. This will help you find out who is where, and what they participate in.

Forums - Forums exists all over the net, and for about every niche group possible. Cosplay, steampunk, general costumes, collectors, you name it and you’ll find it. Forums are a great place to ask questions that only a true fan would know.

DIY Web Sites - The great thing about DIY sites is that there are so many types of people there. You can be into any type of costume, and DIYers are all over it. Also, they’re extremely involved in the creation process, putting them in the know for all good resources on a particular subject or idea.

Digg, and other Social News Sites - Why Digg? Well, Digg is a haven for all the crazy stuff you will find on the web. How many ideas or articles have we found via social news? Well, lets pretend they’re all original things I see in person, mmkay?

Costume Events Come More Frequently Than You Know

The good news is that there is nearly always something going on for a costume fan to take part in, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get involved and make some friends, right?

Conventions - Cons are big in a very big way these days. They come in all shapes and sizes and attract everyone you could imagine. If you’re a fan of something like comics or anime, there are cons all the time for you. Find a costume, make a reason, and go dress up. People love to see their peers show their pride. Some cons are getting more well known for their costumes alone… sound like fun?

Release Events - Harry Potter movie, new Halo game, Star Trek release, on and on and on… if your costume is specific, and you’re in good company, you have all the reason to get decked out.

Fan Festivals - Fan festivals are akin to Conventions, but are usually surrounding a certain product or IP. The gaming industry is big on these. Fans of Blizzard Games, Sony Games, or Square Enix games can all find Fan Fests happening almost annually. It’s worth it to get in some garb and go to at least one.

Get Cultured and Celebrate Costumes Regionally

The Right City - Tokyo is great for Cosplayers. New York has all kinds of dress up events, cultural mashups, and groups of enthusiasts. Los Angeles is home to the Hollywood hills, and the entertainment capital of the world. It doesn’t stop there, as most big cities have something unique to boast. Celebrate the city you love.

Cultural Celebrations - We’ve already covered Carnival and Oktoberfest. It doesn’t end there. If you want to immerse yourself in a really cool side of costuming, find a way to travel and get into some traditional threads. It’s always more acceptable and fun to blend into another lifestyle.

Well, not sure you got enough? We can think of many more. Check out our post on 79 Days, Reasons and Events made for Costumes. Search around for the ideas we’ve found and add some of your own.

Are Star Wars fans synonymous with steampunk fans? Two worlds of the imagination couldn’t be more far apart than those two, but it seems that someone thinks they belong together.

In an unlikely marriage of these non-realities, a fan decided to make a Darth Vader steampunk getup for the tech/futuro-curious. According to the creator, this is a first time with anything Steampunk. Not bad on the bids for being a first timer, eh? Here are the words of the creator:

Welcome to my first venture into the art of steampunk. This Vader mask was sitting on my shelf for about 14 years.

It was originally purchased for me on my first trip to Disney World. Rather than get rid of it, I decided to have a little fun with it. I was inspired by some art from the Vader Project, and some other cool steampunk Star Wars stuff I found online. The mask itself was a Don Post mask. Not the best quality, but not the worst either. It is made of plastic and comes in two parts, the front face mask and the back dome. The two pieces are held together with velcro, wich actually works quite well. I modified the helmet by carving out detail to make it look like brass plate and adding several tacks to simulate rivets. This process was tedious and took forever. I finished it off with a WWI style helmet spike, which is actually a ceiling fan pull chain and an antique paint job. The chest plate was made from a shadow box frame (8 inches tall x 6 inches wide x 3 inches deep) and a bunch of cannibalized clock, and other device parts. I wired a green LED to a switch in the back that runs on two AA batteries. The steam tank was made from a piece of PVC pipe with a vintage pressure valve inserted into it. There are two holes drilled in the end of the tank which a rubber hose can be inserted into and then into the holes in the mask. I drilled out the spot where the tusk pieces should be. I am not going to permanently affix the hoses to the mask or the tank, in case the buyer wants to change them. The chest strap and shoulder straps were fashioned from a set of two men’s belts. the total width of the chest strap, including the chest piece is about 53 inches. The shoulder strap is in two pieces 22.5 inches and 18.5 inches in length. I did not cut any holes in the shoulder strap. I will leave that up to the buyer to measure. A lot of time went into making this piece. It would be a great start to a cool costume for either roleplaying or a convention, or just use it as a nice display piece. Dragoncon is right around the corner. Good luck and happy bidding!

Although this piece isn’t the caliber of some of the more focused steampunk DIY we’ve seen on the site, it’s on target for a first timer. Check it out and make a bid if you dare show your face at a fan fest any time soon.

Since our last Steampunk article, we noticed some focus and attention. The Steampunk lovers are true to the spirit of DIY and costumes.
Now bloggers are uniting to bring them up to status with a recent Steampunk blog carnival. In essence, a blog carnival is when a chosen topic focuses on bringing all the blog posts on the subject into one place for a time. It also inspires people to get writing, creating, sharing, and motivating. This is perfect for the Steampunk community.

Walking the Berkshires hosts a great blog carnival every month or so called “Cabinet of Curiosities”. In this fifth edition, they are highlighting Steampunk in all of its clever details. In fact, it’s better than anything we’ve ever done on the topic, and we can admit it. It’s worth a look.

While there are some great links, we’re mostly interested in the Steampunk costumes and where to go to find out more about them. Here’s what we gathered from the carnival…

• Aether Emporium has an excellent page on Steampunk fashion, where to find it, how to do it, and all the in betweens.
• They also share The Heliograph, a blog with some great Steampunk fashion inspiration.
• The carnival features these gloves mapping London, suggesting a fine point of fashion for Steampunk ladies.

And a few links of our own…

• Social shopping site Kaboodle has some suggestions for Steampunk fashion, always necessary for the costume basis.
• Here’s a great link with some full Steampunk costumes, showing the ensemble look.
• If you’re having a hard time finding a place to get some Steampunk gear that you don’t have to make from scratch, Buysteampunk.com is a good start. Eventually, you’ll want to make it your own though.

Now I know what blog carnivals are good for. It’s nice to know that there’s enough people out there interested in Steampunk to participate in a gathering of good info like this. We’ll dive in more as time goes on, but hopefully that’s enough linking to keep you at your computer for awhile.

It’s only fair you get a sweet recap of all the good stuff that graced your computer screen over the last week. Yeah, it sounds cocky I know. But hey, where else do you go for an all-costuming blog? Hmm?

Revisiting Our Favorite Costume Sites - We take a look at the best of the best sites covered by MyDisguises.

The Famous Disguise - If you haven’t seen this video, you lose. Okay, maybe you don’t lose, but it’s incredible.

MyDisguises 2007 Winners and Losers - 2007 was huge, and there was a lot to see. We break down the best costumes and stories of the last year and reveal them to the readers.

Time’s Best Loved Film Costumes - The movies are a cultural phenomenon. Time Magazine helps us look at the iconic wardrobes that become almost as important as the actors behind them in their best loved costumes of all time.

An Intro to “Steampunk” - Steampunk is a culture that is ripe for the costume world. Most people who love steampunk have put some time into making their own stuff, and we take a quick look at what’s behind it all.

It’s time that we brought steampunk culture to MyDisguises, and made it a frequent topic.

Steampunk is “a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction” that borrows heavily from 18th century industrial age mechanics and styles. The marriage of that with fantasy settings has evolved to adapt a large fan base that is in love with the juxtaposition. Even more traditional fantasy settings in film, games, and literature have grown to adapt some of the mechanophiliac interests.

Steampunk culture is responsible for some of the most unique costume and setting design ever before seen. Although I’ve never personally seen a steampunk costume in the flesh (or the metal), it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done. The genre has showed itself into pop-culture on a number of occasions:

Steampunk Guitar (via Thunder Eagle)

Custom work like this is typical in steampunk DIY. It’s one of those kinds of DIY you just have to get right, or it doesn’t work at all. Common themes of rust, gears, and bronze metals are typical of steampunk work.

So how would steampunk work with costumes? After browsing around, I grabbed some photos and added some links to get the mental cogs turning. Maybe we can inspire a steampunk costume off for next Halloween. In the meantime, take a look here.

Links to steampunk work and images:

Steampunk Costume Update

Ocular Thingy Fixes Our Steampunk Craving For The Day

Steampunk Blog - Brass Goggles

Steampunkopedia

We hope to write more about steampunk soon, and will be looking into a costume contest for the best DIY steampunk work. I’ll keep the links here updated as I find more. Keep tuned and bookmark us for more steampunk in the future.