With the news earlier this month that Eastpak had reissued *the* red rucksack worn by Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly in the Back to the Future films (£85, exclusive to Selfridges, in a limited edition of 250 – and now sadly sold out) comes the natural impulse to see what else we can snaffle from his wardrobe. We, and perhaps the whole of Dalston, are onto his stonewash jeans already, but what we hadn't realised was quite how many tips we appear to have taken from the trilogy of films without even knowing. Perhaps it's something to do with the Flux Capacitor...

First off, I remember thinking Doc Brown was an ancient old man when I watched these films in my youth. Watching them again now, I find he looks about my age.

The first film, made in 1985, is so 80s that even Doc's radiation suit has neon accents, which means there's something a bit sports-couture about this look. At least, I hope there is, because it sure as heck won't protect against the plutonium he's nicked to fuel the Delorean. This scene is also our first sighting of Marty's signature puffa gilet that forms the basis for so many life-jacket jokes when he transports back to the 50s. Marvel at how, in this ensembles at least, he combines the #normcore elements of a hipster with the warming posh sportsgear of a rugger bugger – Michael J. Fox: bringing together warring socio-cultural factions one piece of outerwear at a time.

And here's another bit of fashion trivia for you: the backdrop for the world's first ever trip back in time was none other than America's favourite mid-range department store JC Penney. Back to the Future is all about the epic of the everyday, you see.

Marty's girlfriend Jennifer provides much of the womenswear content, with a relaxed and preppy style that is redolent of The Breakfast Club in popped collars and blouson-style denim jackets worn with jeans or printed leggings and high-top trainers. But let's not consign her style to history just yet: she's an early pioneer of a Mum-jean, after all (everyone in the Back to the Future series, including the men, historical cowboys and the dog basically wears a Mum-jean) and this tapestried waistcoat (uh huh) looks a little like Carven spring 14, wouldn't you say?

She also wears quite a few ditzy prints – which is apt, because her character is just that: ditzy – and this cunning blue gilet (the matching 'her' towel to Marty's 'his' towel) is perfect for when she actually does travel in time, because of all the hundreds of crazy-useful pockets and stuff. What a shame then that she's zapped unconscious basically as soon as they land in the future, putting the skids on any hope for a female narrative.

(Note also: Marty is wearing braces with his Mum-jeans.)

The McFly family, waving and fading from the photograph Marty carries with him on his travels as their stories are undone and rewritten, undergo a truly 80s cultural shift during the first film, as he re-writes history to make his own father more successful and less of a massive derp. You see it immediately in their clothes: Marty's fast food flunky brother appears in a suit, while little sister Linda ditches the neon and the Mickey Mouse motifs for a lovely peach twinset and pearls. Fashion is everything in Ronald Reagan's 1985 America, even if when Marty Marty visits 1955 the President was still a B-Movie star with no political prospects. (It would be like Arnold Schwarzenegger taking office. Oh.)

Speaking of Reagan, look how dashing Marty's dad is in his schooldays. His wardrobe of Harrington jackets and slacks belies his geekiness, evidence enough that, even thought he's the most awkward boy in town, better him than Biff as your date to the prom. After all, Biff's take on the Harrington has gone weirdly Phil Collins, in pushed sleeves and matching tie.

In fact, Biff in the future has much more going on - like everybody else in Spielberg's 2015 (a 2015 of flying cars and self-drying clothes, we WISH), he's wearing a bomber jacket (top marks for prescience to costume designer Joanna Johnston – she also did Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Death Becomes Her). Meanwhile, his gang appear to be wearing spring 2014 Fendi post-it pleats (left) and a Gareth Pugh geometric print (right), while Biff himself sports one of those shiny bike helmets that twee, safety-conscious people really do wear in 2014. Only a year to go until the flying cars guys!

In the future, Marty wears Nike trainers that tie themselves automatically. Which look quite a lot like the Rick Owens X Adidas spring 2014 ones.

His self-drying jacket is also a self-adjusting jacket (a bomber, naturally) which seems to owe its dangling, pre-adjusted sleeves to Comme des Garcons spring 2014.

While Doc's visor shades have something of Maison Martin Margiela about them...

But one future trend from 2015 that we can't see happening (although there's definitely time) is middle-aged Marty's double tie styling, which seems to reflect the dreadful series of life choices he's made more broadly.

But old Biff (the 1985 version of the bomber jacket Biff, keep up) is pretty clued into the 90s Britpop scene avant la lettre with his old-school Adi tracksuit. Maybe he has a crystal ball of his own.

But surprisingly, the most weirdly right-on fashion prediction in the Back to the Future trilogy is neither the 2015 bomber jacket takeover nor the Rick Owens trainers. In fact, it's a bit of retro-futurism (keep up) from Back to the Future III, where Marty, stepping out for his duel with Buford Tannen, appears to have arrayed himself almost entirely in autumn 2014 Burberry menswear.

It's better than the pastel-coloured fancy dress cowboy costume that Doc sent him back to 1885 in, but actually we'd be quite keen on wearing that ourselves. Fringing's big this season and so are ice-cream parlour shades, don't you know. And wasn't it in the ice-cream parlour where Marty's dad first asked out Marty's mum in 1955? *brain melts*

So there you go: proof that most of the fashion in Back to the Future did come true, will come true and has come true twice already (Mum jeans). Except the double tie, that'll never catch on.