Kilt as part of Steampunk costume

[FossilHunter]

What the heck is Steampunk?

Google describes it as well as I could:

“a genre of science fiction that has a historical setting and typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.
"if you like steampunk, this is a great book for you"
a style of design and fashion that combines historical elements with anachronistic technological features inspired by science fiction.”

The will smith version of Wild Wild West would be considered steampunk. Giant, steam-powered, mechanical spiders and whatnot.

[Rmadigan]

Sounds like a fun event, however I don't like to think of a kilt as a costume. Now, Utilikilts and Sportkilts are a different matter.

[OC Richard]

The thing I notice is that Steampunk kiltwearers nearly always wear anachronistic Highland Dress items with their Steampunk.

Because Steampunk, as it's been explained to me, exists in a specific time period, namely the Victorian period.

Since Highland Dress underwent a near-total transformation around WWI these anachronisms are quite clear.

And it gets even more anachronistic, because Utilikilts are often seen in Steampunk, off by a century.

Seems that nearly all men in Highland Dress at Victorian Balls, Dickens Festivals, American Civil War Balls, etc wear 20th century Highland Dress items, especially sporrans and jackets.

[Steve Ashton]

Steampunk does not have to be limited to the historical Victorian period at all. It is science fantasy with the premise that the technology of steam and mechanical contraptions of the industrial revolution are still pre-eminent today. That the art and aesthetic of the steam era are as much a part of today as we would wish they could be.

So a blending of cast iron, Brass, and the intricate art of the Victorian period used to make computers.



What if airships still ruled the skies and steam locomotives still crossed continents, What if Disney's version of Jules Verne were true. Atomic powered submarines that look like this.



That the wonder of that Victorian unknown world still lay before us and the industrial revolution and our new understanding of technology is making it all possible.

Would not the renown Scottish Engineers still be in the forefront?

[OC Richard]

Perhaps Steampunk doesn't have to be rooted in the Victorian period, but in my experience it pretty much always is.

I regularly attend comic-cons and I've seen and hung around with hundreds of Steampunk people and the Victorian period is clearly part of the thing. People's clothing is invariably and clearly based on Victorian clothing styles.

I can't recall ever seeing Steampunk costumes based on modern clothing styles.

As Wiki puts it:

Steampunk most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retrofuturistic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.

The one exception, as always, is Highland Dress, which somehow floats outside of time itself.

[Baeau]

......Perhaps Steampunk doesn't have to be rooted in the Victorian period.......
.....Steampunk most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retrofuturistic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.....

Richard, I wonder if Disneyland should have gone that route on the last Tomorrowland revamp?

[Rmadigan]

I did a Google search on kilt jackets (I'm looking to buy one) and I saw some jackets that were listed as Steampunk. If I was 50 pounds lighter and 30 years younger I'd be all over them. Really cool styles. I dont know if I would wear them with my kilt.

[OC Richard]

Richard, I wonder if Disneyland should have gone that route on the last Tomorrowland revamp?

Strange that you should say that, because Disneyland, back in the early 1970s, was planning an entire new Land, called Discovery Bay, which today we would consider Steampunk.

Like Steampunk, Discovery Bay was largely inspired by the writings of Jules Verne.