Oh, my! Is Steampunk to become mainstream?

According to the Independent, UK, stores across the country are gearing up for the new fashion trend: Steampunk! Is it possible? Are we to find corsets and top hats in every shop window?

It would be strange if Steampunk fashion transforms from niche to trendy, and if people all around all start wearing Steampunk-style clothing, but I find the idea thrilling. If I were an artist, I would try to depict how this would look, like the person did in this 1909 postcard. Perhaps the future the artist is depicting might come true after all!

The Future of America (courtesy Steampunk Morris)

Isn't it great? Could we all be dressed like this in the near future?

The postcard, by the way, is from Revere Beach, Massachusetts. I used to drive to work every day passing through that very street. They don't have the tram cars anymore, but they do have the exact same bandstand, so it looks familiar.

It seems to have been a fashion at one point to create postcards of various towns in Massachusetts with predictions of what the towns would look like in the future. There's one of Boston, as well.

Imagine if our world were really to look like that.