Steampunk Costume Ideas

Using Video Game Character Archetypes to Create The Ultimate Costume

Steampunk is a genre of science fiction that utilizes steam-powered machinery and Victorian lifestyles rather than a futuristic world that is based on advanced technology. Of course, the characters in this genre do have the technology of today, but it includes an 1800’s Victorian or a Wild West re-imagining. With that being said, creating steampunk costumes is a fun aspect of cosplay that is becoming more popular. Let’s take a look at some unique costume ideas that fit into the steampunk genre, inspired by video game character archetypes!

Fighter

A fighter is a melee specialist that is often referred to as a warrior in many games. Being a fighter means that you get into the thick of the fight, and you are the first one to take damage, but you are also capable of dealing massive damage as well. Strength is important to a fighter, so if this is your class, you’d typically wield large weapons to cut down your enemies.

To create a steampunk fighter, you would wear plate gear or something crafted from metal. To create a costume, you will need to consider how heavy the material is, and make the majority of the outfit out of leather. The knee-pads will need some type of gears, and the shoulders must be large as well, but the helmet should be a fully enclosed one that has large goggle-like eyes. The fighter should also have a steam-powered jet pack on his back to get out of sticky situations.

Inventor

An inventor can go by many other names, which would include titles such as an engineer or a tinkerer. Often in a game, an inventor will create gear and weapons based on a specific type of technology, and steampunk is one that is often considered. In fact, gnomish engineering in World of Warcraft is very similar to steampunk with its tinker toys.

Creating an inventor’s costume is simple. You will want to wear a white shirt with a leather vest or suspenders. Incorporate a top hat into the mix and a pair of goggles. An inventor should wield an old timey style gun or pistol; maybe something that has a copper exterior. Also, a set of leather bracers that lights up could be a great addition to a costume. Incorporate a lot of coils and gears into the outfit, and you will have the style of a steampunk inventor down in no time.

Thief

A thief is a stealthy melee fighter who specializes in pickpocketing and stealing items from others; essentially a thief is a rogue. The items that are stolen are oftentimes rare and unusual items that may not be obtained by other methods in a game.

A steampunk thief costume could be great. It would consist of leather clothing that is most likely black to help you blend into the shadows. The vest or jacket would be covered in chains and cogs that give the outfit a unique style. There would be goggles of course, but this costume must have a studded facial mask with visible gears over the nose to breathe through. Leather gloves and a short dagger will be required as well. A female thief outfit would be a bit more revealing and feature a puffy blouse, a tight corset, and shorts. Bands and trinkets would be a great arm and leg accessories as well.

Pirate

A pirate is a swashbuckler that often makes their home base on a beach or on a ship. The weapon choice of a pirate is often a sword, but you will also see that many pirates have a pistol sling on their hip as well. This costume is also one that features a lot of leather or leather colored cloth.

The outfit should consist of leather pants and a white puffy pirate shirt. The arms of the shirt should be constricted with leather bands, which is perfect for incorporating more buckles and gears into the look. Complete the outfit with a vest and a tri-cornered hat that is decorated with skeleton keys, cogs, and gears that create a steampunk look. In addition, a pirate costume could have a bit of fur on it to add flavor; for example, you may decide to place the fur on the back of your hat or on the front of your vest.

An assassin is another type of rogue. If you are an assassin, you will still utilize a good bit of stealth; in fact, you will specialize in stealth kills that incorporate poison techniques and powerful daggers into the deaths of your enemies. You can easily cripple your enemy and leave him on the road to die as an assassin if you choose.

As an assassin, you will still wear lightweight leather gear, but this outfit should incorporate a long leather duster to help keep you hidden in the shadows. Goggles and a top hat are required of course, but this outfit will feature a lot of buckles and belts to allow you to incorporate pouches into the design. These pouches are important for an assassin, especially one that utilizes a lot of poisons. This gives you a convenient location to carry all of your essentials around, and it also provides you with quick and easy access to the contents.

Alchemist

An alchemist is essentially a mad scientist that has a little too much fun tossing bombs at the enemies. As you can imagine, an alchemist likes to create chemical reactions be mixing different components together to see what happens. Sometimes you get a useful potion that will benefit you in battle, but other times the reaction is too strong for even the alchemist to handle, and things begin to go wrong and explode on contact.

One of the main items that a steampunk alchemist must have is a pocket watch. The other imperative item to have is a few belts that are placed on the upper thigh or arms to hold your vials and potions that you will need. If you prefer, a miniature top hat can also hold vials for later use. If you don’t want a top hat look, a leather owl mask with built-in goggles would be the perfect complement to your costume.

Adventurer

Exploring new and unknown worlds is the life of an adventurer, but it can be a very dangerous lifestyle for one to lead. Many adventures tote a gun during their travels and they have a lot of clothing on to prepare for unforeseen situations in the wild.

The outfit of an explorer would mostly be a lightweight cloth material that will not weigh you down on your travels. A tweed jacket and long boots that go nearly to your knees to keep your feet dry are also great additions to this look. Also, make sure to bring a large-brimmed hat along on your travels to keep you out of the direct rays of the sun. Make sure to include goggles as well; even if they are only an accessory on the top of your hat, they will help solidify the steampunk adventurer look.

Cleric

A cleric or a priest is typically the healer or the medic in gameplay. The cleric is often a class of individuals who wear light cloth armor during their adventures so that they can quickly get to their comrades who are in danger. Their faith is a large part of their role, and it should be included in a steampunk costume as well.

A costume that represents this look would be a dress or a white lab coat. Female outfits should have lace ruffles near the neck and wrists as well as a few gold or bronze pins or buttons in the shape of gears and items that indicate that you are a healer. A miniature top hat that is tilted to one side and a pair of cog wheeled glasses with a magnifying lens on one side would complete the look.

Monk

A monk is a martial arts type fighter that incorporates a lot of rolls and open-fisted techniques into their melee style of fighting. Many times these bare-fisted warriors completely forgo the thought of a weapon and use ki attacks that help them sustain their power and life force. Some monks utilize a drunken fighting style, so include a large drinking gourd into your outfit if that is the style you create.

A steampunk monk would still wear traditional monk garb, but it would be enhanced by a few features that make it fit into the steampunk style. The first item that you need to consider is a large, gold belt that has gears on the front of the buckle. A pocket watch should be seen on the chest of the robes. Since monks use their fists, incorporate a steam-powered fist weapon that can really pack a punch into the design.

Bard

A bard is a unique character class that uses music to weaken the enemy. If you are a bard in a fantasy game, you can also use musical tunes to buff your friends who are fighting with you. A bard costume is going to be a unique one that looks a bit like that of an aviator. Goggles and a top hat may be utilized in this costume, but as long as gears and cogs are incorporated into the design, the main focus should be the bard’s instrument.

The instrument of your bard costume can be several different options, but the one that can become the most steampunk, it a keytar. The instrument can be made of light-colored wood, but it should have latches, gears, and aspects to the design that indicate that it functions off of steam power.

The Mashup!

Outside of video game personas is a world full of pop culture, ready for the picking. Mashups are a fun, simple way to mesh two of your favorite universes.

Star Wars

Pick a character from the Star Wars universe and let the creativity loose in its transformation from normal to unique. The helmets of Darth Vader and Boba Fett crossover well into the Steampunk universe. It’s amazing what gears and bronzing can too.

Batman

Batman is a DC comic character whose home base is in Gotham City. After the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne or Batman vowed to avenge his parent’s death and keep the streets of Gotham free from criminals. He is the dark knight, so it is only appropriate that a steampunk variation of Batman would wear a similar black outfit.

The bat mask would be perfect with a monocle scanner in front of one eye. The utility belt would feature a lot of gears and gold features, including the well-known bat symbol. This aspect of the belt can double as the buckle and feature a hollow style that is full of gears. The wings of the costume should be mechanical looking; in fact, they should be covered in gears and mechanical aspects that indicate an earlier period of time. Also creating a Batarang that shows you the inner gears and workings of the device is perfect for Batman.

Poison Ivy

Another Batman character that would look perfect in steampunk attire is Poison Ivy. Her obsession with botany and plant toxins has made her a great villain in the city of Gotham. She is a frisky redhead who is typically seen in green clothing, so one of the important things is that the costume is mostly green, but a bit of brown leather will also mesh well.

To start, green leggings, armbands, and a green mini dress could be the base of the outfit. Incorporate a brown leather corset into the design that gives you a place to add unique looking latches or other accessories. Complete the outfit with a miniature top hat and a pair of goggles that you place on your head. Also, be sure to add leather bracers and leather boots into the costume.

Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn used to be a psychiatrist for the Joker, but somehow, he made her go a little crazy as well. She is now his devoted sidekick and will stop at nothing to please him. Her traditional red and black outfit is extremely fitting to create a steampunk variation. All that would need to be done to the design is maybe add a few larger buttons, a little bit of ruffled lace on the bottom of the dress, and throw in some fishnet stockings. Black lace would be perfect, but white will do in a pinch.

Accessories that you should consider for this outfit include a black miniature top hat that should be worn in the center of your head and a pair of goggles that will sit right in front of the hat on your forehead. Keeping the goggles off of your face gives you the ability to use a traditional Harley Quinn eye mask.

Gandalf

Gandalf is a wizard who lives in the fictional universe created by J.R.R Tolkien in the Hobbit and

Lord of the Rings. He is one of the last known wizards of middle earth, and he wears the traditional robe of a wizard and wields a staff to fight the enemies of the realm.

To turn this wizard garb into a unique steampunk costume, Gandalf’s cloth robes must be fitted with buckles, including one that is placed around the collar of his robe. A top hat with goggles will complete the look, but one item that you must not forget to incorporate is the staff. You will want a staff with a large number of clockwork components on the top of the weapon. It should be complete with gold features that make it shine and maybe even a section of the staff could have a rotating center that is completely powered by steam.