Royal Steamline The Blog | Inspiration for Brides & Grooms

I’m excited to share another local, vintage clothing Etsy shop that offers fun, gorgeous pieces from decades past. Fab Gabs Vintage offers a mix of casual and fancy dresses, suits and accessories. There’s even a special section for boudoir vintage lingerie! Whether you’re going for a Mad Men style, rockabilly or an “old Hollywood” wedding, there’s plenty of guys and dames fashions to be found here. The ’50s-era polka dot dress below would look amazing with one of these crinoline petticoats we featured last summer.

Wartime Bouquet

The Ultimate Lucy Dress

Paul Drake 1960s Sportcoat

… and there’s still a week left to enter Teh Fab Gabs Vintage Giveaway. Head over to the blog for details.

As an addendum to my recent post regarding Fullmetal Alchemist on Hulu, I’d like to point out that Firefly is also available. Now, Firefly has its rabid fans as well as its vocal detractors (just read the comments attached to any episode on Hulu to hear their beef). All things considered, the writing and subsequent character development was far above average. Also, it was an undeniably refreshing exploration of tech/era juxtaposition that was under appreciated in its time. For example, take the episode entitled “Shindig.”

If you’re a fan of creative anachronisms, just check out the ball in this episode. I really liked the crazy melange of fashions all couched within the structure of an 18- or 19th-century society event (I invite those more schooled in history to put a finer point on the date). My untrained eye spotted antebellum gowns and gentleman’s frocks coats, Elizabethan page-wear, and even 1930s Capone-style pinstripes.

Naturally, the shindig reminded me of a wedding reception, and made me wonder if anyone has ever attempted such a mix of fashions from the eras. Well, have you? How’d it go?

It seems that sometime in the recent past, that venerable bastion of Young and Hip, Urban Outfitters, decided that retro is what the Cool Kids need. And we’re not talking about the latest fashion trends. We’re talking about record players, cameras and even typewriters. Check it:

Crosley Archive Portable USB Turntable

Olivetti Manual Typewriter

SuperHeadz Blackbird Camera

Hell, they’re even hocking Scandiphones:

Scandiphone

So what does all this mean? Who knows, but we here at RS tip our caps to UO for recognizing how beautiful some the designs of yesteryear can be. Can you find these things (and other, even more authentic items) on places like eBay for much better prices? Sure. But eBay doesn’t influence the kids like retailers like UO, so here’s to hoping that new generations will begin to understand that cool technologies come in colors other than Apple white.

I know I’m late to the game, but, holy cats: Sillof. This guy’s an artist and an artisan; he produces (generally for fun, not profit, mind you) handcrafted action-figure versions of many familiar heroes and villains (Star Wars, Marvel, Dune, even Terry Gilliam characters). Not only is his aesthetic sense spot on, he even explains his design inspiration, choices, and production technique.

Indeed, many of his creations re-imagine famous characters transplanted to clockwork realms. He requests that blogs do not link to his images, so unfortunately we can’t show you photos of his steampunk Spider-Man or Lord Vader or “Man of Iron” with actual steam emerging from his engines.

Just go here to begin your journey.

… J

{Classic Lovecraft aesthetics}

OK. Bear with me on this one. Has anyone had (or even attended) a Lovecraft-inspired wedding?

While at first blush that might seem like a stretch, it actually gives those inclined to dark or antique-styled weddings a lot to work with. First off, most of HPL’s stories (well, those set on Earth anyway) take place in the teens and ’20s, and we all know the wealth of fashion inspiration that comes from that decade.

Using this era as a base, a Lovecraft-inspired affair could offer small touches of the fantastic (mystical cat motifs or silver keys as table decor) all the way to surreal horrors and tentacled gods. In fact, HPL’s rich legacy of fictitious tomes could add a whole other dimension to invitations and decorations.

While we’re aware of a totally bitchin group that holds HPL-themed live-action events (that feature a crazy level of delicious detail), has anybody witnessed a Lovecraftian wedding? Let us know (and post some photos — unless they be sanity-blasting).

And if anybody bought this handmade mask a few years ago on eBay, get in touch. We wanna see more photos!

… J

{Too much for a groomsman?}

"Machine Light" by Frank Buchwald

A little Steampunk, a little mad scientist, these industrial creations by German designer Frank Buchwald incorporate Edison bulbs in what is a radiant display of functional design. With its antique-style carbon filaments and warm glow, this historic bulb would make a nice alternative to candles. And while this lamp may be difficult to get your hands on, there are plenty of ways to incorporate the Edison bulb into your antique or steam-influenced wedding. String a few single bulbs from any regular light base or chandelier and voilà — très classique.

Find Edison reproduction light bulbs here: House of Antique Hardware.

Edison light bulb found at House of Antique Hardware

Edison Chandelier at Pottery Barn

Last weekend, I was laid up with a very flu-like flu. In a fever-induced stupor, I retreated deep into the glory of Netflix streaming movies for solace. Flipping through selections that wouldn’t tax my medicated mind, I was tickled to find Krull on the list of options. Naturally, I watched it immediately (or at least until I passed out from all the NyQuil…).

If you were lucky enough to enjoy Premium Cable in the ’80s (a very different kind of luxury at the time), you also might be familiar with this under-apprecaited fantasy gem. Cheesy? Sure. Heavy-handed? Oh yeah. But certainly exciting (thanks in part to James Horner’s fine score), beautiful (thanks in part to the breathtaking Spanish and Italian mountainscapes), and actually quite romantic (in a medieval kind of way).

You see, I’d forgotten how much of a “wedding movie” this was. Not to drown you in detail, but a princess is to marry a prince, only to be stolen by a menacing cosmic Beast to be his queen instead. The horror! The upshot of all this is that Princess Lyssa is forced to spend the whole movie in her wedding dress, a gorgeously gaudy ’80s take on a fantasy medieval gown.

What Beast could resist this?

Apparently, the dress was actually for sale at one point (or not — it’s unclear from the information provided here).  But it’s awesomeness is unquestionable.

Now that's a groom who's genuinely involved in his wedding.

So, when your wedding gets a little sticky, just remember that the chances are very slim that your ceremony will be interrupted by an intergalactic death squad on horseback with orders to kidnap you so that you can be forced to marry a shapeshifting demon king from space. Or who know? Maybe that’s a secret wish of yours…

… J

To boldly go where no polyester has gone before.

We’ve all seen images of Vader putting a ring on Slave Leia’s hand or a bespectacled Spock tying the knot with a Bajoran officer. But has any intrepid fan ever had a sci-fi wedding outside of the Star Wars and Star Trek universes?

You see, as any fan of Herbert, Sturgeon, Heinlein, Vonnegut or countless similar authors will tell you, science fiction had existed long before these two powerhouse franchises. Authors and filmmakers created rich worlds that captured imaginations long before (and after) Luke was doing handstands in the swamp.

So has anyone worked these themes into their wedding? Has anyone married in Known Space? Or had a reception at The Gentlemen Loser? Has any brave John Carter ever married A Princess of Mars? Let us know your story (and share some photos!)

Dune: The maids of honor prepare for the ceremony.

{Top: Finalists from the 2007 Hyper Space Couture Design Contest | Bottom: Collections of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Eri Matsui's Zero Gravity dress}

In 2006 there were rumblings about “the future” and weddings in space. We even caught a first glimpse of the Zero Gravity dress by Japanese designer Eri Matsui. Three years later, we’re still waiting. But for you suborbital-dreamers who don’t have an extra $2.2 million sitting around or the patience to wait for Rocketplane XP to finaly take flight, there’s still hope.

Space enthusiasts Erin and Noah have taken matters into their own hands. The couple plan to exchange their vows on the G-Force One, a modified Boeing 727 that takes its passengers to weightless heights. It’s not exactly space, but it does warrant the awesome Zero Gravity dress that Erin had made in Japan. You can follow their wedding planning journey here: zerogravitywedding.com

Even if you’re planning your wedding on Earth, there’s no reason your dress can’t be out of this world. Check out some of the recent designs from Space Couture 2009:

{Wood Robot Couple Wedding Cake Topper by Builder’s Studio}

This Etsy find is kinda cheating. I discovered Builder Studio on Etsy when J & I were planning our wedding last year. It was one of those weird moments where I knew it wasn’t a necessity for the reception (we were having cupcakes, after all), but I immediately fell in love. Don’t know if I mentioned this, but I kinda have a thing for space & robots. That mixed with the fact that we were loosely designing our wedding on steampunk aetshetics meant it was a must-have.

Builder’s Studio makes a myriad of wood sculptures, most of the steampunk and space variety. While spending over $100 for a wedding cake topper may seem a bit frivolous, this isn’t just another decoration. We set ours on display in the living room and it makes me smile every time I pass it.