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Description
In the Victorian Era, India was considered the jewel of the English crown. British aristocrats traveled all across the world, bringing back souvenirs of all kinds from every continent. It was extremely fashionable for women to wear exotic clothing from other locales.
I personally think it would be criminal for the genre of steampunk to ignore this aspect of history, especially when we place such an emphasis on the dashing explorer (who, let's remember, could also be an absolute dickwad at many times). This is my interpretation of a lady explorer's outfit when she wants to show off and have her profession and knowledge of world cultures be recognized.
This is also a stretching of the boundaries of what can be called "lolita". In America, the rules for lolita are extremely strict (actually much more so than in Japan, where it originated!); the skirt must be a specific length and shape, the blouses are all neo-victorian, socks are nearly always knee-high with ruffles, mary-janes or boots are prefered for shoes, and arm/leg warmers are generally frowned upon. Belts are rarely seen. Saris are unheard of.
As you can see, I stuck to the basic formula of a lolita outfit- bell skirt + blouse- but I added the armwarmers, sari, belt, and hairstyle, and chose the colors, to harken to the victorian explorer archetype of steampunk.

This is probably my favorite of the designs. I want it!

Textures are mostly from off-DA sites (I tend to use the swatches on fabric sales sites a lot). One is from colourlovers.com, but I don't remember the others.

Gear brushes from [link] by ~IntergalacticHussy
If you recognize the other brushes, please tell me so I can give credit!

Description
In the Victorian Era, India was considered the jewel of the English crown. British aristocrats traveled all across the world, bringing back souvenirs of all kinds from every continent. It was extremely fashionable for women to wear exotic clothing from other locales.
I personally think it would be criminal for the genre of steampunk to ignore this aspect of history, especially when we place such an emphasis on the dashing explorer (who, let's remember, could also be an absolute dickwad at many times). This is my interpretation of a lady explorer's outfit when she wants to show off and have her profession and knowledge of world cultures be recognized.
This is also a stretching of the boundaries of what can be called "lolita". In America, the rules for lolita are extremely strict (actually much more so than in Japan, where it originated!); the skirt must be a specific length and shape, the blouses are all neo-victorian, socks are nearly always knee-high with ruffles, mary-janes or boots are prefered for shoes, and arm/leg warmers are generally frowned upon. Belts are rarely seen. Saris are unheard of.
As you can see, I stuck to the basic formula of a lolita outfit- bell skirt + blouse- but I added the armwarmers, sari, belt, and hairstyle, and chose the colors, to harken to the victorian explorer archetype of steampunk.

This is probably my favorite of the designs. I want it!

Textures are mostly from off-DA sites (I tend to use the swatches on fabric sales sites a lot). One is from colourlovers.com, but I don't remember the others.

Gear brushes from [link] by ~IntergalacticHussy
If you recognize the other brushes, please tell me so I can give credit!