Blogalopod

I’ve been doing some internet researchifying for my Halloween Steampunk costume, limiting myself to those things which existed at the turn of the century (but stretching the definitions to extend into the 1940s, because nixie tubes pretty much give me pleasures that only ex-girlfriends have been able to match). And because I’ve been blessed with a voluminous forest of facial hair (which decided to sprout after a relationship went sour), I’ve begun to research era-appropriate mustaches.

I think I’m going with this one :

Credit where credit is due, this is borrowed from an amazing mustache blog that specializes in rare and antique mustaches, which I will heretofore link permanently in the sidebar – because it’s just that keen. If I do say so myself, restructuring my own face-canvas for a costume I’ll be wearing for an evening is fucking dedication. That, and I haven’t been to a party in a very long time. And I spent three days building a raygun with a tiny, color-changing rave light in it. So yeah, gonna hit this thing running.

Here’s a video of the raygun after I dropped the mechanics into it, but before I finished painting it :

And here’s some other crap :

In researching ‘the Steampunk costume’, I came across a debate which posited an interesting perspective : is Steampunk a costume, or is it a way of life? While the ‘authentic’ staunch defenders of Steampunk seemed adamant that this is simply a mode of everyday dress, I’m inclined to say ‘get a fucking life’ as well. The clothes look great, but we’re talking about a fictional universe that doesn’t exist. We’re not talking about a sexual orientation or having superpowers.

“As someone who dresses like this daily, I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered. Many “Steampunks” don’t consider what they wear a costume or something you just wear one day out of the year. I know a fireman who can’t understand why anyone would dress up as a fireman on Halloween.” – BSTI (whose profile link leads to some website about socks. How un-Steampunk.

Unless you’ve retrofitted your car to run on coal or have a computer that runs on gears and turbines, I’m disinclined to believe that you’re really adhering to this as a ‘lifestyle’. It’s not like you were born into a dirigible and cannot adjust to modern forms of travel. When you call it a ‘lifestyle’, I can’t help but make immediate comparisons to furries. Is that what you want, Steampunks?

I’ve been collecting this shit since the early 90s. For this costume, I already had the top hat, three pairs of goggles, tons of brass fittings and clock gears, and I didn’t have to buy a single thing to make my raygun. This doesn’t make me more authentic than anyone else.

It all comes down to whether or not you call your attire ‘clothes’ or ‘costume’, and how seriously you think that you need to take yourself. A hint for anyone who wants to live a remotely fulfilling life : don’t. Don’t take yourself seriously. I have at least three shirts with Darth Vader on them, but I’m not telling people that I’m a Sith Lord. At least I don’t tell girls that.