You've been Steampunked!

With the military trend combined with futurism gaining popularity, the next evolution of trend will direct us to post-apocalyptic theme in fashion.

"Global politics and global warming are making the possibility of apocalypse appear more real. For fashion, this means blankets, distressed jackets and rugged boots, plus masks and protective scarves (e.g. Alexander McQueen FW 2010). These are part of a Covered-up Clothing trend that includes over-the-knee boots, capes and cloaks. There is a rough hewn, ‘make do and mend’ feel to it too. Patched jeans, for instance, have re-appeared at Lagerfeld, Balmain, Chanel and H&M.

The extreme weather conditions that many across the globe have been experiencing, has made such fashions of greater practical use.The Recession is also making consumers feel a greater affinity with the blanket-life of the Homeless.

There is a ‘band of outlaws’ feel to several collections. The idea of keeping together for protection echoes the greater communality consumers are seeking (as evidenced by the growth of social networking). Again, this references post-Apocalyptic culture from ‘Mad Max The Road Warrior.’

Another ‘strong woman’ trend – Warrior Queen – combines ancient and modern. Goddess dresses meets post-Apocalypse (again, think Tina Turner in ‘Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome’).

It ties in with the Steam Punk trend, which adds a touch of both 1940s and 1880s to the post-Apocalyptic look. This trend is being encouraged by a growing female interest in comic and gaming heroines, many of whom sport the look: from Tank Girl and Lara Croft to current favourite, Bayonetta." (William Higham)

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality.

Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.

Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk. - wikipedia

Now, if you want to bring your DIY skills a notch higher, try these steam punk gadgets for your pleasure: