“It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony with its environment is a perfect mechanism. Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change. Only those animals partake of intelligence that have a huge variety of needs and dangers.”
[H.G. Wells, The Time Machine]
Steampunk always had something that pulled me closer… I do not know what exactly it is, but maybe it has to do with today’s title. It always had something active to me… something that develops forward never staying still somehow. Maybe that is part of the attraction it has to me 🙂 The Victorian epoch, was a time of inventions, so no wonder that the steampunk era was put into that time frame somehow. But what exactly is steampunk? Lets see what Wikipedia has to say 😉
“Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Although its literary origins are sometimes associated with the cyberpunk genre, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century British Victorian era or the American “Wild West”, in a future during which steam power has maintained mainstream usage, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. However, steampunk and neo-Victorian are different in that the neo-Victorian movement does not extrapolate on technology while technology is a key aspect of steampunk.
Steampunk most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technologies may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or of the modern authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld, Stephen Hunt, and China Miéville. Other examples of steampunk contain alternative-history-style presentations of such technology as steam cannons, lighter-than-air airships, analogue computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine.
Steampunk may also incorporate additional elements from the genres of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, alternate history, or other branches of speculative fiction, making it often a hybrid genre. The first known appearance of the term steampunk was in 1987, though it now retroactively refers to many works of fiction created as far back as the 1950s or 1960s.
Steampunk also refers to any of the artistic styles, clothing fashions, or subcultures that have developed from the aesthetics of steampunk fiction, Victorian-era fiction, art nouveau design, and films from the mid-20th century. Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical “steampunk” style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.” [Wikipedia]
So steampunk is nothing that really existed back then, but was invented by the desire of the thoughts what time back then could have been with its future thoughts… yeah sounds crazy, but it does make sense if you get deeper into it 😉
Maybe it is as well the colors that are assigned to that kind of styles. I love the combination of muted, dark colors and the gold and copper metals. It just falls together so well most of the time and you always get a lightly elegant touch even if you do not wear a long gown :p Maybe it is the feeling of strength, that all the gear and leather gives most of the outfits and the huge buildings, vehicles and structures you can find if you look up steampunk in SL or google about steampunk in RL.
Whatever it is, steampunk does have a huge fascination for me and I do enjoy those styles and looks a lot, so that won’t be the last time I am styling up like a Victorian steampunk or a dieselpunk ‘Conqueror’ to discover new and unexplored space and maybe get more information about the mystery of the time machines 😉
Clothing
Dress: Wicca’s Originals – “Cecilia”
Sleeves: Wicca’s Originals – “Amity Arms” (Maitreya, Gacha, Rare)
Shoes & Socks: Eudora3D – “Yana Boots” (Maitreya)
Accessories
Mask: [ContraptioN] – “Maskineri II Eye *???*”
Necklace: Codex – “Vintage Time”
Rings: Meva – “Victorian Bento Rings” (Maitreya, Bento)
Nails: Formanails – “Cris Claws” (Maitreya, Bento)
Wings: Luas – “Steam Commander Bento Wings Beige” (Maitreya, Bento, Gacha, Common)
Hair & Makeup
Makeup: alaskametro<3 – “Molten Eyeshadow” (LeLutka Applier)
Lipstick: alaskametro<3 – “London” (LeLutka Applier)
Hair: no.match – “No.Ring” NEW @ Salon 52
Body & Tattoo
Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”
Head: LeLutka – “Piper 3.3”
Skin: *YS&YS* – “Petal Tone 02 Skin Applier” (LeLutka/Maitreya Applier)
Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Nepthune”
Shape: .{ wren’s nest } – “Piper Shape for LeLutka Piper Bento Head”
Poses & Props
Poses: Foxcity
Set:
DRD – “Steampunk Airship – Ground”
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Antique Gramophone” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Drum Table” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Pipes Lamp” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Armchair” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Bike Figurine” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Cart Table” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Glass Of Red Wine” (Gacha, Common)
22769 – “Steampunk Salon – Wine Bottle” (Gacha, Common)
::Static:: – “Vintage Lighting – 15 Bulb Lamp” (Gacha, Common)
::Static:: – “Vintage Lighting – 11 Desk Light” (Gacha, Common)
The awesome dress comes from Salt & Pepper. Usually I am not a huge fan of knitted dresses, but the “Alexa” dress is a cool combination of a knitted dress with leather seams and those cute leather sleeves that come out underneath the knitted ones and reach down over the wrists. The dress certainly again has a HUD and you can mix and match the colors of the knitted part and the leather parts. The high turtle neck as well looks like a leather fabric and changes the color together with the sleeves and the leather. The leggings are – believe it or not – an applier! I do have 2 different leggings from lassitude & ennui and both of them look so realistic that I could not believe on the first view that they were just appliers. The folds and wrinkles look so much more than just like a texture… simply awesome. I was at their main store a while ago but sadly I only could find those 2 leggings. If they would have had more I guess I would have bought them all 😉
