COSTUME-CON & BALTICON
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
May 2009
Masquerade Photos from Both Events
Steampunk Costume-Con 1889 (entire page)
INDEX PAGE 2 of 3 (of Balticon)
Balticon and Costume-Con are annual conventions for all genres of costumes.
The following presentation of Steampunk Costume-Con 1889 was presented at Costume-Con and Balticon 2009. The troupe performed a series of loosley related skits woven together to create an imagined masquerade from 1889 that mocks the stereotypes of the modern day masquerades.
What is a steampunk costume?
Steampunk is a costuming/cosplay term, that begins with a premise
involving the Victorian concept of the future: imagining an alternate
future that substitutes Victorian steam-powered gizmos for modern devices.
Generally the costuming has a late Victorian style to it, but with
unusual futuristic gizmos or tweaks to it. One may steampunk an item--like a laptop computer, or a robot, or a refrigerator--or one
may steampunk a costume/clothing style. Commonly found elements are
goggles, gears, copper or brass, clockwork bits, dials, assorted old-fashioned technology, hoses (well, if it's steam powered), buckles
and straps, even a shortening of the hemline points toward a Lolita
aspect. If you think Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, or even the old
Wild Wild West TV show, you get the idea.
Steampunk Costume-Con 1889 won three awards:
Click on the small images below to view the enlargements. Some costumes may have multiple views, front, back, side, fabric, and detailed close-ups. If there are more views of a costume, thumbnails will be beneath the photo enlargement. Just click on the thumbnail on to see that peculiar view. The costume photographs are presented in Zoomify software. If you need help with the software, click on the "Zoomify Directions" link under each photo enlargement.
