Friday Finds - Steampunk

My favorite new subculture is Steampunk. I still don't know what I think about it, really, but I am generally intrigued by subcultures that mess with or refer to historical rituals and customs. I'm in no way your ambassador to it, but from what I've read, it is basically a derivative of the fiction genre during the era of steam engines that dabbled in the fantastic, futuristic, and mechanical. It's basically a fantasy of the future from the Victorian perspective. Much like the Jules Verne novels. I have always been interested in futuristic visions and I think the further back you go, the more interesting they are, because nobody really could predict the unprecedented amount of progression that technology has taken in the last century.

These postcards represent just a few of the expectations of the future (the year 2000) from the perspective of a French artist in 1910:


I remember reading 1984, George Orwell's dystopian look at the future, in which the main character manages information for the public via card catalog. I read it as a teenager, when computers were in most middle-class homes, and so of course I was thinking a "card catalog system"?

So, back to the steampunks. I'm super late to it, I know, but now it's starting to reach a higher threshold. Before, it was about literature which maybe influenced gothic fashion. Now it seems like it's part of people's environments as well as being a set of clothing choices. Of course, goths love steampunk. It marries the beautiful gothic sub-genres of industrial and the romantics. Lace and plastic tubing? Surely you jest.

Here are a few examples of steampunk fashion just to get your feet wet:




It kind of messes with the idea of genteel Victorians by juxtaposing their very restrictive clothing with bat shit crazy items or by altering them so they expose more skin. This pic from the Wikipedia entry on steampunk is probably the best illustration of the marriage of Victorian fashion with a futuristic vision by way of steam engines:

This could (and does) go terribly wrong. White people with dreadlocks are strewn throughout steampunk. That man up there is dabbling in a very Matrixy version of dreadlocks himself, which I'm barely able to forgive him for. Neo-Victorians are much like the old ones, potentially interesting but also kind of horrifying and likely to induce 21st century eye-rolls.

So what does this have to do with Friday Finds? Well, I know a lot of people are into vintage design, but where do you put your 20 inch iMac monitor in your painstaking reproduction of a Victorian parlour? These are questions people must be asking themselves all the time. Ok, maybe not, but let's pretend. This niftly little combo of a typewriter and computer might be your solution!


There is even a complete tutorial from Steampunk Workshop on how to transform your keyboard from this

to this:


FYI it's not easy.

Maybe you are tired of wrestling your corset on only to look in the mirror and see the garish 2009 blutooth device sullying your good intentions. Well, this is just for you!



There are some beautiful handcrafted steampunk items I've found that might interest more than the leather and lace crowd. Done sparingly, some of this stuff might look less costumey and more "interestingly accessorized."

This octopus necklace from Cosmic Fierfly is very 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. $13


This Swallow Pendant from Nouveau Motley is part pocket watch, part brooch and $60.

Steampunk jewelry seems to be about watch parts most of the time, but I really like this ring. $40 from London's Gate

This seems more Victorian than steampunk, but I like the scroll work and the detail on the rose. Only $10 from Studio Regency.
This cuff watch is out. of. control. But maybe you created a time machine in 1862 and you want people to know that that's just how you roll. Aranwen makes these for a pretty penny, but her other stuff is interesting as well, so check out her Etsy shop.


Again, watch parts, but paired with the little lacy metal edge. Dainty and mechanical. $65 from EDMDesigns
This is a really good example of the kind of craftsmanship that steampunk inspires, which is kind of why I am fascinated with the whole culture. It does expect a certain degree of inspiration and ingenuity (in the fashion of the kooky 19th century inventors it seems to venerate). I was sad to realize that this is not a corset but actually a "jumpsuit," which strikes to close to the idea of the romper. I hate rompers. I believe that in hell, Satan is there, wearing a romper. But anyway, it's $70 on Etsy.
Hope you enjoyed the history lesson/shopping trip!