For the people who whine about steampunk not being functional I ask you to take a look at your vehicles. Or your clothes. Your hair. Glasses. Anything with any amount of aesthetic value. These things don't exist to be "functional" (although some of them are quite extraordinary when they do), they're built to the topic of conversation, or to look beautiful, intimidating, whatever the artist/customer wants.
If you feel it all serves no point, and it irritates you, then I suggest you do away with your fancy hair cuts, wear only the most basic clothing, and forget about those $600 designer glasses.
Some of us don't like having the same thing as everyone else. We want to make what we own our own. Whether it means making a custom case for an ipod, or simply adding a few stitches here and there to a shirt.