Costumes at Arisia 2010

Here are a few photos I took at Arisia, of people in costume. Arisia has a large and popular masquerade (part exhibition, part contest, often including choreographed routines or skits as part of the presentations). Dedicated costumers might have an entry in the masquerade in addition to hall costume or costumes which they wear throughout the convention.
The steampunk costume to the right featured a pair of mechanical stilts, which you can just see at the bottom of the photo.

I really loved this look on the left, which I'd classify as steampunk rather than historical. Their jaunty hats make the outfits, I feel. The curling ribbon! The red rose! The green in her hat that matches the green in her corset!

Note his coat seems to be pirate-inspired with the beautiful embroidered cuffs and lapels; also note the little round sunglasses he's wearing at his throat, and the detail around the neckline of her dress.

I chose this last photo to show that not all the costumes were steampunk! The Joker competed in the masquerade and, while merely walking around, did a great job of projecting an air of crazed menace with his accurate recreation of the character's walk from the movie.

The two of them were getting stopped for photos every few feet as they tried to cross the hotel's narrow lobby. At one point, I saw The Joker riding up in one of the glass elevators, together with a pitch-perfect Batman.

Steampunk Leather

Professor Maelstromme's Steam Laboratory and Brute Force Studios were at Arisia this year, and kindly allowed me to take a few photos for my blog. Here's the Good Professor's blog: "Incorporating mildly dangerous artifacts into compelling jewelry". I didn't get a chance to meet her in person.

Behold the steam-robot. This picture is my favorite because it looks like he's lecturing the little robot. In bonus sepia for bonus steampunk-aura!

You can see hints of some of the corsetry for sale in the background.

This costume is even more amazingly intricate in person than in a photo. Those patterns are actually cutouts, the gold leather cut away to show the red leather beneath.

I was very tempted by some leather chokers and especially by a forearm-guard/communications device that was decorated with vintage typewriter keys, but I restrained myself. (I did visit it twice, though!) You can have a look at it here.

Being a science fiction fan means never having to say, "Where would I wear that?"

Steampunk Bronze

I recently attended Arisia, a Boston-area science fiction/fantasy/a lof of other things conference. I got permission from Butch Honeck, one of my favorite sculptors in bronze, to post some photos from his dealer room at the convention.

Here's a steampunk-style pistol he built (bonus sepia for bonus steampunk-ness!). You can't tell from the photo, but it has moving parts - gears and a chain - that make warm whirring sounds. He let me play with it without making me buy it. He had several pistols with different features.

Here he is checking out one of his larger sculptures, also with moving parts. Note the magnifying lenses attached to his glasses. He sells those for steampunk afficionadoes, but apparently they're quite functional.

Pretty dragons. I've enjoyed looking at his work for years, and own three bronze turtles from his line of miniature animals as well as a pair of earrings.

A wider view of one of his display tables at Arisia. The woman in costume is examining pocket watches, some of them of the "real" hand-wound type.

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