I don’t proclaim myself to be a fashion expert, but I have an appreciation for well put together styles, color combinations, and tasteful accessorizing. Everyone’s personal style will be different and we all have our own idea of what fashion means to us. It’s a form of creative expression and the first impression we get when we meet someone. I have mentioned it many times before that while I’m a geek at heart, my fashion choices don’t outwardly show my geeky enthusiasm. I may admire a Lara Croft T-shirt worn by a friend, but I won’t wear one myself. I may think a piece of geeky jewelry looks cool, but still not feel compelled to wear them with my clothes. My style is simple, classic, and extremely feminine with dashes of floral prints paired with comfy leather boots. When Bioware hosted a fashion show at this year’s PAX Prime in Seattle to reveal a new line of geek clothes, I fell in love at first sight.
Writer Crystal Clark wrote an article republished on the Mary Sue talking about her time attending the fashion show, what she saw, and took many drool worthy photos of the clothes modeled on the runway. The new geek line, inspired by Dragon Age and Mass Effect, is a joint venture between Think Geek and Bioware to bring more fashion forward clothes beyond the usual hoodies and video game T-shirts that are a must-have in the closets of a hardcore geek fan. Although the new line is targeted for women, reading Ms. Clark’s article got me super excited about this line and is the solution I’ve been waiting for when it comes to finding geek clothes I like.
I’ll never be much of a T-shirt and jeans kind of girl. I’m more pretty tops, jeans, boots/flats kind of girl. With the new Dragon Age and Mass Effect inspired clothes, I’m able to show my geeky pride without being overt about it. For example, I like the Tali of Mass Effect inspired skater dress because it’s not only a nod to the character but it’s subtle enough to wear the dress at work. I know my co-workers aren’t video game fans like I am, and wearing a dress like this one will just look like any other regular dress you buy at the store. I can be professional at my day job, but indulge in my geeky love for Mass Effect in a less obvious way. The dress is really pretty and feminine, a style aesthetic I’m personally drawn to, and if someone recognizes the video game reference just from the pattern that’s signature to Tali’s armor in the game, then I’ve connected with a fellow geek who gets and appreciates my love for the game.
I’m glad the people over at Think Geek and Bioware are finally trying to have more geeky clothing options for women who may not want just T-shirts and hoodies as their only options to show their love for their favorite video game. Dresses, infinity scarves, and leggings are a step in the right direction and they’re a functional style option to wear as an every day look if you don’t want to make it obvious that you’re honoring your favorite video game by wearing these. More options means more choices.
Up until now, there hasn’t been a lot of options for women like me who want to show their geek pride in how they dress but don’t necessarily like the choices offered to women. T-shirts may not be what I like personally, unless I’m wearing them as sleep wear, but having clothes that look like what I naturally wear on a daily basis but has a hidden video game reference that only those in the know would get is the kind of fun style I won’t hesitate to purchase and participate in more. It’s a good time to be a geek, especially a well-dressed and stylish one!
What do you think of the new Dragon Age and Mass Effect inspired line of geek clothes? Is this something you would like to see more of in other fandoms or are the tried and true T-shirts/hoodies enough to show your geek pride?
simpleek 
I am definitely, definitely in your camp on this one. I usually don’t wear any of my geeky t-shirts anywhere other than at home or in bed, since I tend to veer away from unisex t-shirts for every day style when out and about. I’ve barely wet my toes in Mass Effect so wouldn’t wear the above pieces, but if I could find items like ladies fit v-neck tees, flattering tank tops with loose hems, or even blouses, I would be all over them.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way! T-shirts are cool, but it’s definitely not my style. I always compliment my friends on the great T-shirts they find, but I know I’d never wear them at all. I really do hope more geek merchandise follows in the same footsteps as what Bioware is doing with their merchandise. There’s a wealth of opportunity to give variety to geek fashion they can offer their fans.
I like geek T-shirts occasionally, but they have to be pretty subtle. I also have a lot of oversized geek T-shirts as pajamas 😛
I’m like you, I really like wearing dresses, most days it’s that with leggings and boots for me. The BioWare fashion show is really interesting… I love some of the hoodies and dresses, especially the Morrigan options. 🙂 Not sure about some of the leggings, but I could definitely see myself buying a lot of the other items!
Yeah, I love subtlety in my wardrobe. I love being a geek, but I don’t necessarily want to broadcast it through the clothes I wear.
I’m with you about the leggings. They look cool on the models, but I don’t think those are for me. For one thing, the leggings stand out better if you wear them as is without putting a skirt or shorts over it. Definitely not my style. In fact, I splurged and I ordered a few of the items Bioware is already selling in their store! I’ll be wearing my own Tali dress, Cassandra tank, and the Tali matching infinity scarf soon enough! 😀
I would love to see less emblazoned logos and more subtle nods to games in women’s clothing as well! Stuff like that still gives off the vibe that you are into geek culture, but it doesn’t broadcast it like a super graphic t-shirt. Sometimes, you want to share your fandom, and sometimes you want to keep it on the down low. Having the option to do just that through clothing is a wonderful thing. 🙂
Exactly! That’s why the T-shirts never appealed to me. I can see myself wearing the hoodies because some of those can be subtle, but the rest of it is too showy for my taste. It’s great when other geeks love to show their pride proudly by wearing those T-shirts, but for the rest of us who want to display it in a different way don’t have a ton of options. That’s why I’m really glad Bioware seems to be the first ones to take geek fashion in an entirely new direction. If they can do that for other popular fandoms like Mario, Zelda, etc more geeks who are a little quieter about their fandom love can actually participate more! It’s exciting. 🙂