Dressing for your first steampunk event

– tips and suggestions by Roy Sinclair

Steampunk social events can range in size and scope from a few friends meeting in a pub, to the biggest steampunk festival in the world: the annual Weekend at the Asylum which usually takes place in Lincoln over five days and attracts thousands of costumed steampunks from over forty countries (according to 2024 ticket sales). But regardless of the size of the event, if you are thinking of participating in a steampunk social activity and would like to make an effort to dress the part, you might ask yourself how far you should go in terms of time and expense, especially if you’re not sure at this stage if steampunk is going to be 'your thing'.

There is, of course, no textbook answer to how far you should go for your first steampunk experience as (a) you don't have to dress-up at all to attend a steampunk event, and (b) a steampunk character's costume can be almost anything you want it to be, although preferably with a core element of Victorian sci-fi in order to keep it recognisably 'steampunk', else some might question if you are at the right event!

If you want to plunge right in to the spirit of things and invent yourself a new persona e.g. airship captain, defender of Earth, botanic explorer etc., and then make yourself a suitably elaborate outfit complete with steam-powered back-pack or hand-sewn bustle dress, don’t let me stop you - go for it. But if you’d like to dip your toe into the water without overcommitting yourself time-wise or financially, whilst still feeling like you belong when you meet your first real-life steampunks (we don't bite, and most of us are house-trained), this article has been written just for you ...how splendid!

Most veteran steampunks accrue a sizeable, eclectic collection of outfits over the years, but a staple part of each collection will usually comprise of various items of elegant Victorian-esc formal clothes i.e. 'attire', with a few eye-catching accessories that add the 'punk' i.e. rebellious counterculture, to the 'steam' i.e. the Victorian era. This is the perfect place to start your journey into steampunk costumisation. No, of course that's not a real word - I'm just flexing my rebellious grammaticalization muscles!

Steampunk weddings and funerals

The 'attire' clothing suggestions that follow are also perfect for steampunk weddings and steampunk funerals, given that both types of event lend themselves quite suitably to the formal dress approach. For a wedding outfit you might try silvers and/or golds for your waistcoat, tie or corset (if those items are what you choose to wear), or for funerals you might err towards blacks and darker colours as steampunk is rooted in Victorian conventions. As with everything 'steampunk' there is no rulebook, so these 'attire' suggestions for weddings and funerals are just that: suggestions intended to be helpful. Okay, so let's get started with the most basic item of formal clothing...

The Shirt or Blouse

From the gentleman's perspective you could wear a simple, linen, collarless grandad shirt with no cravat (necktie), but trust me when I tell you that you’ll feel much more like part of the scene if you’re able to wear a collared shirt and necktie. You might have a modern wing-collared dress shirt in your wardrobe, which is a good start, but these rarely look quite as good as a shirt with an all-round high collar. Good luck trying to find such a shirt that doesn't cost over £100 from a high-quality historical supplier. But there is a much simpler solution that might already be lurking in your wardrobe: a standard, modern, white shirt with a wide point-spread collar (as opposed to larger points that extend downwards, possibly with buttons to keep them flush over a tie).

The wider and flatter the collar points/tips the better, and preferably without any visible stiffeners behind them. For when such a collar is turned upwards all around the neck, it looks like something straight out of a Robert Downey Junior Sherlock Holmes movie (see right). Or if the plastic stiffeners allow you to turn down the collar from below the ears forwards, you can fashion a look that is perfect for a slightly more formal look (shown below-left). If you don’t already have such a shirt, Matalan usually sell numerous wide point-spread shirts for around £10-£16 (shown above), with the added bonus that you can wear it as a normal everyday shirt thereafter.

In the steampunk world there is nothing to stop ladies dressing like men, or vice versa (preferably with a beard for comic effect), but a blouse with a high collar, or a frilly collar and cuffs is a good start for a more conventional approach - google 'Victorian blouse' and then see if you have anything remotely similar in your wardrobe. Wearing a round brooch in front of a high collar can instantly give a blouse that Victorian look. Don’t worry too much about the details though, for steampunk is not about dressing in perfectly authentic Victorian clothes - it is more about creative expression and repurposing than it is about historical accuracy. As long as the end result looks vaguely like something that might have been worn in the nineteenth century - be that for real or from the pages of a novel of the time - then no self-respecting steampunk is going to criticise you for making an effort to look the part.

The Necktie

So you have a high-collared shirt, what next (mainly for the men but cross-dressing and gender fluidity are perfectly acceptable)? …a necktie of some description is a good next-step. If and when you fall in love with the steampunk subculture, you can read all about the differences between the names and types of necktie, but for now let’s focus on the 'ascot', which is an American term for the British 'day cravat'.

The ascot has wide blades and a narrow ('formal') or platted ('casual') neck band. It can be worn in many different ways (all of which are explained in great detail in various YouTube videos), with my personal favourite being the 'barrel knot' with a tie-tack to keep the blades in place below the 'barrel'. You can buy silk ascots for £50 or more from gentlemen’s outfitters, or you can order any of hundreds of different colours and patterns online from the likes of Amazon, eBay or AliExpress from prices as low as just £5 to £10 including pocket squares and cufflinks in many cases. Nearly all reasonably priced ascots are technically 'casual' ascots with pleats (as shown here), designed to be worn under the collar, but the number of people who will notice or care that you're wearing a casual ascot like a formal one i.e. over the collar, will be a precise number to two decimal places somewhere between zero and none.

Where to Buy?

As with any item of clothing that you might need for your journey into steampunkery, where you purchase and what you pay is totally down to you. You can visit an outfitters and pay for personal service and the finest materials; you can peruse the traders' stands at a steampunk festival and buy off-the-shelf clothing and accessories direct from the maker/seller; or you can take your chances with online shopping.

Amazon offers a wide selection of reasonably priced steampunk kit, much with next-day delivery. If you order something and find that it’s not what you expected, or if it doesn’t fit, returns and refunds are generally free and couldn’t be simpler. Or if you have plenty of time before your event, and don’t mind taking the increased risk of delivery damage, delays or sizing issues, then AliExpress or Temu will undoubtedly be the cheapest option.

Vinted and eBay are worth looking at for secondhand clothes or footwear that might fit the steampunk bill, as is your local charity shop if you happen to visit when they have the right items in the right size ...it does sometimes happen if you visit frequently enough. Try asking the staff at your local charity shop to call you if they get a particular item in e.g. a morning coat or tailcoat, as the volunteers often find it fascinating to talk about what you might make or create with their donated items.

In my recent experience of online shopping for steampunk attire, Amazon is the most reliable and straightforward way to buy. Amazon usually represents good value, but is not normally as cheap as AliExpress, even though in most cases the items originate from the same Chinese suppliers. If we take a typical, plain, black, wool/felt, lined top hat, for example, you’d probably pay about £50 in a UK shop, £40 on Amazon, or £20 on AliExpress (all including delivery and VAT). The hat can be tried on for size in a shop or at a trader's stall, or easily returned to Amazon if it's the wrong size. Returns and refunds are totally doable with AliExpress, but they can take a while, involve more button-clicking, and sometimes the process can get a bit confusing if you try to deal directly with a Chinese supplier via an auto-translate system. eBay falls somewhere between the two in terms of price and simplicity, although returns can be more tricky with some sellers.

Moving on then... So you've found a suitable shirt or blouse, and ordered an ascot with which to while away three hours learning how to tie your knot of choice (it's easy when you know how). Next? ...a waistcoat for the men, or a corset for the ladies (assuming you're sticking with a conventional approach, although waistcoats look good on women too).

The Waistcoat

Any waistcoat will do - of course - but a collared Jacquard or Jacquard-effect garment with embossed buttons and lined watch pockets can look the absolute business, even without a jacket or coat. Fortunately, Amazon and AliExpress both offer endless selections of impressive 'steampunk' or 'gothic' waistcoats in various styles e.g. single or double-breasted, straight-bottomed or single/double pointed. They can be bought for around £30 on Amazon, or £15 on AliExpress (complete with functional pockets).

Beware of sizing inconsistencies between suppliers - always check the size charts and try not to be too disappointed if they turn out not to be accurate. I have five waistcoats of size 'large' (as per all my UK clothing purchases), but one recently turned up marked 'L' that had clearly been designed for the Michelin Man whilst doing his best Mr Creosote impression, and then another was delivered without a size label but was clearly a tight (on me) Medium! ...allow time for returns or re-ordering in case you have to opt for a different size.

Obviously you can purchase high quality items from steampunk traders or UK manufacturers once you decide that you enjoy the steampunk scene, or you can have a go at making your own if you fancy getting really creative. However this article is aimed at beginners going to their first event, so let's continue on this vein, and don't forget to check out your local charity shops where low-priced waistcoats of various types can usually be found looking for a good home.

The Corset

Corsets are very much part of the steampunk aesthetic, be they underbust, overbust, waspies or cinchers. The photo on the left, taken by Colin Marris, shows a particularly colourful and elaborate creation that might seem a bit OTT for a first visit to a steampunk event on a budget, but there are plenty of affordable options available on Amazon, eBay and AliExpress for prices ranging from just £10 upwards. Once you fall down the proverbial rabbit hole of steampunkery and start accumulating multiple outfits for multiple seasons, your corsets will probably become your prime focus and biggest expense (if you want to feel like a million dollars) because as you can see here, they can become the centrepiece of your style statement for the day. But coming back down to earth for a moment, if you want to go one step further than a simple blouse or waistcoat for your toe-in-the-water steampunk experience, an economically priced corset is an effective compromise. When fitting a corset, start tightening the ribbons from the top and bottom, and work your way down and up to the middle, tying the excess ribbons off with a simple bow.

The Trousers or Kilt

Trouser fashion/design varied hugely during the span of the Victorian era, from high hip to low hip, tight leg to loose leg, with and without braces, and finishes including plaid, check, stripes and plain all being fashionable at some period or other during Victoria's reign. So anything goes for steampunk, especially when one remembers that steampunk is not Victorian reenactment!

If you intend to wear shoes (as opposed to boots), then most traditional slacks or suit trousers will be fine for your first event, either from your wardrobe or from a charity shop for around £5. Or if you intend to wear boots or bovverboots for that touch of punk counterculture, tight jeans will help to emphasise the boots.

On the subject of jeans, nobody will criticise you for wearing blue jeans, but be aware that you won't look too different to most non-steampunk people (aka 'muggles') at the event you attend. Far better to wear black or brown jeans if you have them (especially if you already have leather jeans, which would be oh-so perfect), or to buy some cheap, tight-fitting black jeans from Matalan or the like, that you can then wear as everyday clothing after the event.

It is worth noting that thanks to a significant number of steampunks attending an inaugural Lincoln steampunk festival after travelling directly from a Scottish funeral, the kilt became an instant hit as suitable attire among UK steampunks. So if you have a kilt and wish to wear it, you'll fit right in with the steampunk scene.

The Skirt or Dress

For the ladies, trousers or jeans are just fine to wear - no need to go too overboard for your first event. Or if you wish to buy a new but cheap skirt or dress that will see you through your first steampunk experience, how about a simple, dark, long beach-skirt worn off the hip – cheap but effective. Other reasonably priced options include ball gowns from charity shops or dress agencies, with or without the top section intact.

The Jacket

Most people experience their first steampunk event in the summer, when jackets are unnecessary. But (mainly for men) if you want to try your hand at the complete 'formal attire' look, second-hand or ex-hire morning coats and tail coats can normally be found on eBay for anything from £35 upwards. You might get lucky at your local charity shop, but it's unlikely.

Another good source of suitable formal jackets are Vintage shops, which also tend to stock ex-military dress uniforms if you fancy the military look – Hussar jackets are incredibly popular at steampunk events, among both men and women. Once you get to your first major steampunk festival, you can take your time and peruse the many steampunk trader stalls, but in my experience, a good, reasonably-priced Vintage shop is an excellent place to start looking for a suitable formal jacket.

For the ladies, have a good look through your existing wardrobe collection as you might be surprised at how 'Victorian' some contemporary jackets can look when worn with the right dress and hat. For example, the photo here, taken by Colin Marris, shows a velvet jacket that had been hanging in the wearer's wardrobe for years, and which turned out to be perfect as part of this particular steampunk outfit. Most clothes in wardrobes attract moths, but this jacket seems to have attracted a small blue dragon ...how bizarre; how very steampunk!

The Hat

Hats are not obligatory at steampunk events, but nearly everyone wears some form of headgear to help enhance their creative self-expression. Top hats are by far the most popular choice (for both men and women) and have consequently become iconic in their association with the steampunk scene. Bowler hats are also very 'Victorian', as are boaters, gamblers and ivy caps for the men. Bonnets, caps and fascinators can often be found on the heads of ladies at steampunk festivals, and if you have a redundant wedding hat gathering dust in your wardrobe, why not tie some netting or veiling around it and go all-out for that marvellously opulent Chitty Chitty Bang Bang look!

If you decide to buy a top hat from a Chinese online supplier such as AliExpress, unless you make doubly-sure that it will be dispatched in a sturdy box with additional balloon-type padding, it will almost certainly arrive with dents and creases following its epic, round-the-world shipping journey. If the hat is 100% felt/wool, creases can usually be 'steamed-out' with an upholstery steamer or kettle and some patience, but it's far easier to pay a few more pounds and order from an AliExpress supplier who ships their goods properly packaged.

Buying a top hat or bowler from Amazon is not quite so risky as it has far less distance to travel, so it should arrive in an undamaged box. But you still need to try it on and if you have never owned a 'proper' hat before, it might need to be swapped for a different size.

By far the safest bet for buying a top hat is going to be a trader's shop or event stand, where you can try on different sizes from what is normally a good selection of plain or decorated hats of various colours. Prices vary, of course, along with the level of decoration, but you should be able to pick up a proper wool top hat for around £40 upwards.

If funds are tight, or if you simply don't want to financially over-commit yourself, Amazon is your friend. Amazon sells a wide range of fancy-dress top hats (and other styles) complete with goggles, cogs and badges for as low as £12, albeit that these will be made from moulded polyester or suchlike, and often only come in one size with an elasticated headband inside the brim. Given that these types of hat come ready-decorated with next-day delivery, and that polyester keeps its shape well, this is a particularly easy and cheap way to prepare for your first steampunk social event.

The Shoes or Boots

Boots are a popular part of modern steampunk culture - the higher, more decorative and outrageous the better. So if you already own any sort of footwear that looks even remotely victorian (for the ladies) or punk-rock or goth-like (for men or women) e.g. New Rock boots, there's your starting point for your entire outfit. Failing that, standard dress-shoes will be fine, just try to avoid wearing trainers or sandals for the same reason as avoiding blue jeans.

The Goggles

Early steampunks wanted to be able to differentiate themselves from Victorian reenactors and history buffs, because steampunk is about retrofuturism from Victorian roots, not historical accuracy per se. With steampunk's inherent emphasis on travel, adventure, invention and sci-fi, goggles became the perfect icon for the steampunk movement, even to the point where some steampunks wear rings featuring embossed goggle designs during day-to-day life as a way of subtly identifying each other as steampunks.

Most modern interpretations of steampunk goggles owe their design origins to the cinder glasses of the mid 1800s (shown above-right). Cinder glasses were first developed for steam train drivers and engineers, but were then mass produced for train passengers because most train cars were of an open design whereby sparks and hot cinders might be blown into passengers' eyes.

Anyway, enough of the history interlude; any sort of goggles will do for steampunk but the two most popular designs are either a modern version of the cinder glasses type (shown left), or the 'Biggles' type glasses worn by early pilots and motorcyclists. These can be found on AliExpress, Temu, eBay and Amazon for anything from £5 upwards, or in more intricate or robust designs on the stands of steampunk traders. For your first foray into steampunkery, cheap and simple goggles like those shown here will be absolutely fine. But don't worry if you have no goggles, because even though they are iconic to the subculture, and look perfect with a formal outfit, goggles, like every other popular steampunk accessory, are not mandatory in any way.

The Accessories

No self-respecting steampunk would be seen dead in another timeline without some degree of steampunk bling (accessories), even if just a single medal to use as the focal point for a fantastical, do-or-die, gripping story about how the medal was won. Accessories bring the whole ensemble together and most can be bought very cheaply, both online or from the stalls of steampunk traders.

Ornate battery-powered pocket watches like that shown below can be bought for just a few pounds, as can equally ornate brooches and pin-badges. Although cogs, wings, hot air balloons and octopuses (kraken) are often featured heavily in the design of such accessories, don't feel that you have to follow suit – try to be creatively unique in everything you wear, and that includes accessories for your first steampunk outfit.

It is worth mentioning that there are a great many highly skilled artisans that design and hand-craft wonderfully unique steampunk jewellery and leatherwork etc. for those who take pride in being as splendid as one can possibly be ('being splendid' is the customary aim of most UK steampunks). Buying such products may well be something you do once you fall down the rabbit hole of festival attendance and costume creation, but for now, it is worth reiterating that this article is aimed at the steampunk novice who might need some guidance as to where to start, without over-committing themselves in the first instance.

For whatever reason (probably because the wearing of medals was popular among Victorian veterans), medals have become another iconic aspect of steampunk bling, alongside top-hats and goggles. Genuine steampunk medals issued for some of the larger steampunk festivals – particularly events organised by the Ministry of Steampunk (MoS) – can be bought as a momento to show attendance at an Asylum event, for example, or they can be awarded by the MoS for services to the steampunk community e.g. for volunteering at events, or for making charitable donations.

You don't need to concern yourself with such established conventions for your first step into the world of steampunkery, but if you have a genuine medal that you were awarded (worn on the left breast), or a medal awarded to one of your parents or siblings (worn on the right breast), add it to your outfit and wear it with pride. Or if you simply want to accessorise your costume, again Amazon, Temu, eBay or AliExpress have dozens of different 'fancy dress' medals for sale at very low prices, available individually or in sets. Note that it is considered bad form in the UK to wear a genuine military medal that you are not entitled to wear.

Anything that might have been worn or carried in Victorian times (or described in Victorian sci-fi novels) is a valid steampunk accessory, including walking canes, brollies, satchels, binoculars, necklaces, handbags, shoulder bags, hip/holster bags, folding fans, military lanyards and epaulets. The more detailed and authentic to the steampunk aesthetic the better, but for your first visit to a steampunk event, don't get too hung-up over details, just do your best to add a little bling – even if it's just a badge or brooch.

Once you have got your new outfit together and you arrive at whatever event you are going to, don't lose sight of the fact that the steampunk social scene is all about fun and fellowship ...introduce yourself to people, tell them its your first event, make new friends and above all else, enjoy your first steps into the splendid world of steampunk.

– Roy Sinclair, September 2024