Steampunk fashion often borrows heavily from Victorian Goth. In Japan, Elegant Gothic Lolita is a niche of Lolita fashion that favors black and white clothing with intense details and accents. Much of this clothing style draws from the Edwardian, Victorian and Rococo periods. Girls typically dress heavy, wear dense makeup and carry accessories like parasols and handbags fitting for the style.

Gothic Steampunk Accessories

Accessories are a major feature that identifies steampunk Goth and Gothic Lolita fashion. Props like crosses, bats, coffins and skulls often decorate the wearer. Pocket watches, small books and teddy bears are also accessories that they may carry. For men, gadgets like timepieces and optical devices are commonly seen. Steampunk goggles are one of the most popular items of the genre, and are usually featured with large brass frames and a fitting leather harness.

Gothic and Steampunk Culture

Gothic Lolita culture is popular in various Japanese districts, such as Harajuku, but it remains largely unknown outside of the country. Steampunk fashion, however, is gaining popularity around the world, and because the two styles are based in the same time period, they frequently show many similarities. As cosplay, or the act of dressing up as anime characters, becomes a global phenomenon, it is likely that steampunk and gothic fashion will spread more readily.

More About Steampunk and Gothic Fashion

Gothic steampunk is set in the 19 th century, usually within the Victorian or Edwardian periods in England. The style borrows heavily from the overall Gothic movement, and blends fantasy elements from an alternative history where electricity and gas powered engines are absent. In this fictional universe, steam powered machines are at the height of technological progress, and many analog gadgets with key, cranks, gears and levers dominate the setting. Steampunk clothing can come as plain as the working class of the Rococo period, or as pompous and exuberant as the tastes and lifestyles of the aristocrats and royalty of that period.