A Confession...

Wearing alternative fashion is scary.

The Goths, Steampunkers, and Lolitas, who go out dressed to the nines in their chosen aesthetic, are incredibly courageous. I've always acknowledged this case, but it never really struck me how brave these people are until last Thursday.

Last Thursday, I finished my Victorian Walking Skirt. Despite the small details to adjust, I was excited to go out for a long promenade  After all, what use is having a walking skirt if you do not go for walks? I would take my newly acquired parasol, a pair of gloves, and Ivan Turgenev's "On the Eve" on a quest to find a quiet place by the river to read. Then, afterwards, I would head off to the mall to search for a new phone chord as mine had broke.  Idyllic, no?

However, I couldn't do it.

My normal outfits are hardly typical, yet never exceed the bounds of eccentricy. My parasol, my gloves, a frilly lolita blouse, gothic lace up boots- yes, each of these had been featured in a daily outfit on their own. But to wear them together and take that step into the truly daring- with a floor length skirt no less? No. I couldn't bring myself to step outside my room.

Instead, my head was filled with images of the amused, contemptuous expressions everyone would have as they saw me striding down the street. Or worse, pretending to walk by having seen nothing at all.  I've read the blog posts of suggestions for dealing with unwanted attention or comments. I know that the best way is to keep your head high, remain polite and courteous and ignore them in turn.

And yet, I couldn't do it.

It is strange running into one of your limitations headfirst. It's taken me nearly a week to fully realize the fear. I want to say now to everyone who dresses up in fanciful clothing with elaborate makeup and extraordinary accessories:

You are brave. Braver than you realize. Take pride in your courage.

When Steampunk is too Fantastical...

Unlike my long but mild interest in Goth or my recent but great fascination with Lolita, Steampunk captured my fancy the Autumn of 2006 when I first picked up Neil Stephenson's The Diamond Age and became entranced with the Neo-Victorians. Read this book even if Steampunk is not your aesthetic for the superbly visioned future, nanotech wizardry and brilliant characters.

The Neo-Victorians were a phyle of individuals who had recreated the ethics and aesthetics of the Victorian Era in an age of Nanotech. Where the lower classes had The Feed create food, clothing, and shelter on the atomic level, the Neo-Victorians had their necessities handmade. Where the other Phyles spent a good deal of their time tapped into immersion video games or gang warfare, the Neo-Victorians embraced the disciplined, intellectual rigor of  the bygone era. They had the exquisite clothing, the perfect manners, the strong moral system and my complete admiration.

Subsequent searches for 'Neo-Victorian' necessarily led to the subculture of Steampunk, the wonderful Steampunk Magazine, various steampunk messageboards, forums, fashion sites, and more. My writing soon abounded with fantastical tales of airship captains, living automatons, brass goggles and dashing pirates. The margins of my school pages were rarely without some design of crudely drawn gears or poor sketches of my airship 'The Element.' (Long story for why such a brilliant ship has such a poor name.)

I still love Steampunk today. I'll happily devour the plethora of contemporary steampunk literature. My highschool friends still call each other by the titles and characters spewed out by the Steampunk Name Generator. I still sigh over the beautiful corsets, accessories, and dresses from online stories and steampunk meetings. Many of my day dreams include standing at the prow of my ship and feeling the wind whistle through my hair and nip at my nose. I love Steampunk.

But Steampunk isn't real. Thus my love will never move beyond a distant fascination. How can I love something that takes no part in this real world? One of the catch phrases for steampunk is 'a history that never was.' This image contains the core of the problem: Steampunk is a 'history that never was' not a 'future that might be.' We have moved past the age of steam two hundred years ago and won't go back unless an Apocalypse occurs. If such a calamity does come to pass, we won't invent air ships or automatons, because the struggle for life will be too great.

Steampunk is not life-applicable. Yes, it is possible to decorate one's home to look more industrial or Neo-Victorian or like the inside of an Airship. Yes, it is possible to dress as you think your character in a Steampunk world would dress. Yes, it is possible to modify your every modern device into an antique equivalent, but these are real.

The competnacy and capability that I admire so much in Steampunk are for items or situations which do not exist in this world. The adventures I read about or problems I see characters overcome are not adventures or problems I will face. Yes, Steampunk still glorifies the spectacular, the great, the wonderful and capable, but it offers me no insight into how I imbue the ordinary, non airship worthy aspects of my life with the same spirit.

One of the appeals of Steampunk is the ability to fix the machines with which we live. It seems everyone can throw open the back of their personal automaton, reveal the whirring, clicking gears and springs, bang a few with a wrench and fix the problem. That technique is impossible with today's technology. Open up the back of a computer or a phone and, unless you have a very specialized skill set, it is impossible to physically fix the problem. We can barely fix our cars any more with all the advanced technology.

I am not anti-technology. But Steampunk hearkens back to a simpler, more comprehensible world where the average man or woman could become a hero or create a marvelous new invention. This is no longer possible today but Steampunk does not encourage or embrace the aesthetic that would make us so capable in this world. It looks towards past accomplishments rather than future our of an understandable anxiety and confusion about the complexities we face today. But looking back to a history that never was will not help us succeed or overcome the present that is today.

This is why Steampunk will always be more costume than culture and why I call myself a Neo-Aristocrat rather than a Neo-Victorian.


(As always, I welcome questions, comments, or outright disagreement over the ideas presented. This post represents a slight break from the more rigorous, structural critiques of Goth or Lolita. Does it work? Do the Ideas make sense? Happy Solstice!)

Roots and Inspiration

Alternative aesthetics have appealed to me since the early days of high school. I would pour over the descriptions of Neo-Victorianism in Neil Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" and stare at the gothic outfits and languor in television shows, dreaming of waking up one morning to either be in a nanotech finishing school or with a wardrobe of black and wonder. However, my life was creative enough, my parents were reasonable enough and my dislike of makeup irrational enough that I never crossed the bounds from loving to living the lifestyle.

Over the years, four main subgroup have constantly been able to reach out and to tug on my aesthetic heart strings, but leave me wanting something more: Aristocratic or Romantic Goths, Lolita, Steampunk and Ayn Rand's philosophy Objectivism.


In the next four days, I will try to explain what in each of these aesthetics appeal and where they fall short of inspiring me completely.  Also, I shall explain why I believe that Objectivism or a devout belief in any philosophical system should be considered and alternative lifestyle on the same level of Goths, Lolita and Steampunk.

Naturally, all thoughts in this blog are opinions only, not fact. Naturally, your opinions may differ wildly from mine in the nature of each of these categories. That's fine. I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge of the these subgroups, excepting Objectivism, is from an outside viewer only. I have never dressed like a lolita, gone to a steampunk convention, or a Goth club. My knowledge is limited which is why I am not passing judgment on the groups as a whole, just why they don't work for me. 


However, I will be happy to discuss any of my thoughts with you and read any article or blog you suggest.


~ Lynette



(Note: this is my first blogging challenge! Part of creating this blog is to teach myself to follow artificial deadlines. It is up to you, my dear readers, to critique me soundly if I don't keep on track. Also, what fashion or philosophical inspirations do you draw your own aesthetic from?)