Decor or Functional? What do you use your Goggles, Canes, watches, etc. for?

[Lady Rayna Keller]

My husband just made the comment "Mommy's are just for decoration on top of her hat." to my daughter about my goggles and it got me thinking.   Is there really a preference to why we make our costumes the way we do?   I know most make functional weapons and most use their goggles in a functional way but do you plan it before hand or does it just end up that way?

 

My goggles personally started off as a functional thing for my very first character, an explorer who needed to keep the sand and grit from her eyes but as my character changed into a Sorceress the need for them kind of vanished unless I was in the back of my store working on potions.   So basically they went from functional to decoration in a matter of months.   On the other hand the goggles I just made my daughter are both functional and decor for her.....she likes wearing them as goggles and on her head as a headband/tiara.

 

Now that I think of it my watch is both decor and functional but then again what watch isn't if it still works right?   So I pose the question to you:

 

Is your goggles, watches, canes, weapons, etc. DECOR OR FUNCTIONAL?  Did they start off as one then eventually ended up as the other?   Inquiring minds are wondering as those of us who are still new, making new personas, etc. are interested in knowing.

[CPT Edward Leviticus H.]

Adventure! The wind in your hair ... and your eyes. Nothing quite says adventure like pilot googles or a pith helmet or leather pouches bouncing about. Steampunk for me is an escape from the dysfunctional mundane life of everyday, I don't want elitist prudes telling me "Oh that is not steampunk enough, it must be fa fa fa fa". I also like to keep it simple, but if you want to be an alternate universe Victorian Vampire goth Egyptologist gun slinger zombie hunter... I'm cool with it.

I say both décor and functionality. 

[Lady Rayna Keller]

Amazing how we all think.....thanks for sharing!

[Basil Weeks and Cyril Tewksbury]

Basil: I have an old pocketwatch my mum gave me that's functional. I also wear a gun that I use on my adventures when Cyril and I are seeking inspiration for our stories. 

Cyril: I also 'as a pocketwatch from Basil's mum, which I uses when I finks about it. And me weapons. I 'ave several weapons. 

[Captain]

I try to make all of my bling functional.  I even found working (barely) compass and thermometer cuff links.  I might have a few small decorative gears and cogs here and there though. 

Local laws even guarantee the right to carry functional firearms to local events.  Convenient since I got into SP through CAS/SASS/NCOWS. 

Old age sometimes requires me to use a cane.  I inherited my father's collection so they are functional and the correct length.  As a veterinarian one of his prized canes has a German silver horse measure built in and his other favorite held several little test tube sized flasks of hooch.  He loved tormenting the pastor with this cane even though he barely drank more than I do.  Unfortunately TSA has even less sense of humor than a preacher. 

I have a number of mechanical and skeletonized pocket watches and even some functional watch fobs like tiny pocket knives, a telescope, miniaturized Bible, and a recent find, an antique Colt bore/calibre gauge fob:

I is calibrated in shotgun gauges on one side then Imperial calibres and those new fangled metric calibres on the other.  You just never know when you might stumble on a mystery firearm a bargain price. 

[Captain]

That reminds me that while I have some purely decorative goggles for some SP outfits, my main goggles are antique Wilson safety goggles.

I regularly use these now for SASS shoots too since that was a gripe of mine before SP - cowboy action shooters get all duded up then wear yellow plastic shooting glasses which ruin the look. 

[Rev. Demetrius Hunt]

My kit pieces are mostly functional. I don't use goggles as they don't fit with my character. However, all of the watches and such have a use. The canes I are only really used if my trick knee is acting up (arthritis and then stabbed in it during a reenactment). My blades are all functional too, when the environment allows for them. I am still looking for a good sword cane. I like fencing at events, and would like to be able to use a sword stick like the one used in my writings.  

The skeleton key I carry used to be functional as it belonged to the Hunt family home back in the day. It's an odd heirloom, but I like it.

[Mikhail 'Krakyn' Cogsmith]

I can only stand functional. I like to tinker and build, so whenever i see something, my mind must discover how it works. If i find it is fake, it makes me very sad and disappointed. I live to see things work.

[Rev. Demetrius Hunt]

I only add finctional items. If it's a cane, it can be used for orthopedic purposes. If it's a watch or compass, it works. If it's a tool, it's a usable piece. Even the skeleton key I wear belonged to the old family house.