Prototype: Steampunk Skirt

Finally, the factors of daylight (well, some), reasonable weather and a photographer have sufficiently aligned to allow the taking of some photos of the prototype steampunk skirts.

Two were done up, though only the violet (it has come out on the blue side in the pictures) one was taken with us this trip by the river.

The skirts are made of a faux silk that mimics the rough grain of hand-woven silk. It has a rather nice dull sheen and washes very well. There are two layers, one blue and one black underneath it. The black faux suede belt with the brass buckle is inbuilt.

The skirts have six long straps of fake suede that end in brass buckles around it. It was designed to be gathered up but various miscalculations means that it isn't really functional.

As evidenced by the digagrams, there were a few changes between the drawing board and actual execution.

This is technically the first draft of the steampunk skirt, inspired partly by a goth skirt that had a whole string of non-functioning buckles. Perhaps ironically, this too has useless decorative buckles. The second draft of the steampunk dress is much more complex - it shares with the steampunk coat a love buckles and pen-holders and d-rings; it also has an apron and we went from silk to wool as materials go. Photos of that should hopefully happen in the near future.

However, I do still think it looks good with the buckles down. It'll be up on Character Kit in a few days (website overhaul, many complications) along with its red twin for £40.

With some borrowed goggles (homemade by a friend of mine from ginger beer bottles. She wears them for her larp character in the local system we play. I know she wrote a tutorial some time ago, but no amount of searching would unearth it) and a telescope, the Designer was trying to prove that it's the accessories that make an outfit. There are two sets of photos, one in which we were going for steampunk and the other pirate, mostly by changing various trinkets and hats around. Whether or not that succeeded is a mater of some debate.

So what do you think? Steampunk or Pirate?

The photos are taken by the giant cogs which are by the giant cow statue (the Dun Cow is by one Andrew Burton and is, of course, of the cow that led Bishop Aldhun to the site of the future Durham Cathedral; it is also the same cow statue, that incidentally inspired the prize-winning Durham cow blue cheese). There is a fantastic panorama of it on Britain360.

We ran out of time and light gave out (as evidenced in some of the photos). Probably not the best photos ever done for this blog, especially the pirate ones in which the twilight sun bathed everything in a yellow light and overexposed all the photos.

Any other complaints?

More photos under the cut.

Update: Both skirt have now been sold.