Steampunk'ed

I've always loved the Steampunk aesthetic. The long skirts, fitted jackets, lace-up boots, and headgear have been on my wish list for years now, but I wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to pull it off with my shape and on my budget. 

But I am nothing if not tenacious.

I put this outfit together for a meetup with fellow fashion blogger Megan Gann at the monthly Flea Market held at the Nashville Fairgrounds. We had previously met briefly but never got the chance to really hang out so I was pretty excited we would be shopping at our leisure all day long. 

It was pretty chilly that day so I saw my chance to wear these pieces. The east 5th plaid skirt is from Goodwill and I paid a whopping $0.99 for it. The hem had unraveled but a quick trip to the tailor and it was good to go. Because I'm Petite finding sweaters that fit properly. More often than not the arms are far too long and I end up looking like I'm wearing somebody else's clothes.. My solution is to wear a shirt like the black gathered front top from Covered Perfectly and add a Petite sized jacket. This one is by AMI and has an asymmetrical zip with bronze studs and lace panels. I think it has a definite Steampunk feel, as do the Rock and Candy boots from Shi. The socks are a bit thick for the skirt but they're wool and warm and necessary when shopping open-air in crisp weather. My necklace is a Goudi inspired piece from Barcelona via Amana, Iowa. It's one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

I arrived at this venue without a hat. As Megan and I perused the vintage clothing booths I stumbled onto a lady that had about 15 vintage hats. As with sweaters I find most hats are scaled for larger people so I tend to look like a child playing dress-up. To my great delight I tried this one on and it actually fit. I purchased it, along with several others, that I plan to wear as soon as I can figure out where to get a hat pin - and how to actually use it.

Megan didn't do too badly, either. She scored that lovely fur vest from my new friend Lindsay at the Thriftophile booth.  The vest looks amazing on Megan. You'll be hearing more from me about Thriftophile and Megan's gorgeous obi belts as I roll out more holiday gift-giving suggestions in the coming weeks.

Speaking of which, if you haven't already done so please get a look at my last post entitled Frock Market and be sure to browse the Marketplace Handworks of India site for great gift ideas that will help you flex your holiday philanthropic fabulosity muscle by helping women artisans in and around Mumbai, India.

Happily linking up with Visible Monday, Tres Chic Style Bits, Monday Mingle, Monday Bloom, Fashionista Style Hop, Shiny T Tuesday and 52-pick-me-up: Trend Salad.