A Gentleman's Dilemma

[curgoth]

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

Comments

[accela]

ah, now here's a post i can comment on.

It's the same problem with women's anachronistic fashion, but women's clothing tends to be experimented with more, so we have a better selection.

it's the balance of modern cuts with old fashioned cuts that does it. by cut, i mean the shape of the clothing. what keeps this dress looking slightly more modern than the original is the lowered waist line, modern length collar line and sleeves, and the shortened skirt

[curgoth]

because you're asking, i'm assuming you've already thought about and are not interested in the "easy way out", which would be the gothic way of adding all sorts of goth/punk elements to an existing old fashioned style. but, in case you didn't think about it, there's also that. that's really the fastest easiest way to make something less formal/classy.

My concern there is that adding gothy elements to something that doesn't stand on its own will just serve to pull it further out of the right feel, and end up with something that reads as a modern post-punk butler instead. :)

My plan is to get something that works on its own first, then blend in goth/punk and gadgety elements to round it out.

[accela]

yeah, that's exactly what it does.

i would go with getting modern cut pants (with a little more of a casual look) and maybe one more "modern" element, then start adding on the gadgets. you can go for the cravat idea, but i think paired with a fancy steampunk looking brooch might sent it right back into the post punk butler look. i want to say that good pants will probably be your best bet. old fashioned pant legs tend to be wider at the top and thin towards the bottom (not too unlike our current male formal wear), so perhaps go for pants with a straighter cut at the hip and thighs, and wider at the bottom (think bellbottom flares, but not quite that prominent :D).

with more modern cut pants, it'll probably give you a lot more leniency with what fancy things you can wear up top. (sort of like the nice dissonance that you get when a guy wears jeans but a ridiculously fancy blazer - if he wore a jeans+tshirt outfit he'd be too casual, but a full fancy blazer+ matching pants getup would be too flashy, yet the combination is somehow

[gothwings]

Hmm, this is a tricky one

[glamwhorebunni]

Oh, definitely. I've got a army mess jacket and several vintage formal jackets, and all of them pull your body into a more upright posture. Which looks better, and makes you feel and act differently too.

[curgoth]

I do sew, just, really, really slowly - I'm new enough at it that most of my sewing time is me scowling at the pattern trying to figure out what they mean. It'll get better with practise, but I have to make do in the mean time. :)

[lordesschaos]

an odd thought, but have you tried suspenders instead of the vest? i've been having a similar issue trying to dress a guy friend of mine. he just looks so... clean cut...that the period clothing makes him look like he's just gotten married. throw suspenders on him instead of a vest, and he starts to look at bit less groom to be and a bit more... Jack Harknes.
i also tend to try for colors other than black. greys and browns feel more...rich to me than black for some reason.
Cant wait to see what you come up with.

[gothwings]

in addition to what I said, one thing to avoid if you don't want to run the risk of looking like an escaped butler/wedding attendee: black and white.

I've noticed most steampunk attire is based around a simple palette of blacks, greys, silvers and browns. As soon as you where black trousers, black jacket and a white shirt you risk becoming that which you fear most.

Consider patterned fabrics of brocade, pinstripe and paisley rather than more modern prints, this will help with the anachronistic image. Don't be afraid to replace modern buttons with older style ones, it's a simple thing but can make a huge difference to the overall look.

[lovecrafting]

I heartily second this advice. I was just flipping through one of my fashion books (Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey) last night and I was struck by how much plaid and checks the men wore. Big plaid vests with small checked trousers at the same time, even.

[glamwhorebunni]

I'd say high waisted trousers held up by suspenders are a must, paired with jackets that are either long (either tails or long all round) or short (only waist length, and a high waist at that). Normal length jackets are definitely wrong.
Avoiding bright colours and shiny material. Modern wedding stuff tends to feature colourful silks, for instance. Steer clear from that!
Greys are good. Ditto browns, possibly.

Dunno, this is just the direction I'm experimenting in.