Steampunk Parade: Final Act

Final costume in the steampunk parade! The last thing I will work on in my many steampunk costumes is the Adventurer. Everyone needs to have at least one costume true to the innovative explorer motif that runs through most steampunk novels. She needs to be spunky, assertive, and completely sure of herself, even in uncertain circumstances ... especially in uncertain circumstances.

So I'm going to do my final costume as an adventurer. I'm planning to use another Simplicty pattern as seen to the right. I'm probably going with the cropped saloon girl one, but not in those colors. What adventurer would be caught dead in teal and black? Likely, I'll go with a more rustic/lived in color. Again, here the fabric will depend on what I can get a good deal on, what fits the time period, and what fits within the character. In brief ... I'll let the character decide what fabrics to use for her outfit.

I plan to make an undercorset to go over the dress that fits with the costume's color palette, but it may be expendable. Corsets take more time to make, so I may skip this. In that case, I will most likely make a harness like the one below.

I like that it fits around above her waist and serves almost as an undercorset, and then fastens again above her breasts up to her neck. It has an industrial feel and will allow for the attachments an adventurer will need: lantern, watches, compass, canteen, flask, etc.

I will add either high boots or leg bands, so I can cover some of the significant skin left by the short skirt of the saloon girl dress pattern.

But the last part is my favorite, and probably the hardest to make and/pr procure. I really want an aviator cap with goggles. If my adventurer wants to accomplish anything, she'll need goggles for her constant travelling in airships. I'm most inspired by the image below.

This is my least developed character and the one I'm least excited about. However, she could be the most fun to play, so cosplay as her and writing her short story might be the most enjoyable. We'll see. What do you think?

Picture copyrights/web locations:

*Simplicity 2851

*Dr Gearhead

*I cannot find this one again, but if anyone knows where it comes from, I'll gladly give credit!