A Gentleman's Dilemma
For those men who choose the "gentleman" angle in their steampunk fashion, there seems to be a fine line in selection of clothing. Ideally, we'd all have a staff of skilled artists on hand to come up with period cut clothes to use as a base to punk up. The reality, though, is that most people make do with carefully chosen modern clothing and a
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The best advice I can give is to make sure that what you wear is high waisted and emphasises your natural body shape. The main difference between old and new formal, at least from what I've experienced, is that new formal wear looks smart but is slouchy, whereas old formal wear changes the very posture.
A good example of this is the difference between two of my coats. I have a nice modern black velvet jacket that I can stand in however I please, I can slouch and move about and it's fine. I also have an older black wool morning coat which changes my posture and forces me to stand upright. The sleeves are tighter so I don't have as much mobility and, though it's only uncomfortable if I try to be very active, it looks so much better.
As a man, whatever you choose to wear, you must emphasise the figure appropriately. The chest should look broader than the waist, the hips should be visible but not too wide and the legs should look long. Your posture should be straight and proud, but not arrogant. Strangely, it's not always what you wear but how you stand that can make all the difference.
If you can, get to an antique or vintage clothing store and have a good rummage. Often old formal wear is dirt cheap because it's no longer fashionable.
Finally, never be afraid to learn how to sew! I took up sewing as a necessity since I don't seem to have a modern body shape, let alone modern dress sense but it's really very easy if you start simple and have a good basic sewing machine, just don't expect fantastic results on the first attempt, these things take time.
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