Dieselpunk Inspiration

Dear Readers,

Despite having many events in the calendar before the Steampunk Weekend this August Bank Holiday I still find myself extremely excited for the weekend and dressing up for it. I seem to do that a lot and always look to what's on the horizon and want to be there rather than appreciating where I am at the moment. I do love the Steampunk Weekend though as it adds some good variety to the events calendar and I have attended it every since it began; albeit the first time was entirely by accident. We have been trying more to get into Dieselpunk for the occasion as it's already based on an aesthetic we love and we have a lot of outfits in our wardrobes that can easily be dressed up for the occasion.

Generally we have always just attended the Steampunk Weekend dressed in our 1940's outfits but recently I have been wanting to make more of a special effort and do something which feels more Dieselpunk. I think though what I really end up doing is more of a Captain America based cosplay since that seems to be a lot of my inspiration. Last year I wanted to be a bad-ass Agent of Hydra but really all I wore was a Collectif dress I already own and Indi made me a little Hydra logo lapel pin badge. But I felt bad-ass anyway so mission accomplished!

This year I started out with a very specific character of my own creation, The Aviatrix, and I have been using a lot of photographs from the women pioneers of aviation as inspiration. Ladies such as Ruth Eldar, Amelia Earhart, and the stunning Katharine Hepburn.

Image Source: http://coolchicksfromhistory.tumblr.com/post/5875393796/aviatrix-ruth-elder-1902-1977

Image Source: http://semioticapocalypse.tumblr.com/post/82028902804/amelia-earhart-before-the-first-flight-across-the

Image Source: http://wehadfacesthen.tumblr.com/image/44005139389

As always though I am drawn back around to Captain America and of course I want to be Agent Carter; she embodies everything I wish to be! She's a stunner and has fantastic dress sense (that hat!) but also she kicks ass. Peggy gets the job done even when everyone around her says she can't, and especially if people say she can't. She does everything the men do only in heels.

Image Source: http://faymcwrath.tumblr.com/post/115454060556/o

In my mind I want my outfit to be somewhere between my two inspirations. I'm not looking to make an exact replica of either Peggy Carter's outfits or the original Aviatrix Outfits from the 20s / 30s. I think that's what's nice though about the Steampunk and Dieselpunk aesthetics as there's a lot of imagination involved so you can mix it up a little bit if you wish.

These are the types of things I am going for to accomplish my Dieselpunk Aviatrix outfit. I haven't got all of the pieces together just yet but it's beginning to come together which I am very excited about. You will have to tune in to my blog after the Steampunk Weekend to see how my outfit looks once complete.

Are you coming to the Steampunk weekend this year? Will you be dressing up for the occasion? Let me know what you think to my outfit plans, I'd love to hear from you!

ttfn!

post script - special thanks to my friend James for technical support during the making of this blog post. You're a darling!