I have two primary thoughts when it comes to steampunk as a fashion statement. The first is that steampunk objects, clothes and accessories look really cool, especially the intricate stuff, and I'd be glad to see people actually wearing it on the street. The second is that, though cool as heck, the stuff just isn't reasonable to wear all the time, much less throughout a day of work or walking around town. What do you think of it?

No offense to IBM, but a tech company — even one so highly regarded — wouldn’t be the first place we’d turn for fashion forecasting. Yet on Monday, the company released the findings of a “social sentiment index” that predicted that steampunk would be the next big trend to take hold of the retail industry.

What is steampunk exactly? According to Forbes, it’s a “science fiction/fantasy sub-genre that’s a style mash-up of 19th century industrialized looks and Victorian flourishes.” Sounds fancy. We’re more apt to explain it in reference to pop culture: it’s Sherlock Holmes meets Wild Wild West, with a dash of Inspector Gadget. Get the picture? Read More