von Battenberg Trading Company

Steamcon!

Making costumes without a character is boring, so we created our own characters. My character, Brenna von Battenberg, is owner of von Battenberg Trading Company as inherited from her parents who died in a terrible terrible accident (we don't talk about it). She's also older sister to Florence the inventor and cousin to Genevieve the airship pilot, and she's also an opium addict... what can I say with power comes responsibility and stress, and that zeppelin accident certainly didn't help.

This costume went through an evolution of changes - I think from our original design only things left are the hat and the bustle. So here are the details:

• Design and patterns and cutting were done by ~nishibie, we did fitting together and I did the sewing. Hat was made by ~jj-dreamworldz as per the design.


• Patterns are based on designs/patterns from Fashions of a Gilded Age book and it's an authentic Victorian design... original ideas were much more cyberpunk-ish, but after studying the period more we decided to go for more Victorian design.


• Petticoat (which you can't see) is made of 4 m of unbleached muslin, tulle and 3 m of lace. There is a separate bustle that attaches to the petticoat.


• Skirt is made of 5 meters of black/blue taffeta and I've seen enough ruffles to last me a good few months.


• The coat, our baby, is made of 4.6m of silk/rayon brocade, is lined with dark blue cotton and has fake fur trims and wonderful pleats in the back which I have to show in a different picture. I'm wearing elbow length black leather gloves to go with it.


• Hat has peacock feathers, black feathers and netting on it and my goggles (the truly only steampunk part of my costume).


• My props include an antique wood/brass opium pipe and feng shui board.

von Battenberg Trading Company:
is Florence
is Brenna
is Genevieve

was our lovely photographer