Prototype: Dieselpunk Greatcoat

The Dieselpunk Greatcoat is based on the Steampunk Pirates Concept Art we did a while back. It's not quite as flared as the original sketch and there are various other differences, including the collar not quite coming out the way I wanted it to.

The Mercenary had located some double-sided faux-suede-and-fur material in rifle green and leafing through the steampunk pirates concept art, it seemed like a good idea to attempt a coat from it. The material has a lovely weight to it and rustles satisfyingly when handled. There was enough to make one greatcoat and one sleeveless surcoat from the end of the roll, the latter of which will be appearing in a later post. Because of the nature of using the double-sided material, there is no lining to hide the slit pockets in, which are thus visible on the inside of the coat.

The coat also features two spacious patch pockets (including one on the arm), double-breasted fastening and our so-called buttons of chaos.

I had bought some embroidered badges to function as insignia on the coat, but we were collectively indecisive about which ones to attach so the greatcoat remained without them for the photos. Buying badges was rather an adventure as it seemed that the world demanded a great many designs of things on fire, including Betty Boop, Jesus and Hello-Kitty-but-a-skull. There were also equally inexplicable skulls with an H on its forehead, which also come in the following varieties: on fire or surrounded in tribal swirlies. I also found a great number of once-neon-coloured miffies and chococats in a bargain bin.

We tried to avoid anything with words or acronyms on it, to keep the kit more multipurpose. We're quite fond of the winged skull since it seemed like it would make fine insignia for an air pirate, despite it being really lots larger than the other badges. Perhaps it would tip the design into feeling more anime-inspired.

Worn in the photos by the Proprietor with the white frilly linen shirt, brown waistcoat and green tricorn, the overall look seems rather Freiboden rather than anything else. That said, the Anthropologist still calls it the Haslanti coat. Departure from the classic white-and-brown/black bomber jacket colour scheme into rifle green does obscure the cultural cues we were going for originally, but as always, the Mercenary works within the confines of the materials she finds.

To commission a greatcoat in similar materials would cost in the region of £110-120. For a fully lined greatcoat the cost would likely be closer to £150-160.

More photos of the dieselpunk greatcoat under the cut.