steampunk

The retro fashion for Steampunk has been well covered by other bloggers. Steampunk extends to more than clothes, and includes novels, films, music, and accessories. A tribute to the age of steam which culminated in sleeker industrial designs by the 1890s, I think of Steampunk as a mix of Sherlock Holmes, narrow-gauge railways, the Wild, Wild West television series, and the lovely lady pictured here. Her mutton leg sleeves remind me irresistibly of the pneumatic tubes we see in the Main Reading Room at the 42nd Street Library.
 
 
 
Women’s clothing in this decade reveal the final vestiges of Victorian costume shading into Edwardian dress. I think there’s something symbolic about the flaring lines and angles in feminine garments now. My second illustration depicts a woman who looks like a teapot that’s ready to be poured. Comfort isn’t the attribute that leaps to my mind when looking at these ensembles. Don’t worry, though, all this will change.

Speaking of wild, wild Wests, I’m heading out there again. After a hiatus, I will return— but on a new timetable. I’ll be posting once a week during July and August. There’s much to be done in the Education department this summer. And I mean to wrap up this foray into the nineteenth century before September. Change is good.

There’s been media mention, albeit briefly and rather tantalizingly, about a subgenre of dress called steampunk fashion. I’m always in favor of anything that celebrates everything old is new again. Steampunk derives from fiction of the 1980s and early 1990s about fantasy or science fiction set in the Victorian era of steam. Evidently, steampunk dressing received a boost from the popular recent movies, The Prestige and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Clothing elements resemble punk a little, although to lean on pop culture history, a lot of outfits look like a combination of Sherlock Holmes, the cast of the televisions series Wild, Wild West, and Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke. Basically, many looks come from 1890s fashion.

The punk and goth motif can be seen in the use of piercings, tattoos, tattered petticoats and corsets, along with goggles, boots, big belts and buckles, and tubular-shaped drapery. But, to me, the wonder is that a specific historical period is being celebrated. Viva Steampunk!

And—last but hardly least—farewell to Yves Saint Laurent, whose designs created an influential brand that shaped late 20th century women’s dress! I’ll always revere him for providing the impetus to allow women to claim pants for their own. Hillary’s pantsuits and my habitual black trousers owe everything to him. He will be greatly missed, and well-ensconced in the pantheon of fashion heroes.