So, last week I wrote about the shopping excursion my girlfriend and I took to a retail area that
should have had an excellent selection of clothing, and
surely one or two steampunky items. I anticipated the event for weeks--having had some neo-Victorian success on the same trip one year prior, and really wanting to find just one or two more items that I really liked. I don't mind building my Real World Steampunk Wardrobe slowly--much better to weigh each purchase carefully and end up with a small, tightly-cohesive, really "me" wardrobe than buy too many things hastily and and up with a jumble that I don't know what to do with. And I am determined to make every piece I acquire have use in more than just one outfit, to make it worth the closet space. So I have made a personal vow that much as I am impatient to have my RWSW
now, I am going to rein my creative wardrobing aspirations in a bit, and will fully complete one outfit before I add more pieces to the wardrobe. Reasonable, and so much more fun in the long run, because I will get to wear completed looks sooner.
The caveat being that if I see something fantastic for sale, at a great price, I can get it, wardrobe rationing aside.
Like this jacket, which I just won on eBay for the ridiculous price of $8:
The back:
And I can see in my mind's eye exactly what I would put with this jacket, so I am very excited to receive it. All the way from Buckinghamshire, UK. For
still cheaper than I would find it in a mall in America, even if I
could find something this steam-alicious this season.
Yes, eBay will continue to be my favorite place for Real World Steampunk treasure hunting.
Here are more lovely neo-Victorian/Steampunk jackets available right now on eBay:
Very similar to the one I won, just longer bodied and with a lot more buttons. Wearing this many buttons can be dangerous--ventures into "trying ridiculously hard" territory. But the shape and tones of the buttons themselves look nice with that much repetition, so I think this is still cute and definite Steampunk fodder. But I would wear this with fairly simple and neutral clothes--textured, but not patterned.
By Ann Taylor LOFT. Found here.
Once again, Ann Taylor LOFT of years past is a great place to start looking for steampunk-compatible jackets on eBay. This camel color and the coppery-toned buttons are lovely, and the semi-fitted shape is also very good for Steampunk.
By White House Black Market. Found here.
I absolutely adore this jacket. If this were at all a color I could wear well, I would be sooooo tempted to add it to my wardrobe. I love the shape, the rich texture, the detail, the darting, the collar, the three wee buttons--this is a piece that is well-designed and while the color is not at ALL one would think of for Steampunk, it would be so beautiful with black and grey, very elegant, very fresh. No one wants to wear those traditionally steamy but overall a little dull colors everyday.
Basic black velvet with nice shape.
This little jacket is just lovely, and would really work with a Western-themed Steampunk look. Think big bustle-y black skirt hitched up with lacy black stockings and sassy little Western riding/granny boots. Adorable!
Another attractive jacket with a shapely silhouette.
Very cute--really like the distressed ruffles and 3/4 sleeve length.
By Ann Taylor LOFT. Found here.
This is the jacket I bought for myself this year in dark brown--so now it seems it can be found in green as well as in burgundy and aubergine. If you like this jacket, and are a size 6, check out the link ASAP--at $6.00 the price is
right.
By Ann Taylor LOFT. Found here.
Lovely shape, lovely color, lovely texture.
By Internacionale. Found here
Another icy sea foam blue. This one is not quite as cute as the first I linked above, mainly because of the slightly oversized buttons--less would have been more in this case--but it looks like a jacket one could layer with, so well worth consideration.
By Sitwell/Anthropologie. Found here.
Basic jacket, excellent shape and color and buttons for Steampunk--and the jacket's texture and color really work well to give that earthy, mossy feel.
By Tulle/Anthropologie. Found here.
This jacket has a very nice subtle texture I really like, and it would be a very practical, versatile piece--could be worn as jacket or top, and would go with all blacks, browns, greys.
This jacket has interesting Steampunk potential--if you want to see more, follow the link to see more photos, which show the detail better. The detail on the front is clear plastic sequins--ew. But yet, I really kinda liked how distopian they felt in that placement on that jacket--turned a little girlie touch into something more cynical. But why on earth the seller decided the neck piece was a good accessory with this jacked I don't know.
(Shudder.)
By Marc Jacobs. Found here.
A creative re-invention of the denim jacket.
This one is so similar to the little girl denim jackets I blogged about
here--and I almost think I like this look better on kids than grown women.
This jacket looks like cheap Chinese sweat-shop. But I included it because I like the pewter buttons against the olive green.
By Atmosphere. Found here.
This one is also a very cheap looking jacket. It reminds me of a similar jacket sold by Free People last year, which you can often find on eBay. But this jacket also comes in black, green and red, so could be worth considering if you needed one of these harder-to-find colors in a military-feel jacket.
Can't tell the quality of this jacket, but I really like the subtle but intricate black-on-black trim down the front there, as well as the slightly off-set row of antiqued silver buttons.
Another cute military style jacket. So Steampunk.
By River Island. Found here
This one also strays into the "way too many buttons" territory; less circus and more clown. And yet, I still like it. But I think whoever wore this jacket would have to be very careful in putting clothes together with it, and keep the other elements dark, distressed, textured and simple. Absolutely no patterns!
By All Saints. Found here.
Props to this seller for the lovely background for the photo. This adorable jacket can be found on eBay in gray as well.
This jacket leans towards the pirate end of the Steampunk spectrum--but is just so lovely I had to include it.
By Free People. Found here.
Ditto on this jacket--these rich textures are just beautiful, and would allow the wearer to dress this up or down easily.
Another pirate-y option. And yet, this jacket/coat made my jaw drop when I saw it on eBay--can you believe such wonderful clothes exist and a regular person like me could buy them and work them into an alternative reality wardrobe? This fact alone makes me happy.
This is another jacket that it is hard to get a feel for from the photos--could be very cheap looking in person. But the design is fabulous! I esp. enjoy the buttons and the belt details.
The jacket I will leave you with. So, so pretty. What a lush and unusual shade of blue, so elegant and unusual design. Effortlessly Steampunk--the kind of thing I hope a closet full of someday. I don't mean just to have a closet full of clothes--but to have a closet that only contains things that are beautiful and make me smile inside.
So, there you have it. The world of retail does not have squat going on in the stores these days. Pity. But the online world of other peoples cast-offs is rich with potential Steampunk fodder.
