Sentence:  It is extremely rare that you speak to someone who says "I want to be an ...." This would suggest that for the vast majority of <WSD>steampunks</WSD> their choice of outfit (at least intitially) is less a conscious attempt at portrayal and more of a spontaneous and potentially subconscious growth of an idea. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A person cosplaying as a steampunk character.