Ellen finds a clue!
So when MNRF was over at the beginning of October, our little Posse decided that Steampunk was the next logical step in costuming evolution. We found two fall events to attend: Steampunk Kaposia's Mystery Party and the Dickensian Yule Ball.
Because all of us had no Steampunk clothing at all, (or anything even remotely approaching Steampunk clothing), for the first time I was not the only person scrambling for an outfit. Everyone who attended the Mystery Party had multiple accessories and killer hats. Except me, of course, because my outfit was again last minute, and I wore the tiny little tophat I had bought at Michael's and decorated eons ago. It also reinforced to me that I am not a tiny hat girl.
We did quite well in terms of using thrift store items to fill out our outfits. The evidence below:
We had a rather large group go to the Mystery Party, at the Alumni House at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. The house was really very nice, and the mystery was fun.
The Posse, representing.
DME the Motorcyclist/Airship Driver/Mechanic wore a jacket I found at the thrift store, a leather belt from a leather jacket I own, Princess A's Harley saddle bag, some brown faux-suede bloomers a la Jen Thompson's Zouave pants, some fingerless motorcycle gloves, and S's black riding boots and white scarf. I also made her a little leather airman's cap with swim goggles on them, but it wound up being much smaller than expected. She looked terribly cute in it, though.
DJRenee wore an old Boy Scout top she found at the thrift store, green khaki bloomers she made, a leather belt and gauntlets (also made by her) with an old boy scout belt on top. She wore some very cool skull socks and black boots. The best part was the red fez that belonged to Chum. Because apparently everyone needs a fez.
Probie found her cute black shoes and short sleeved blouse at Value Village Thriftstore, as well as her $14.00 leather jacket. Her purse is an old Brownie camera which has an amazing amount of space inside for storage. She made her hat from the Threadbangers pattern, her corset from a Simplicity pattern (which is grommeted in back), and her lovely fishtail skirt from instructions from Learningtofly here on LJ. She also made all of her own jewelry using various gears and parts she found at Ax-Man.
MamaRox was the lucky recipient of an actual wool tophat because her's was the only head that fit it. She decked it out in taffeta, feathers and flowers. Her vest and shirt were thrift store finds, as was her underskirt. Her bustle was a taffeta formal skirt from the thrift store that I pinned the bustle shape into and she sewed into place. Her fingerless gloves were I believe from Claire's. Shoes from the thrift store as well. Hair courtesy of her husband's flat iron.
Miss T had an amazing green coat with all kinds of intricate detail that she bought back in the 80's from Ragstock. We called this her Fagin Look. The black buckle belt is from Target, the accessories from Chum and MamaRox, and the boots are also items she purchased back in the 80's. The striped socks are my favorite.
Chum had a mix of stuff as well. The black blouse was from the thrift store. The hat was a little bowler hat MamaRox found and dressed up with some tulle and ribbon. The corset was given to me by Countess Ang, and found to be a very good fit for Chum. The black fabric had bled onto the white when it was washed at some point, giving it a very cool grey effect that worked well with the outfit. The boots are Born boots she bought retail (and wears everywhere, thus getting Her Money's Worth) and the scarf is also a personal item. The white eyelet underskirt was an old skirt she wore out at Fest Back In The Day, and we shortened it and added an elastic waistband. The overskirt was a stin ballgown skirt with tulle underneath that has previously been worn as part of a zombie ensemble. I sewed channels in it and we put ribbon through it and ruched it up. The tulle was then cut to length. I like to think of this as her Can-Can Girl/Mae West outfit.
I was pretty much an epic fail at thrifting. While the cool purse is actually a vintage binoculars case, and the shoes and blouse came from the discount store, everything else was either purchased full price or made from scratch. The skirt is black linen over brown linen, using Learningtofly on LJ's basic instructions for a ruched skirt, and then taking off from there. The bodice/corset is a Simplicity bridal pattern that I covered in fabric from Joann's, and leather buckle straps I found at Ax-Man. It is bound on the edges in brown leather, with a brown leather modesty panel in back. It was terribly comfortable in comparison to an Elizabethan corset, but as I like to make new things for new events, it is now for sale in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/accidentalseamstress.
We had a great time trying to solve the mystery (though none of us did) and then went over to W.A. Frost, a restaurant with a Steampunk-like atmosphere to eat. Our waiter was a (currently unemployed, someone should hire him, he's fabulous!) opera singer and he sang a little bit of Tosca for us before we left.
This particular adventure made all of us Steampunk converts, and now instead of looking at jewelry in stores and thinking, "Wow, this would make a fabulous girdle!" we are looking at plastic guns and thinking, "I could totally mod this!"
Next up - the Dickensian Yule Ball.
Comments