Steampunk Goggles: What to Buy, What to Make, and What to Avoid

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No single article does more for a steampunk outfit than a pair of goggles. Set them upon a plain hat and a stranger across the hall will know at once what you intend. In the pages that follow we consider what may be bought at each purse, how a pair may be made at home, how it ought to be worn, and the one purpose to which it must never be put. The reader assembling a whole outfit will find the rest of it in our guide to steampunk clothing, which proceeds piece by piece.

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The Outfitters' Catalogue

Everything named in this guide, by budget

AllThriftyMid-range

Fig. 1Thrifty

Brass-look costume goggles

Light plastic with painted rivets; sufficient for an evening.

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Fig. 2Thrifty

Plastic welding goggles to customize

The customary foundation for a home-made pair.

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Fig. 3Thrifty

Rub 'n Buff metallic wax

Lends plastic a finish of brass, copper or silver.

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Fig. 4Thrifty

Clip-on double loupe

Flip-out magnifiers, for the inventor's pair.

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Fig. 5Mid-range

Metal goggles with a leather strap

Metal cups and an adjustable buckled strap.

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Fig. 6Mid-range

Goggles with flip-up lenses

A second pair of lenses that swings out of the way.

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I.Of Goggles, and Whether One Requires Them

Strictly, one does not. Historical Emporium, in its guide to steampunk dress for gentlemen, holds that no outfit is complete without a pair. The costumer who writes Historical Sewing takes the contrary view: since the period never existed, there is no correct steampunk costume, and goggles should be worn only where they suit the character.

Both parties are right after their fashion. Goggles are the quickest shorthand for “steampunk,” which is why the inexpensive ones sell so briskly. But an aviator or an inventor has a reason to own a pair; a lady or gentleman of society commonly has none, and a monocle, a pocket watch or a well-chosen hat may say a good deal more.

II.Why Goggles Say Steampunk, Though the Victorians Did Not Wear Them

Goggles arrived with the motor car and the flying machine. Motoring goggles of leather, metal and glass were in use before aviation made them famous, and lady motorists wore oval lenses set in leather masks, tinted yellow-orange, green or brown. The National Gallery of Victoria keeps a Dunhill pair of motoring goggles dated 1895 to 1905. Garth Smith, in his thesis on steampunk, notes that the first recorded mention of goggles he could find falls in 1903, though enthusiasts insist on placing them in the Victorian age.

Goggles belong, then, to the very end of the Victorian period and the Edwardian years that followed: the age of the open car and the early aeroplane. Therein lies much of their charm, for they look like the future as it was imagined around 1900. The longer history is told in why goggles mean steampunk.

III.The Parts of a Pair of Goggles

Every pair, bought or made, is composed of the same parts:

• Lenses, clear, tinted or merely decorative.
• Cups, the rims that hold the lenses away from the eyes.
• A bridge between the cups, across the nose.
• A strap, of elastic on inexpensive pairs and of leather on better ones.
• Side knobs, where the strap is fastened, and where gears and rivets are customarily applied.

To know the parts is to shop more wisely. An inexpensive pair is commonly a single piece of molded plastic with an elastic strap; an improvement means cups of real metal, a buckled leather strap, or a second set of lenses.

IV.What Steampunk Goggles Cost at Three Budgets

The costume shop. HalloweenCostumes.com lists seven styles of costume goggles in its steampunk department, at regular prices from $9.99 to $19.99, five of them reduced to between $4.99 and $12.99 when we examined the page. For a single party, these answer very well.

The period outfitter. Historical Emporium sells two pairs in its steampunk eyewear department, the Glacier Goggles at $37.95 and the Screw Ring Goggles at $38.95. The page is silent on whether the lenses are protective, and the prudent reader will treat both as costume pieces.

The handmade pair. Independent makers build leather-and-brass goggles to order. We give no price, for the listings could not be examined directly; the reader should expect to pay more than for the outfitter’s pairs above.

V.How to Make Steampunk Goggles at Home

Both methods in the best-known instructions come in under $20.

From welding goggles. Begin with a cheap pair of plastic welding goggles. GeekDad’s method adds Rub ‘n Buff metallic wax, disposable gloves, paper towels, cotton swabs and a two-part epoxy or super glue; the first stage occupies about two hours with drying, and the later stages call for scrap leather and a bag of gears. The second part lays on further wax for texture, glues gears to the side knobs, cuts a leather bridge and leather straps, and threads them so that the buckles adjust on the inside. Susan Dennard’s version employs Hobart 770129 goggles, a clip-on double loupe, inexpensive silver and gold spray paint, painter’s tape over the lenses, and a belt from a thrift store for the strap, all for under $20 if one shops carefully. Her warning bears repeating: too much spray paint leaves the goggles sticky, and her first pair had not dried after five days.

From a plumbing coupler. Jen Yates’s Epbot instructions cut both cups from a single 1.5-inch plumbing coupler, about $6 at a hardware store, with Plexiglas lenses and leather or vinyl for the cups and straps; she reckons the whole at about $15, because many of her materials were scraps. For colored lenses she recommends theatrical lighting gels, avoiding the most saturated colors, and names iridescent cellophane her favorite. Shallow cups press the nose piece into the bridge of the nose, so make them deep enough.

The complete instructions are given in how to make steampunk goggles, and the finishing of the metal parts in faux brass, copper and bronze.

VI.A Word on Safety

Let it be said plainly: costume goggles are not eye protection, and that includes a pair made from welding goggles once it has been painted and its lenses changed. The American workplace rule, OSHA 1910.133, requires eye protection at work to meet the ANSI Z87.1 standard, and sets lens filter shades by task, from shade 2 for torch soldering to shade 11 for some arc welding. A decorative lens does none of this.

For the making itself: the maker of Rub ‘n Buff restricts the product from children under 13. When cutting Plexiglas, sanding a coupler or spraying paint, wear proper safety glasses, and not the goggles under construction.

VII.How to Wear Steampunk Goggles

For the greater part of an evening, goggles are not worn over the eyes. Historical Emporium advises wearing them about the neck or upon the hat band while in company, which keeps faces visible and lenses out of harm’s way. On a top hat or bowler the band is the natural station; on an aviator’s leather cap they rest above the brim.

Two errors are common. The first is goggles as the only steampunk article upon an otherwise modern costume; the second is modern athletic shoes beneath a period outfit. A plain waistcoat, a hat and suitable boots will make inexpensive goggles look a great deal better than costly goggles worn with jeans.

The reader who wears spectacles should know that the instructions above do not solve the fitting of goggles over them, and that Dennard found her loupe-fitted pair too wide for a small head. Try a pair on before committing to a long day.

VIII.Frequently Asked Questions

How much do steampunk goggles cost?

About $5 to $20 at a costume shop as of October 2026, and $37.95 to $38.95 for Historical Emporium’s two pairs. A home-made pair may be had for under $20.

Can I wear steampunk goggles as safety glasses?

No. Under OSHA’s rule, eye protection at work must meet ANSI Z87.1, and costume goggles do not. Wear proper safety glasses for cutting, sanding or soldering.

Were goggles Victorian?

Not in the main. They belong to early motoring and flying around 1900: the National Gallery of Victoria’s Dunhill motoring pair is dated 1895 to 1905, and Smith found no recorded mention before 1903.

How do you make steampunk goggles?

Paint and ornament a pair of plastic welding goggles, or build the cups from a 1.5-inch plumbing coupler; both methods come in under $20 in the best-known instructions.

Where do you wear steampunk goggles?

Upon the hat band or about the neck for most of the time, and over the eyes for photographs.

Do I need goggles for a steampunk costume?

No. One costumer advises wearing them only if they suit your character, though many guides count them essential.

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