Sale time!

Sales time! I love shopping a little bit too much, but I managed to keep my expenses down to only £23.25 exactly. All in River Island, mind you. It turned out to be a rather traumatic experience, as they spent literally 25 minutes ringing all my stuff through the till individually, and then couldn't agree whether one of the necklaces even existed. They finally decided it was a chain from a pair of men's jeans (absolutely not true- it has a necklace clasp!) and charged me 50p. I nearly picked up a broken chain hand thingy for a pound too, but I was bored of waiting so I left it. I found a pair of perfect shorts, 2 sizes too big mind, but I couldn't pass them up for £4. The jewellery I bought I'm quite excited to chop up and weld to things. So, my purchases are as follows...

Too big, but just perfect!

Not very steampunk, but very cute.

25p. Yes please.

Okay, so where to start. Literature? Probably. Films? I'll get round to it. The costume? HELL to the YES! I've been brainstorming costume ideas for a while, but there's a problem, I want to wear everything. It's all so beautiful. I want the masculine work wear, the bustle and the corsets, the glam updoes and top hats and goggles (still not sure how I'll work that into my persona), and all the little personal touches buzzing round my head, bumping into each other. I need wires and oil and cogs and bandages and a teeny tiny engine.

Problem is, I live in chav central, where it's difficult to buy a decent dress, let alone a victorianesque bustle or a pair of silk stockings! This isn't completely true- there are a couple of boutiques dotted around the town I commute to for college that look promising, but at the prices you expect to pay for a custom built corset that's not really an option.

So, to the wardrobe! My clothes are rather odd, to say the least. I have normal clothes for college, the stuff that you don't have to have your glasses on to match with anything at 6am, but over the past few years I've collected some vintage shop pieces and fancy dress components that I reckon I can bodge into something half resembling a steampunk costume.

Costume #1, from top to toe.

The blouse. A Primark purchase at the age of 12, if I remember correctly.  Score.

Not the most flattering of ways to wear this skirt, but I needed  the length.  Purchased last year in a vintage shop in Amsterdam.

Waistcoat, another vintage shop buy. I'm stood like  this to illustrate the fact that I've pinned it in at the back, not because I think it's an attractive position. Honest.

D'Artagnan boots.

Not sure how many of them you can see, but  I have  my 'Doctor's bag',  and an enamel initial necklace on, along with a stethoscope which you have to imagine bronzed and coggy, and ready to listen to an oil leak or something similar.

One of the 'buzzing ideas' from my brain. Just a prototype. Imagine the glove  as a robotic hand, and the ribbon as electrical wires. Understand yet?

Closer view of accessories.

Cravat type thing, made from an old tie.

Hello world :)

Okay, I have a couple of confessions to make. Ready?

I LOVE Steampunk. I just love it. I love everything about it, it's so elegant and charming and romantic, you get to dress up in public and people don't judge you. It's an excuse to wear a corset, which I will never pass up ever. The men look more dashing, there's no limit to how wacky the inventions get, and the clothes! And, better still, you can be whatever you want to be, a dirigible pilot, a mechanic, a botanist, a member of the landed gentry, and all without passing a single A level (the things which will prevent me from posting for the next year and a bit).

The more observant amongst you may have noticed that I mentioned a couple of confessions. So, confession #2...

I know painfully little about the whole thing. Besides seeing people wanderig round festivals with goggles slung over top hats, I have almost no knowledge on the whole culture whatsoever. I am, however, determined to find out. This time next year I'll no longer be a newbie. I'll be a steampunk.