I love SteamPunk! I think it has an incredibly equalizing property that most cosplay doesn’t have. What I mean is that when I dress up as Batgirl, no matter how much I love Barbra Gordon and how much I know about her, it never feels like it’s enough when I go to shows. Someone will inevitably start talking to me about her and there will come a time in the conversation where I start smiling and nodding. And I know a lot about her. It just never feels like enough. When I wear my Dalek dress, I will run into another Whovian who will put my knowledge to shame. It’s not that I’m not obsessive. Ask my friends, I am a constant fountain of weird nerdy babble, I make nerdy clothes that I can wear to the office, but I’m obsessive all over the place.
This is where SteamPunk is wonderful. SteamPunk looks cool and it doesn’t have a huge backstory I need to know to wear the clothes. I understand the concept, steam powered engines, we never split the atom, futuristic Victorian style. All of these things are awesome. Also, I have yet to mean a NerdGirl who doesn’t like any excuse to wear a corset.