Guest Curator: Scoutie Girl

Etsy.com handmade and vintage goods
tlgentile

Story by tlgentile

Published on Sept 02, 2009 in Shop

Tara Gentile is a blogger, freelance writer, and creative business consultant. After a wonderful — but dead end — stint as a bookstore manager, Tara took time off to raise her daughter and discovered her love of writing again. Her first foray into blogging came in the form of Handmade in PA, which supports arts and crafts in Pennsylvania. In July, she took over Scoutie Girl — the blog with a penchant for the passionately handmade — from Daisy Janie. Scoutie Girl features exclusively handmade or independently designed products. The blog consists of Tara and seven contributors, who emphasize originality in design, unique materials, and “indie thinking” as well as indie style.

Confession: I have a thing for science fiction. Make that a love affair. And, while you won’t find me at conventions, I have thought long and hard about what makes costume design work for the movies and TV shows I love so much.

I think the best sci-fi costume design incorporates elements of historical fashion with futuristic concepts. Renaissance, Victorian, Gothic — you can find elements of each decking our favorite space heroes and their alien counterparts.

For this post, I’ve boiled my favorite past-meets-future fashions down into three elements: fantastic collars, well-placed ruffles, and asymmetry.

 

Purple Makes you Prettier dress

I love this purple dress, and it incorporates all three elements! There’s a wild, asymmetrical collar and a ruffly bustle in the back. I could see a few of the characters from the short-lived Firefly wearing this one. By sewmoe, $185.

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Oragami Dress CUSTOM MADE

This dress has more of an Asian flair — another popular motif in sci-fi fashion — but the asymmetrical bustle in the back is what really caught my eye! I love how it folds up on itself so cleanly. By AftonRiver, $115.

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Black Lace – Trientalis Latifolia … Freeform Crochet Necklace

If you don’t want to go for a full-on dress in this style, try a collar or bib necklace. You can match this bold accessory with a t-shirt in which you feel comfortable! By irregularexpressions, $108.

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framework beak earrings

Of course, metal is an important part of any sci-fi look! These earrings remind me a bit of molecular drawings. And the fact that the usual circle shape is stretched and pinched into a “beak” is the icing on the Plutonian moon cake! By alisamiller, $160.

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a small tough ruffles zipper purse in two shades of grey

Another asymmetrical ruffle! I love madebyhank — ’cause she’s from Philly — and because she makes amazing little bags! $20.

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Ornately draped olive/brown cloche hat

The 1920s is a fashion era that doesn’t get quite as much sci-fi love. But this great cloche could accent a number of interesting looks. I adore the wrapping action of the felt! By yellowfield7, $185.

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Birch Top

The structure of this top says space commander, but the well-placed ruffle says space vixen! By LittleHouses, $80.

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NENEEE XL space cadet dress

This one might be cheating: it actually says “space cadet” in the listing. I like how this one hearkens back to a simpler sci-fi time — ya know, before all the nuanced characters and special effects! By neneee, $68.

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Fog Collar No.3

This collar would add a big punch to a simple shirt. The smooth, solid button brings the whole piece into focus. By flutter, $34.99.

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Indian Summer

This clutch features a pod of ruffly ripped ribbon growing out of the corner. By eclu, $38.

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Koro – Made to order

This piece doesn’t really fit my three criteria, but I could easily see it sitting in the corner of the captain’s ready room! poaplum creates beautiful lighting fixtures out of Japanese paper. $110.

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Square Bamboo Modern Candle Holders FREE SHIPPING

And I could see these bamboo candlestick holders gracing the table of an alien ambassador’s dining room. By jalexstudios, $95.

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While I’m not sure if the makers who created these fabulous items had Star Trek or space operas or telepathic aliens in mind when they designed their work, each piece here fits into my vision of science fiction perfection! I hope you enjoyed this tiny glimpse into one of my more guilty pleasures — and I hope you can find inspiration in your guilty pleasures too!

Looking for past Guest Curator posts? Check out our archive here.

Geek Chic Gift Guide | Asymmetrical Clothing | Fantasy Blog Posts

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