Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/07/22/intricate-steampunk-leathercra.html
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I just realized that what most steampunk cosplay accessories remind me of is Cargo Cult art made by interdimensional travellers who’ve briefly visited a steampunkish world or two, and saw all this vast, complicated gear-driven tech.
The visitors never quite understood the all-mechanical tech they encountered, so now they attempt to invoke it through acts of symbolic, imitative magic.
That’s why all the hot-glued gears do nothing. They’re magical symbolism, not functional tech. (-:
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“Pseudo-clockwork” would be a better description. For it to be Steampunk, it ought to have some sort of intended functionality. It doesn’t have to actually function, but it should appear to.
A bag with a bunch of gears puzzles me. What goal would those gears accomplish? Most of them are just stuck on there. They’re not geared to any of the other clockwork. Your cargo cult description is right on. They know of gears, but they don’t know gears.
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I went to the site and hit translate, which translated Korean to Korean.
It would probably be fascinating to pick at the physical laws(or try to concoct maximum-plausibility ones) for a world where ‘steampunkish’ actually worked well enough to be a viable tech level.
Yes, it’s pretty clearly the case that much ‘steampunk’ is what it is because it is produced by people with very limited mechanical engineering knowledge or access to machine tools; but there is also the difficulty of much of ‘steampunk’ simply not being a thing even the good Mr. Watt could coax physics into allowing.
Looks like excellent stitchwork and edge dressing.
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at the renfest nearest to me i saw a family in a mashup of fantasy and steampunk garb. the parents were king and queen with gear-shaped crowns with googles, meanwhile the younger child was dressed as a fairy with leather wings with brass studs, a magic gear wand and wearing a pair of glacier goggles. it was enjoyable.
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Excellent craftsmanship…but I’ve given up trying to out-ostentation the Kardashians.
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