[Seras]

It is definatly true that the current fashion trend ( enforced by the Japonacons and Horizon ) is to look as natural and Human as possible.

Any augmentions you have should be subtle. This makes Headware like controlrigs, or internal ware a premum interest. If you must replace a limb it should be a skin version not a crome one.

Around 2080, cyber is seen as archaic and poor. A few corporate climbers still get Datajacks (a surefire sign of a corporate climber) because the senior management team all have them and they want to ape what the big names have, but cyberlimbs are for poor factory workers, cybereyes are for those who can't get proper bio-replacements, and dermal plates are for grandpa who still listens to that whatshername from 2050. Murcurachrome or whatever? It's a granpa thing.

Even in 2080 however there is chrome and .... BETAWARE Chrome !!  Remember people cyber comes in grades.

Used and Standrad are definatly for the downtrodden.

Alpha is for Corp citizens and the middleclass (  doctors, athletes, mercenaries and shadowrunners, successful salesmen etc. )

Betaware and the clinics that install it are world famous and have a  very long waiting list. See the chrome flesh book. A cyberarm, even a visible one, from a Betaware clinic shows that you have money, good connections or probably both.

Hell, this prestigue is what Johnny Spinrad makes most of his money from 

Just my two cents ^^

[Ghost Rigger]

It is definatly true that the current fashion trend ( enforced by the Japonacons and Horizon ) is to look as natural and Human as possible.

Any augmentions you have should be subtle. This makes Headware like controlrigs, or internal ware a premum interest. If you must replace a limb it should be a skin version not a crome one.

Oh, wow. There's a lot to unpack in those three sentences. I'm going to just ignore spelling mistakes for the sake of brevity.

First, bold of you to assume that the preference towards metahumans that actually look like metahumans in their natural state is a "fashion trend" and not hardwired biology. Sure, some corps might be pushing it, but that is to counter EVO's deviant influence. The fact of the matter is, we don't like things that are different from us by our very nature; they disgust and frighten us, sometimes for good reason. In addition to the bevy of real life examples of discrimination, I can point to the treatment of orks and trolls as proof of this.

Second, what are you going on about "headware and internal ware being a premium"? You can't charge an extra fee for subtlety when there's not a cheaper, more obvious alternative. If you were comparing orthoskin to dermal plating, you might have a point, but you weren't, so you don't.

Third, you don't actually want a synthskin limb, you want a new limb made of meat, preferably cultured but uncultured will do if you're not that rich, or better yet you want to spend a week inside a tank getting augmented healing. A synthskin limb is obvious to the touch unless you spend money (and capacity!) on improved synthskin, and at the point of R4 improved synthskin you might as well just buy an uncultured replacement limb for the same price and less essence loss. Or just get an obvious cyberlimb and use its capacity to get some interesting features.

[Marcus]

Is this going somewhere useful?

To the OP as far as I am aware we don't, for the vast majority the only things about clothes that matters is Armor rating, bonus to stealth, bonus to Social limit or social skills, and what kind of mods can be stuck in it.

Right now Sleeping Tiger is in the top spot, when we get another tech book that adds armor it may be de-throned and it may not.
 

[Seras]

Oh, wow. There's a lot to unpack in those three sentences. I'm going to just ignore spelling mistakes for the sake of brevity.

First, bold of you to assume that the preference towards metahumans that actually look like metahumans in their natural state is a "fashion trend" and not hardwired biology. Sure, some corps might be pushing it, but that is to counter EVO's deviant influence.

First off, no Spelling is not my forte. The fact that my primary language is german does not help  .

My german autocorrect hates it when I post on this forum .....

Secondly, the above is not my opinion, it is a quote from the Chrome flesh book , so take it as you wish.

Personally I love obvious  Cyberware and full body conversions......

[prismite]

I'm glad to see so many varied responses. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

That being said it sounds like there isnt a book-standard answer to it, so I will continue trying to bridge the two concepts as best I can. I think it easier for our (modern) minds to imagine a future that is more like our time the same way my grandfathers grandfather might have not have anticipated current trends.

[Voran]

Loosely it depends on what the up-tops think.  If enough up-tops start walking around their corp wearing Steampunk, then you can bet all the peons below will start doing that too.  Similarly if the up-tops start wearing 80s power suits and 'all business' that'll change the culture too.  Kids will always wear stuff that will irk their parents as they try to express themselves, and sometimes hilarity because they end up retro using styles their parents did when THEY were the kids.

My general personal thought as a runner would be, "Blend with the crowd.  Sticking out can be bad for when they come looking for you."  Its mitigated somewhat by the introduction of color changing gear and AR accents and even hair that can morph styles/etc.

[CanRay]

All I know is that I loved explaining, in detail, exactly what happened to my group's Savile Row Bespoke Suits after they had to douse each other in commercial-grade cleansers that they didn't read the instructions for.

They were supposed to dilute it 10-1 with water.  Instead they just got into a cleanser fight.

After some very bad rolls afterwards to try and find some replacement clothing, the only thing they could find was Victoria's Secret.  (They were in the "Employee Only" section of a mall.).  On the bright side, the Elf's Hoop now has it's own fandom, much to his disgust.

[ORTEGA76]

A few things to note.

One is that prosperous times tend to bring out more flamboyant fashions and downturns keep things more conservative. In recent memory, look at how subdued everything got in 2008/9 when the economy tanked.

Second, things come in cycles. the 2050's were pretty wild. The 2070's toned down. At some point, pink mohawks come back.

Third, a lot of it is attitude. A runner with enough style can pull up to meet a Johnson at an exclusive restaurant on a mototcycle while wearing bike leathers. Not just any Yamaha Rapier, mind you. But a fully custom bike and a set of Euro fashion leathers. He strides in, greets the elf maitre'd in Sperethiel and orders a glass of exclusive Japanese whiskey.

[Psimon_Says]

I think that the differences in their outlook are a good thing. At my table, there have been discussions about what to wear and what gear to take to meetings. I always insist that these discussions take place in character. Once the decision has been made I as GM decide the attitude of the Johnson on how the characters present themselves. This includes their physical appearance; but it also includes their general attitude and specific interactions with each other, the environment, and how they treat and speak to him. Then I assign a social test modifiers.

From what I have gathered their is going to be a "Heat" mechanic in 6th Ed. So we shall see how this changes moving forward. If your Steampunk character shows up a fancy restaurant, maybe she earns a little Heat. If your Corporate Suit guy shows up in a Barrens bar, maybe he gains Heat. Sounds to me like that would be a fairly good solution - without compromising either players aesthetic.

[JoeNapalm]

Short answer : You're the GM. It's your world, you determine what would be appropriate...and also, based on that character's background and skillset, if they would know what is appropriate.

Long answer : This is highly situational, regional, and cultural. What is appropriate in a board room in New York is very different than in Miami, or Brasilia, or Bangkok, or London, or Moscow.  What is appropriate in the boardroom of Seader-Krupp is different than Horizon, or Spinrad, or Ares, or Mitsuhama, or Aztechnology.

What you'd wear in federal court would get you bounced from a high society black tie event, and killed in the Barrens. What you wear to an AAAT meeting wouldn't fly at HOAA.

Neon/Steam/Cyberpunk attire may in fact be mainstream in your setting, and may be appropriate in many places -- but I'd look to things like Availability and bespoke suits that give social stat bonuses to determine what is appropriate in higher society and corporate board rooms.

Of course, Runners are generally SINless untouchables, anyway. If they're being hired for jobs that require "acceptable" attire, Mr. Johnson should be providing it, or hiring Runners of high enough standing to know that Hawaiian Netsurfer wear is not what one wears to a gala at the Tir Ambassador's residence.


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[knppel]

Specifically in regards of punk-styles, but generally applicable:
It's most important to differ between this summer's trend- which might have been punky anytime any year between 2050 and 2080, for all we know- worn by trendsetters, fashionistas, influencers and those who care to follow, but will be replaced by the next trend asap-
And on the other hand "punk" looks that derive not out of following the fashion, but out of association with Neo-Anarchist circles, for instance (which happens to be quite common for shadowrunners lorewise).

Thus, if you "just look like a punk" and expect to get in like that anywhere because it's socially accepted, you're plain wrong (in my 6th world, at least). Specially with such a mindset, it's more than just realistic to expect literally every oh-so-blunt troll bouncer will spend time reading gossip on the matrix and be up to date on what people wear, even if he personally sticks to the all time classic of a suit.

tl;dr,
Regardless of which theme(s) a character picks for their clothes, more important (just as irl) is if they take a little care with their attire, then you can get away with anything even if it goes against current trends (Suit with green mohawk? Was already perfectly fine in 2005 as long as I did my job and put the needles out of the nose on work).

[RickDeckard]

Necroed because interesting topic.

I see recommendations for continuing in the trend of our current world, follow the historic trends and then outright just tell your players what is what. I’m not sure I can agree with any of those. Least of all taking creative control over your players. It’s their playground after all.

To help the situation with your two players I think you should pull them both out of their current mindset and let them imagine an entirely new world set 60 years from now. Forget what we know about fashion in 2020 and reboot.

Why the fixation on Steampunk? There’s literally ONE piece of gear in all of Shadowrun that’s related to Steampunk. Even today Steampunk is a serious subculture, it may very well be forgotten by 2080.

Shadowrunners are the 0.1%, not the fashion standard. They mostly probably come up with their own style, so to think that two strong personalities would have the same style even if they work together is not realistic. Let everyone be an individual, and for the love of Dunkelzahn, can we please forget about 80s popculture and hit a more dystopian futuristic note? If I have one more player with a knowledge skill in 80s popculture he’s going straight into the trash compactor.