Around the Aether

Around the Aether is the weekly revue of Steampunk stories and goings-on around the web, written by a rotating cavalcade of Doctor Fantastique’s Show of Wonders staffers.

Historical Accuracy in Steampunk: A Guide For Steaming Up Traditional Victorian Wear

February 6, 2012
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Historical Accuracy in Steampunk: A Guide For Steaming Up Traditional Victorian Wear

What makes historical clothing steampunk? As a clothing historian, my main focus is to help steampunk enthusiasts understand historical clothing so they can make their steampunk attire feel more authentic. Another aspect that should be considered is how to make historical clothing work in steampunk. There are many living history reenactors that have trouble adapting into the steampunk world. Just like with a newbie steampunk, these individuals often struggle with crossing the barrier between authentic clothing and steampunk clothing. The basic rule is that the more Victorian/historical you are, the better, but even I suffer from not making my...

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Bits and Bobs of Steampunk

January 18, 2012
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Bits and Bobs of Steampunk

People love the look of Steampunk.  The styles, aesthetics and certain looks that turn what could be an ordinary outfit, or a Victorian recreationalist outfit, into something slightly off the beaten path and into the realm of Steam.  One of the biggest fears I hear from a lot of people just starting out isn’t that they don’t have an outfit so much as they don’t feel it’s Steampunk enough.  This, of course, raises the question…what does it take to make an outfit Steampunk? It’s something I’ve debated with my wife on multiple occasions about how many added bits do...

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Interview with Steampunk Italia

January 17, 2012
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Interview with Steampunk Italia

Steampunk is a global phenomenon.  The attention usually goes to the UK when it comes to European Steampunk, but sometimes it’s forgotten that there’s an entire continent involved as well.  There are several hot spots for the movement in Europe, and the fashionable and creative Italians are a wonderful example of what can be done  when you mix Steampunk standards with homegrown ideas.  I reached out to Steampunk Italia and asked them to answer a few questions, which they graciously offered to do.  Here’s what they had to say. Tell us about your Steampunk group: Steampunk Italia is officially born on the 2nd of...

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Around the Aether: Boneshaker on the big screen, The Anachronism’s one-year, and weekend goings-on

December 2, 2011
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Around the Aether: Boneshaker on the big screen, The Anachronism’s one-year, and weekend goings-on

The biggest news in Steampunk this week is the announcement on Wednesday that Cherie Priest’s “Boneshaker” will be made into a feature film. Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media Group, and Hammer Films are going to team-up on the production, and we’re interested to see how it plays out. For my money, I’ll definitely be interested in who they cast to play the major characters; I’ve always pictured Michael Clarke Duncan as Captain Cly, for example. Let us know in the comments who you’d want to see cast in the movie. Sunday, December 4th is the one-year anniversary of The Anachronism....

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Around the Aether: A Steampunk Motorcycle, Steampunk Animals, a Victorian EV, and weekend goings-on

November 18, 2011
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Around the Aether: A Steampunk Motorcycle, Steampunk Animals, a Victorian EV, and weekend goings-on

Being a techie like I am, one of my favorite parts of Steampunk has always been the mechanical wonders people like Jake von Slatt, Bruce Rosenbaum, and Dr. Grymm create and showcase at the various conventions around the United States. You can imagine then my joy at finding pictures of a Steampunk motorcycle over at Walyou this week. Designed by Mikhail Smolyanov of Solifague Design, the bike also takes inspiration from the racing cars of the 1920s. The ARX-4, as Smolyanov dubbed it, has a V8 engine and is powered by a direct drive shaft. The Walyou writer declares...

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Around the Aether: The Bieber “kills” Steampunk, Gibson loves Bleak House, and weekend goings-on

November 11, 2011
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People have been calling the death knell for Steampunk pretty much ever since it exploded around 2002 (yes, I’m well aware it’s been around since 1987, but bear with us). The latest reason for the “death of Steampunk” is apparently the fact that teen pop singer Justin Bieber has decided to use a Steampunk outfit for the music video he’s doing to cover “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” MotherBoard‘s albinobison has the rather amusing statement that “What steampunk has to do with Santa Claus is unknown at this juncture but what is known is that the teenage girls’...

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Steampunk Projects on Kickstarter

July 25, 2011
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This originally appeared at STEAMED! Got swag?  I’m running a contest over at my other blog. Now, back to today’s post. Kickstarter. All the cool kids seem to be doing it.  It’s a grass-roots project incubator allowing the average person to seek investors for projects.  Investors usually get some sort of limited edition goodies for contributing towards the project’s goal. There’s some neat steampunk projects going on right now. This is just a sampling… Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination is a museum exhibit slated to open in October at Muzeo in Anaheim, CA. The exhibit will introduce visitors to an...

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The Fashion Side of Steampunk

April 26, 2011
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The Fashion Side of Steampunk

When stepping into the world of Steampunk many people often wonder what they should wear and what genre to use.  Is Steampunk Edwardian, Victorian or even WWI era? Is it gears, goggles, or top hats? Can girls wear pants and short skirts? Can I be a pilot, pirate, or cowboy? The answer to ever question above is yes. Fashion of the Steampunk world is supremely diverse. It encompasses several eras and can be reworked into your own unique style. Unfortunately this can make deciding what to wear very difficult. My first suggestion is decide your persona. Do you want...

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