Steampunk

Steampunk is a subgenre of Science Fiction that focuses on the 19th century where technology was run on steam power. This aesthetic was inspired mostly by literature - such as H.G. Well's "The Time Machine" and Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".

A really fantastic article can be read at Tor.com that explains everything a beginner needs to know about Steampunk.

As the article mentions, a common motif seen in the Steampunk aesthetic are googles and gears. They are a really easy way to make an outfit seem Steampunk-ish, but are hardly worn by those who wear their Steampunk attire frequently unless their character requires them or they have actual meaning beyond an accessory.

In mentioning 'character', it is common for those who love Steampunk to create characters or personas when they are in garb. Airship Pirates, Nobles, Scientists, Time-Travelers, Herbologists, Archeologists, Botanists, Gypsies, etc... are all found in the Steampunk universe.

For example, Brittany's character is named Eleanor Gentry Vesper. She was born to a Noble family; However, her parents were caught in a government scandal - thus their status revoked. After falling on hard times financially due to the dishonour brought to the family, Eleanor was forced to start working. While she was mostly a clumsy child, she had a knack for herbology. Also, Time Travel had been perfected, and her genetic makeup deemed her an ideal candidate (as the genetic makeup had a great deal to do with Time Travel). She now travels through time collecting herbs that have gone extinct so the company in the future can create common medicines. As a part-time job she also travels through time photographing important events in the past that either were not documented or did not have enough images produced.