The Victorian era was an age of excitement, experimentation, science, and progress.
Everything seemed possible and imminent.
The material world was like a door about to be unlocked. The mind was a mystery that science could pry into.
We love to make steampunk clothing because it represents this moment and uncovers the analogies between the Victorians and today’s world.
The Victorians were simultaneously more certain than we are today and less certain.
They believed that they were on a road to infinite progress and change, but were only just at the beginning of the path.
Today’s DIY and geek culture feeds off of a similar spirit.
We are all engineers hacking the material world, unlocking the potential of atoms through the power of bits.
Lianna and I are so much on the side of techne—on the side of a knowledge that allows us to do and to make.
Our process of production and design combines computer CAD work for a completely custom fit, individual fabrics we design and print using advanced inks, and computerized machinery for cutting vinyl, with all of the traditional arts of tailoring and dressmaking that require nothing but a needle and a thread.
Our muslin fitting process for the suits is again a combination of the old and the new.
We mail our customers traditional cotton mock-ups of the suit to try on before making the final pieces.
The customers send us back digital photos of themselves trying the pieces on, and we feed this information back into the computer to change and manipulate the pattern until it is exactly right.
The pictures show many of the styles that we have made or are making for steampunk weddings along with some wonderful pictures of the weddings themselves.
The black suit with the red cravat shows what we call the “Steampunk Anime Suit”.
This suit is made from a wool gabardine with satin face lapels.
The style looks and feels Victorian, but the details are completely modern.
The brown suit with red pinstripes and red satin face lapels, shows a Victorian style vest and pant, but with numerous Western style details and snaps.
The brown suit with a sage green piping shows a morning frock that cuts away into tails.
It has peak lapels, a pant with a back belt (which can be adjustable or decorative) and a handmade top hat to match.
The awesome wedding photos show two weddings where the grooms wore wool tailcoats and silk vests, a wedding with a double-breasted Prince Albert frock made from silk noil and velveteen pants (for a Victorian-era meets 1960s look) and an outfit with a black wool double-breasted vest with pearlized leather pocket welts.
The sketches show a bride and groom ensemble that we have in the works for this summer.
It has a leather corset on the bride and matching leather tuxedo stripes on the groom’s pant, and also a set of concepts for modern looking university coats.
Contact AJ (aj@denverbespoke.com) to talk more about ideas for your wedding.
Be sure to check out the photographer’s websites for more photos. Lynn Terry did the photos for the wedding with the black vest and gold welts. Terry Martin the wedding with the skipping groom.
Josh Gruetzmacher the San Francisco wedding with the white slik frock. And Mark Brooke, the groom with the tails and peacock lapels.