Dear Queercogs:
The month of March is upon us, and the nearly 2 week South by Southwest (SWSW 2016) festival is around the corner. This includes live music and film marathons, with 1000s of participating bands from around the world, vendors, film professionals, computer industry folk, and various hotels around town filled with conventions. This year it will from around the 11th of the month to the 20th (add a couple of days prior and after that for "unofficial" events).
http://www.sxsw.com/Naturally I was thinking about selling my wares in person, walking the streets downtown and mingling with computer/gaming industry professionals as well as musical instrument makers. Taking the Victorian Boombox along is a major undertaking, due to its size and weight, but I know of no better way to pull people's eyes. Phone cases are too small to be seen by the public, so I haul the behemoth every year if I can.
http://j-wilhelm.deviantart.com/art/Victorian-Boombox-V1-5-281803687Another thought for consideration was the choice of wearing Steampunk attire or just "civilian" clothing as it were. Weather and the density of people in the street are major factors in that decision. Nearly an area of 10 city blocks around Downtown is closed to traffic for this event, and that means as an attendee you will be walking a long distance in an ocean of people, often in mild heat during the day, and cool weather as soon as the sun goes down.
Last year I could not go. I simply didn't have the money or time to go to SWSW, and unlike this year I had no wooden cases ready-made. But this year I can muster a few wood cases on my back. I'm debating about taking the Boombox.
Theoretically, if I spent some money right now, I could put together a spartan version of a Luftschiffengel getup. Mind you – I have no significant money to spare, so it's theoretical. But I might be able to do something if I can find super-inexpensive tops (at least my cases are made).
Basically I have 20 days to do something other than just making my cases,. Online, I have already found very cheap shorts, boots, and leggings (all discussed above), so I could just order. But I still need the define the top, corset and shirt/blouse/top. I think I have found some really inexpensive waist cinchers which could be Steampunked and more importantly could be incorporated into a harness / lederhosen brace setup. Provided I don't insist on an actual Steampunk (i.e. overpriced) corset, I may be able to afford the corset, so then the last item to find is the blouse, or shirt. However, shopping for it has proven to be difficult, in Chinese sites, due to size availability (I'm XL / size 14 in the US and XXL in China), and price in Western sites (XL Size 14) is usually prohibitive – even for the so-called “career shirts.”
In the meantime, this Winter, I've been buying some everyday wear – unrelated to Steampunk – simply because I need to replace old shirts I've worn out over the years. I have about 15 or so ribbed knit shirts which I love (better than cotton T-shirts), but they're at least 12 years old and some have seen better days. While perusing Forever 21 last month, I bought -on sale- a black ribbed polo shirt for $8 after discounts, and which is one of those “Gender Neutral” articles of clothing, which I 've talked about. This has allowed me to wear it at my job a couple of times – surprisingly garnishing a few compliments. Not bad.
http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?br=LOVE21&category=contemporary-main&productid=2000163411Then on the Chinese websites, while looking for corsets for the Lufschiffengel, I stumbled upon this year's new fad: sleeveless crop knit tops. The interwebs is full of cropped, knitted quasi-Halter loop or mocked neck tops. Since the Chinese factories manufacture for Western boutiques like Forever 21 and such, they definitely have their hand on the pulse of fashion (good or bad fashion that is). This time it's halter tops for sweaters, blouses, and bathing suit tops. “It's a 1990's retro thing” if you believe their claim (I remember the 90's quite clearly, so I must have missed that fad).
Nevertheless, I saw this red knit sleeveless top with turtleneck at Charlotte Russe, which I loved, so I just bought it for $7 after discounts (!) and I'm still waiting delivery of the red top. Should be ready later today.
http://www.charlotterusse.com/product/Sleeveless-Turtleneck-Top/307103.uts?colorCode=301962395_006That was easy enough! So it really is possible to buy clothes on very little money, but my problem is that mostly I'm improvising because I can only afford the items on sale. I depend on specials, discounts, and free-shipping whenever available. So what I buy is whatever I could “pounce” on, so to speak, and not necessarily what I wanted.
It seems to me that if I plan to buy something specific, it's almost invariable that the item will either be expensive, scarce, too small, or all of the above. if I try to plan the outfit in advance, I simply can't afford it, or its not available. If I manage to put together a Luftschiffengel outfit this year, it will not look how I planned originally, and it will be assembled by way of serendipity... there goes colour coordination.
I have to change my strategy and be more flexible in my thinking (is this how women buy clothes? It's so schizophrenic! I'm learning so much from this experience).
I'll tell you one thing, though: the quality of women's clothing is generally higher, and in some cases much higher than the equivalent article for men. While women's clothing tends to be more expensive in general than men's, it is possible to find sales and discounts, which event-wise, reverse that trend.
Picking “masculine” women's clothing such as the polo shirt above, usually means that I just bought a very high quality item. A thick knitted deep-coloured polo, in synthetic knit very similar to a silk knit, that in the men's department simply doesn't exist. And if it does, then it's worth much much more than I can afford (have you seen the prices of men's silk polo shirts lately? It's stoopid!).
The strategy of buying cross gender clothing has paid off nicely, actually. This cross-dressing business has me looking at many more options and fabrics than I would ever find in the men's aisles.
And It sounds crazy, but I can dial the level of masculinity and femininity quite easily. For work, I can dress like a guy while wearing all women's clothes! It's crazy! The result is a subtle androgyny that looks good and keeps turning heads and sometimes garnishes me accolades. Don't get me wrong – it's not all easy going. It's a mixed bag. Some people just plain don't like it, and react by being uncomfortable or turning their eyes away (no insults so far).
I'm starting to feel a bit like David Bowie! He was on to something here! By jobe! I think I've got it! And if you keep reading, it must be some sort of subconscious phenomenon that goes back a couple of years in this thread. The Androgyne Zeitgeist I was hinting at before is much much closer at hand than I thought (Well, Ziggy did come from Mars, yes? And how do we know there wasn't an alternative-history Ziggy who came back to earth in one of those tripod things?)
Anyhow, after staring at those sleeveless/halter tops online for a few weeks, it dawned on me that I had seen that type of halter top before. Do you remember this character?
Well you should
I've ranted about this dude for a very long time in this thread. This is Dio Eraclea as visualised by his creator, illustrator Reji “Range” Murata, for the anime Last Exile.
The outfit you see was used in a scene where Dio is abducted and taken back into the mothership by his older sister, the evil Queen (Maestro) Delphine, so that he can participate in the Trial of Agoon, where he fights other noble teens to death, in order to gain access to the "Sword of the Covenant," an Excalibur-like sword/scepter, and guarantee his right to inherit the throne of The Guild from his sister.
The design of the outfit is a very androgyne and Dieselpunk take on 1920s “flapper” women's style. Bobbed hair, Halter top, corset and Gaucho pants.
So I have come around full-circle. Wearing a shingle bob inspired by the same character, I realise that I have taken Dio as a type of “mascot” or perhaps my alter-ego, as I came to appreciate his perfect androgyny, as the model for what I was trying to achieve. And also because I can relate to the character's origins and fit with my aspirations in aeronatical science. To put it simply Dio has become my avatar.
So do you see the corset? And do you see the halter top?
What do you say I try to recreate that? From Diesel to Steampunk? Perhaps a variation on that? This Luftschiffengel I know is not going to be the way I originally envisioned. Perhaps just go with the flow? Any thoughts?
Through the magic of photoshop...
