Steampunk Sessions: Form and Function in Fashion

With its strong use of elements such as mechanical devices and symbols and articles such as goggles, vests, and hats, the question that often arises is, 'but does it work?' A lot of steampunk fashion is designed for show, and often not intended for everyday wear and tear. Items that only need to be worn every so often, perhaps even only on a few occasions period, one could argue do not need to hold up as well so long as they can make it through the event. Items that are intended for everyday usage, though, most certainly must be able to withstand the rigors of regular strain, and must be washable, maintainable, and repairable, on top of performing any functions required, whether simple or complex.

I wear Steampunk in my everyday life. That means that anything I wear out needs to be able to last, and needs to be something I can make repairs to. Spare parts and materials are essential, and I have had many unique pieces found or put together from items in thrift stores break or get lost that I then could not replace. This is a sad fact you have to face when you're working with anything that isn't mass produced, and even when you are often; many of the more intricate items offered in crafts stores for jewelry and hobbies are available only for a limited time, meaning if you want to make use of it in a project, it might behoove you to get a couple of extras, if you can, for repairs and replacements.

There are two main kinds of function for Steampunk costumery. We'll call these simple and complex. Simple would be such items as a hat, boots, gloves, or goggles, all of which have quite apparent uses. Can you walk around comfortably in the boots? Can you put the goggles on, and then see through them? Also, if these items are designed to be protective, could they be? This is a situation where function typically needs to equal form, because if they don't work or are highly uncomfortable or prone to breaking, using them can be anywhere from embarrassing to disastrous. I have had boots fall apart on me in the middle of a parade or a long walk, and it is not a pleasant experience.

Complex functions would be found more in machinery. Weapons that have effects that make it seem like they could fire, an exoskeleton with moving gears and cables that shift appropriately when you flex, various swivels and springs and similar activities that make machinery and devices look plausible.

The debate often comes over what should be functional and what is merely decorative. There are those who say that if you are going to include something like goggles or gears, they should have a purpose. To an extent, I agree, but I believe that sometimes that purpose can be decoration, or symbolism. It is important to remember that much of Steampunk style draws from sources such as the military, industrialization, tribal and post-apocalyptic fantasy, and other genres that are rife with decoration and symbolism. Slapping some gears on an object does not make it Steampunk, but using gears in a decorative fashion as symbols, sigils, and replacements for items of similar shape and size can work well without them having to actually be functional. Cases in point include emblems and insignia, a belt buckle, buttons, flair on a hat band, and many other places where small, round objects are frequently placed. When used so, their function becomes symbolic rather than direct. You can also, and I encourage this, use them along with other elements (such as goggles, a parasol, a cane, and archaic tools and devices) and materials (such as glass, copper and brass wire and plates, wood, bone, horn, leather, older fabrics, and various eyelets, buttons, rivets, and various other period fasteners, both from industry and textiles) to create a more complex image that does not rely solely on the gears to sell the point.

I offer now three examples from my own usage. The first is a pair of boots I've recently had to retire. I bought them cheap, very cheap, at a thrift store and spent quite some time tinkering with them and re-outfitting them with brass and copper. They had liquid brass painted on the tips and heels, brass tips on both ends, wiring, around the front, and brass fixtures for the laces. They were a constant work in progress, often falling apart on me or giving me problems, but always pushing me to try new solutions, teaching me what did and did not work. In the end, after more than a year with them, the boots themselves became too degraded to continue using, despite my having gotten them into a state where the fixtures worked and looked as I wished them to. Constant walking and tromping about and worn them down, with the heels coming apart entirely despite many attempts to shore them up and cracks forming in the soles and sides. In short, they ceased to function properly as boots any longer, certainly not keeping my feet dry or protected, and actually starting to cause pain and strain in my right ankle and knee. That is the point where I had to decide they'd run their course and to get a new set to alter, which I shall, using the techniques and methods I've learned worked from the original set. The next pair will be a bit more costly, but also much sturdier, and will not have to go through nearly as many revisions. They will work in both form and function, as the old ones did for some time.

RIP WIPMy boots are dead.  Oh, they are still wearable for a few pictures, but they no longer fulfill their primary function as boots.  I am not overly sorrowful about this though.  I shall explain why.

The boots began as a lark; I saw them at the thrift store for ten dollars.  I pointed out how several of the plastic fasteners the laces were supposed to go through were ripped from their moorings and only there because of the laces and they kindly marked them down to five bucks for me.  Five dollars for a pair of boots I intended to tinker with was a real steal, especially given how much I've truly gotten out of them.

That was over a year ago now.  The first thing I did was rip out all of the original plastic loops, including the two big hooks at the top,  I replaced them with brass picture hangers, of all things, after looking around for something that would do the job for me.  They were held in place with br
RIP WIP - Brass-Fitted Boots    Brass-Fitted Boots Part 4   Brass-Fitted Boots Part 4.5

The second example is perhaps more unusual than a pair of decorated boots; it is my hair. Since I have particularly long hair, I sometimes have my wife put it into four long, thin braids. At the end of each I attach an archaic, somewhat crude bronze or brass bell, about an inch and a half tall include the loop at the top; I attach them using brown hair bands. In form they allow me to wear my hair back, forward with two to either side, or even with all four gathered to one side or the other over my shoulder. I also enjoy the soft clattering of the bells, so for me, that is an added aspect of their form. They also serve a function, though. In the hot summer they gather up my hair and keep it off my neck, giving me some reprieve from the heat. The bells act as weights, holding my hair in place and keeping it out of the way, offering protection from the wind as well, an age-old enemy of anybody with long hair. Out of this style I get a striking image and a useful service.

In Braids and Bells 5   Braids and Bells 68   Braids and Bells 49

Braids and Bells 38   Braids and Bells 34 - Music Man   Braids and Bells 22

My final example is that of goggles. A classic Steampunk accessory, I have found them to be of great use functionally as well. While I try to make all of my goggles functional, a few have turned out to be largely aesthetic, only really suitable for photoshoots or as decoration. But most have proven quite useful. I live at the western edge of a very windy city in Illinois, where the winter winds can be absolutely blinding. Modern styles of glasses are pretty small, and do little to protect the eyes from the wind. My goggles are designed to go over glasses, to protect them and my eyes from the wind and rain and snow, and some also prove effective shields against the sun, particularly when combined with a good hat brim. Tinted goggles are useful against glare and the sun, but so are goggles in general, as they can offer shade and break up the amount of light coming in. A downside is that most cut into peripheral vision, and some are difficult to wear in a moving vehicle (I do often take the buses for part of my trips home), but it is easy enough to make them so that they can be worn around a hat when not in use. I have even found that lenses are not always necessary for successful goggles; perphaps my most successful and remarked-upon pair are what I call my Storm Goggles. They are made using the interlaced wired tops of two incense burners, and though they do not have lenses, they have proven quite capable of protecting my glasses from wind, rain, snow, and sun. They provide enough of a footprint to break up winds and glare, and combined with a good hat do an enviable job while not fogging my glasses up as much as some pairs of goggles.

First Goggles

Final Stage Straps   The Adventurer 1   Sun Shades

First Goggles   Steampunk Pocket Compass on Terrace 1   Up Over 14

Storm Goggles

Storm Goggles

Purple Green Blue 22b   Purple Green Blue 15a   Mysterious Man 14

The Hustler 2b   The Man in Gray and Purple 21c   Steampunk Snowfall 15d

Steampunk Snowfall 10a   Steampunk Snowfall 8b   Fog or Steam? 13c

Fog or Steam? 11d   Fog or Steam? 4b   Bundled Against the Cold 21b

Bundled Against the Cold 17d   Gourdon and Zaccia Pumpkinhead 6

Navy Blue 23a   Blue White Green 10   At the Old Train Station 28

Iron Copper Brass 26e   Sun-Dappled Blues and Browns 28c   We Love Nerds 13

Iron Copper Brass 24e   Windthin in the Willow 37c   Brass and Copper 65

Framed Reflection 16   Blue Black Brass 39   May at Ellwood House 30

Steampunk Rachel and the Birch Grove 2   Before the Old Gate 5

Burgundy and Brass   Iron and Brass 37a

Iron and Brass 25   Iron and Brass 21

Other Functional Goggles

Rachel's Red Goggles   Green Goggles   Purple-Bronze Goggles

Non-Functional Goggles

Superhero Dessert Goggles   Brass and Bronze Mad Scientist Goggles