Steampunk

Last weekend was my first "Steampunk" meet. We'll see if this is something I get into deeply since I don't tend to be fanatic about any of my hobbies. Good signs -

-Everyone was pleasantly kind about my sheer lack of clothing qualifications. While I might barely pass for acceptable in dress, the majority of the crew were quite well attired, and indeed I would note that a number were in outfits simply coruscating with brilliance. Fantastic outfits, splendid tailoring, excellent accessories and sheer pleasure in presentation.

- Everyone was also a sheer pleasure in terms of company. I had the honor of conversation with people who were intelligent, gregarious, and full of good humor, and that in itself is a great reason to appreciate this subculture. Members tend to be both creative and whimsical.

- I have not laughed that much in a long time. This subculture is also a very entertaining one for observation. Social norms include openness to new people, curiosity about craftsmanship and appreciation for skills and talents, and a tendency to easily express individualistic opinions.

Points of interesting cultural interchange:

1) People in shorts, tshirts and baseball hats staring at the people in corsets and skirts. Person in corset and skirt spots an older, overweight gentleman in a navy sweatshirt with a tai chi group, practicing rather limply and awkwardly with a tasseled sword. Person in corset being stared at dashes over to other girls to whisper "Did you SEE that GUY?" Yes, and he saw you too. ^_^

2) Extremely good cheer for silly things. Delight in taking photos of group running in "terror" from kraken (kite). It would have have been nice to get a shot of them all running after the ice cream van if the van hadn't gone past at high speed.

3) Appreciation of the skills of others highlighted by people who were very willing to share any information of how they accomplished their art or where they purchased their accoutrements.

4) Reaction of others - while the normal staring response of a person in common American culture to anything unusual was evident, it takes its own direction in Steampunk. Common American reaction to people in science fiction costumes that run along the lines of Star Trek, aliens, or similar items clearly discernible as part of that subculture is largely negative. In the case of the steampunk outfits, people were constantly coming up with interest in what the group was doing - we pointed one gentleman to the web sites he can search, and I got an email address from the clerk at the cupcake store to let him know of the next event. One young lady in an elegant off-the-shoulder blue dress was stopped in the street by a mother whose child wanted to be introduced to "Cinderella." General conclusion from this limited experiment: Apparently old-fashioned clothing and details appertaining to it is a delight to the average American, and a point of interest and inquiry, vs. futuristic or alien presentations which induce a mild phobic reaction.

5) I like any subculture which allows me to explore an entire range of the English language which has fallen into general disuse, much less make up more lovely twenty-syllable technical terminology both sonorous and somewhat delusional.