It’s taken me a while to recover from the Seattle  SteamCon, a goofy, good natured gathering of space pirates, adventurers, Edwardian ladies, and lots and lots of people wearing goggles.

I’ve never been to one of these conventions before; in fact, I only just recently learned about this sub-genre of a costume party for grownups. It’s been going on at least 20 years, but, well, let’s just say I live a sheltered, nay, a never-get-out-of-of-my-cave life.

I’ve long been a fan of the ultimate Christmas dress-up festival, the Great Christmas Dickens Christmas Fair in South San Francisco. I love the breathtaking costumes and the emphasis on turning the enormous barn of the Cow Palace into the streets of long-ago London.

The Steampunk convention, on the other hand, seems to be all about costumes, however loosely defined the time period might be. At the hotel, attendees sailed through the lobby in full Edwardian suits, Lolita dresses, flapper clothes, or just a collection of gears and feathers built around a corset and skirt. It’s a full weekend of clothing fantasy, and it’s immensely fun to sit and watch the costumes. And watch the reactions of the unsuspecting, mugglish hotel room guests as they disembark from their airport shuttles into a sea of Steampunks.