Trousers or Pants?

Hello Friends!

I was once told, "Men wear trousers, women wear pants!"  Certainly, I had to check the veracity of that statement, and these are my findings:

Trousers is a 16th century word derived from a combination of the word "trews" and "drawers".  Of course, you know what drawers are.  It is simply a term denoting leggings that are drawn up.  However, I needed to dig a bit deeper to find out what trews were.  The word is derived the Scottish "triubhas", or French "trebus".  Triubhas, or trews, are close fitting tartan trousers, especially worn by select Scottish regiments.

Now, what about pants?  Pants has a simpler story.  Pants is short for pantaloons, which is in turn a French derivative of the Venetian "Pantaleone", a name of a favored Venetian saint from the fourth century.  So what does that have to do with clothing?  Venetians were known for popularizing a style of close fitting leggings, and so the clothing became synonymous with them.  Interestingly enough, the term "pants" became popular (along with the style) in the middle 19th century. 

What remains is the question, "Are pants for women?"  Well, in a word, no.  There is no gender role assigned to either term.  Of course, in proper Victorian, or 19th century American society, the grand majority of women would be wearing dresses, and be expected to wear dresses.  The lines drawn against the sexes were certainly far stricter than today.

We are not, however, living in Victorian England, nor on the frontier.  In fact, the majority of us are just seeking the flavor of the era to set in our fantasy.  Then there are those like me who are looking to develop a lifestyle largely based in the principles of the steampunk genre.  In steampunk, it is simple to find a woman wearing a pant suit as a business owner, or trendy woman on the town, however, this does not in any way delineate the terms.  No, The choice is yours.  Are you a stickler for the old ways, a pastoral laborer?  Trousers is yours.  Are you trendy and cosmopolitan, like a Victorian Londoner?  You'd be wearing pants.  Of course, there are other terms (breeches/britches, knickers, slacks...) but this article is about that one debate which fired my mind for a time.  Me?  I prefer trousers, as I have no need for Venetians hugging my ass.  Good Journey.

My Time on the Mountain

April 21, 2011, my wing chun sifu committed suicide.  It was a painful day, followed by more painful days.  There was a great cloud of sadness and depression over me for a time.  You see, I had, to the day, one week prior, been tested and advanced to the chum kiu level of wing chun.  Sifu conducted my test.  I was on top of the world, learning a new martial art, making progress, and making friends, including sifu.  Then it ended, so abruptly, so violently.  The following week I decided to practice my siu lim tao form and techniques at the normally scheduled class time, and then go hike up Camelback Mountain.  I decided to make it a progressive timed challenge (of which I made a 5 minute temporal improvement over the course of a month.)  I found it inspiring, purifying, and just what I needed.  Next week, on June the seventh, 2011, wing chun classes will start up again with sifu's wife (a skilled and capable wing chun sifu herself) and some of the senior students will take over teaching duties.  I will, of course, not cease to go to the mountain, my peace, and my stimulation, but I will have to change my schedule to accommodate the trip every week.  So I've come to this juncture, and I decide to tell you a bit of a personal story about my time on the mountain.

I had been to the mountain once before, made a three hour tour of it, going off trail, taking rest breaks, photos, and just generally enjoying the time.  Since I was a child, I've loved mountains, but never spent much time in and on them.  After relocating to Arizona in 2009, it took me more than a year to make my way to one of the many mountains here.  Camelback Mountain is perhaps the most famous mountain in the Metro-Phoenix area.  On that first trip, I decided that I would be coming back.  It was such a joy and adventure.  Then the events of April 21 occurred, and the decision to make another visit was at hand.

An interesting formation from part way up the mountain, with more mountains in the distance.

Wearing my wing chun school t-shirt, and my beat up old sneakers, I began up the mountain.  It was slow going at first, catching my stride and my wind, but once the trail devolved into stone and boulder, I'd found my pace, and my high.  You see, the extra oxygen and adrenaline heightens your system, and as a side effect, heightens your mood.  Forty minutes after entrance, I reached the summit.  I was worn, but as I looked out over my city at dusk, I was happy.  I found a flat spot, and performed siu lim tao in remembrance of sifu one time.  It felt good.  I pounded down a protein bar, and a pint of water, and jaunted back down the mountain.

A view of my city from the summit.  Yes, there are more mountains on the horizon!

This pattern continued for more than a month, with one week off for a trip to Vegas (another blog, another time.)  In the midst, I found I needed better shoes, and purchased a new pair of hikers, and they have served me well.  Rocks and gravel (yes, there is plenty of loose earth along the path) make for difficult footing without tread, and I slipped, non-hazardously, several times.  After the first week, I began timing myself.  With an initial time of 40 minutes for the 1.2 mile trek, I conditioned myself enough over the course of a month and more to a 35 minute summit.  There were a couple of weeks I even summited an extra day, just because I yearned for the adventure.  One night, I didn't summit at all because an old friend called me on my way there, and I just took a side trail to a big boulder, and once I hung up, I practiced some wing chun atop a great stone.  It was certainly a refreshing night.  I even found myself summiting on the night of "The Rapture" and as I looked out at my city at dusk, I said, "Who needs a rapture when we have this?"  You see, folks, I do not need heaven, I need life, adventure, and experience.  After all, isn't that what the steampunk lifestyle is about?  Innovation and exploration?  There may not be much left to discover, not much need to plant a flag, but there are personal journeys, discoveries, and adventures to be had.  Every place, every day holds the possibility of adventure.  I urge you, be that curious Victorian or frontiersman, get out and explore your world!

Looking over my city from Camelback summit at dusk, the very evening of "The Rapture"

Tonight, June 2nd, I made my way up the mountain.  My final trek in lieu of wing chun class (remember, I'll not cease the journey, just reschedule.)  Upon summit, I saw something peculiar.  I noticed a man sitting atop a rock, reading from a leather bound tome with a seemingly captive audience.  I decided to disengage my personal music, and listen in.  What I found was that I had adventured my way to a wedding.  A pair of fellow adventurers had decided to make the grand life commitment atop the mountain, atop my mountain, in my city.  I was nearly moved to tears, for I am surely a romantic soul.  It was so wondrous, and so beautiful to see a couple in love sharing one of life's most singular moments in such a grand place, and such a grand way.  I audited the ceremony, and once completed I felt the need to applaud and congratulate.  Folks, the newly married Casey and Ashley Phillips, joined by the minister David Joaquim, are such a lovely couple, and a couple I am indebted to meet.  They allowed me to give them special mention here, in front of all of you, and asked nothing in return.

Casey and Ashley Phillips, joined in union by the minister David Joaquim

To them I give the greatest of my wishes.  And so fitting an end to my wing chun mountain journey.  I began when a minister ended it all, and ended when a minister helped a couple to a brand new beginning.  Indeed, every chapter closes to a new beginning.  Good journey.

Choosing Your Steampunk-Best Hat

Hello, friends!

This will likely be a short entry, but I wanted to bring up hats.  Between those who cosplay, and those of us who simply live the life, formal hats abound.  Of course, there are many hats, and certain hats fit with certain garments best, but I would like to bring to your attention the four chief choices:  Topper, Homburg, Bowler, and Fedora.

The number one choice for those in cosplay, and the most formal is the top hat, often called a topper.  They can be manufactured of silk or wool, cheaply for costume, and boutique for the life.  It is simply the gentleman's hat, best suited for formal functions and the theatre.

 

                                                                            photo linked from Wikipedia


Second in line in formality, and yet far less popular, is the Homburg.  A fine hat, none the less, it came into popularity with King Edward VII in the first decade of the 1900s.  Certainly dapper, and coming in just at the end of the "steampunk" timeline, it is more than appropriate wear.  Featured as the villain's hat the "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", Alfred Molina wore it quite well.  If you're tired of silk toppers, but still desire the height of high society, I suggest you take this hat.  Perhaps best suited for politicians and gangsters for cosplay, anyone can really wear it with pride.

                                                     photo linked from Wikipedia


Next in line is my personal favorite.  Despite the trends in entertainment, the bowler is the hat that won the wild west.  The bowler was designed to replace the top hat for horseback riding and gamesmen.  Because a gentleman must always be a gentleman, especially in public, he must dress properly, but a top hat is simply too delicate for the rigors of the outdoor lifestyle.  This is where the bowler came in.  As a special commission, it had to be sturdier, less expensive, and yet still quite dapper.  The stingy, curled brim, the lower crown, and being hardened felt made this a most choice hat.  Though truly a step down in formality, it was the first gentleman's hat to be made in a range of quality for all levels of society.  A working man's hat, an outdoorsman's hat, The bowler represents both coattails and rolled sleeves.  It fits well on both sides of the pond.  My friends, this is a choice hat.

                                                                             photo linked from Wikipedia




Finally, we get to the most popular hat until the baseball cap.  The Fedora.  Now, let me make this clear, the trilby and the panama, though derivative, are not fedoras.  I have a very strong, personal bias against the trilby (I will kill you if I see you wearing one.)  The panama is really only appropriate if you're wearing casual whites on a riverboat, so that's off this list too.  No, the proper fedora is a moderately brimmed hat, most often snappable.  There will likely be a slight upturn at the back, but nothing dramatic.  Despite being more a favorite of the noir scene, it dates back to the 1890s (though primarily as a women's hat, and not coming prominently into men's fashion until 1919.)  This hat will certainly put you in a unique niche with your steampunk cosplay, but it is an acceptable accoutrement.  A fine hat by any standards (and I really will kill you, quite viciously, if I catch you wearing a trilby.)

                                                                   photo linked from Wikipedia


Okay, so I lied, I'm giving you a bonus.  The quite singular pork pie.  The pork pie hat is found quite often among jazz musicians and early comedians (though, by no means exclusively.)  This hat was indeed the hat of choice for the worldly British gent on the scene.  Once again, much like the fedora, it can come with a generous brim or a stingy brim, or anywhere in between (all dependent on the manufacturer's niche, and designer's eye.)  Though not strictly formal, it is a hat of quality character.  With popularity through the mid-19th century, it was a favorite of Americans during the civil war, as well as the Brits.  I find it a charming hat, with the stingy  brims more suited for comedy and music, and the more generous brims for evening wear.  I would suggest you stay away from the woven straw variety (of any hat, really) unless you're at a picnic, performing vaudeville, or at the fair.  Get yourself a pork pie today, and paint the town red!

                                             photo linked from Wikipedia

Well, my friends, this is the end.  I have ranted quite long enough, and this article has turned out quite a bit more lengthy than intended.  Please, choose carefully when looking to adorn your head, and if you're going whole-hog on steampunk cosplay, don't forget your goggles and cogs--another topic for another time.  A final note, and suggestion:  Please treat a hat like hair, make sure it suits your head and face well.  Get it properly fitted, and please don't wear it with your t-shirts and blue jeans.  Slacks and henleys are fine, but you have to at least look somewhat dress-casual, or steampunk disheveled (still buttoned up...) to pull it off.  That's it, my friends, I have said enough.  Good Journey!