Color in Steampunk
Ladies and gentlemen,
Recently I have noticed some people who have developed the mistaken impression that steampunk cannot have color (that it must be some kind of monochrome, like grayscale or brown), which has led to their second-guessing their wonderful, colorful, truly steampunk creations and outfits. I would like to take this moment to reassure everyone that this is not, in fact, the case. Steampunk is not brown, or black, or white, or gray, or any other single tone. It can sometimes be misleading given that most of the photographic and film references for the 19th and early 20th centuries are either in sepia tone or grayscale, but in fact the Victorians and Edwardians were color-loving people. Women's clothing especially was very colorful, and while men's clothing grew more somber as the decade progressed, they still found ways to keep things interesting. And of course, in a steampunk setting, access to more vibrant chemical dyes, machine-woven patterned fabric and international trade all make it possible (indeed, likely) for a "steampunk outfit" to be more colorful, more vibrant, more intricate or highly decorated than even a period Victorian outfit.
Because of the largely monochromatic status of photography during this age, paintings and colored drawings are generally the easiest way to get a feel for the color of clothing, and these make remarkable references.
Regards,
-G. D. Falksen
Recently I have noticed some people who have developed the mistaken impression that steampunk cannot have color (that it must be some kind of monochrome, like grayscale or brown), which has led to their second-guessing their wonderful, colorful, truly steampunk creations and outfits. I would like to take this moment to reassure everyone that this is not, in fact, the case. Steampunk is not brown, or black, or white, or gray, or any other single tone. It can sometimes be misleading given that most of the photographic and film references for the 19th and early 20th centuries are either in sepia tone or grayscale, but in fact the Victorians and Edwardians were color-loving people. Women's clothing especially was very colorful, and while men's clothing grew more somber as the decade progressed, they still found ways to keep things interesting. And of course, in a steampunk setting, access to more vibrant chemical dyes, machine-woven patterned fabric and international trade all make it possible (indeed, likely) for a "steampunk outfit" to be more colorful, more vibrant, more intricate or highly decorated than even a period Victorian outfit.
Because of the largely monochromatic status of photography during this age, paintings and colored drawings are generally the easiest way to get a feel for the color of clothing, and these make remarkable references.
Regards,
-G. D. Falksen