When Lithgow's Raine Doyle went to her first 'Steampunk' dress-up party, she had no idea what that meant.
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"I thought it was 1980's, so I looked nothing like Steampunk - I was all spiky hair and fishnet stockings," she said.
It was difficult back then to get the steampunk mainstays of corsetry, goggles and all the other bibs and bobs. How times have changed.
Inspired by cogs, wheels and all sorts of whirligigs, hats designed by this amateur Lithgow milliner have been on display at the Gang Gang Gallery in the lead-up to Ironfest.
This will be Raine's 13th year at Ironfest and she has developed a particular love for Steampunk-inspired pieces.
Heavily involved in the Winter Magic festival for a time and the bellydancing scene, Raine took the opportunity to bring some of that vibe to the Lithgow-based festival.
"I saw the banners and didn't know what it was, I just decided to go along. I didn't dress up or anything," she said.
She quickly established herself as a volunteer, undertaking signwriting duties and anything else that needed doing.
"I just love the look on people's faces who have never been to the festival before, it's wonderful." she said.
Raine said the stalls drew people to the celebration, with many dedicated dress-up enthusiasts likely to be planning their 2020 costume at the 2019 event.
"It's really a mecca for next year's costumes," she said.
"The great thing about Steampunk is it can look really cool for families to all dress up together in one theme, and there are lots of themes - nautical, Victorian, underworld of London..."
Raine recalls, when she first got into Steampunk styling, enthusiasts found antique cogs and clock-work parts by taking apart old clocks. Of course, there was quickly a shortage of such items freely available.
"When you began to be able to buy those things online, such as cogs, you didn't need old clocks to break apart. Hats became quite flamboyant."
While Raine occassionally does work on commission to create other people's costumes, she said she would be far rather inspire and coach others to explore their own designs and create their own costumes.
"It is a joy to see someone make something for themselves," she said.
"It doesn't have to be expensive, it can be as ornate or as simple as you want, it will still look great."
Ironfest will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28.
