Emo Music

Emo is first and foremost a music genre so you need to be involved in the music scene to avoid being called a poser. Learn to play an instrument! Or at least buy one! If you can't play you can always claim to, and you will gain instant credibility by merely owning it. Just take lots of picture of yourself holding it at creative angles to post on the internet. Can't afford a guitar? Write lyrics! Emo poetry can cover a wide range of emotions and making up your own style of writing is part of the process. Use poetry as a way of venting your problems. Don't have any problems? Then you're lucky as hell!!! The type of bands you listen to strongly reflect on you as an emo. Bands like Bullet For My Valentine and Fall Out Boy are a good bet, but it's more credibly to listen to obscure unsigned bands with names like Reservoir Death. If the music has emotional lyrics then it's emo. (duh emo stands for emotional hardcore, or just emotional)

Emo Clothing

Emo kids typically dress to express their inner feelings to the world. Emo kids don't pick out outfits ahead of time, they wear whatever they want, whenever they want. Almost everything has a sentimental or personal value. And a lot of the stuff you see will have cutom markings, or drawings done on them. They do NOT dress to stand out, or to look different. It's all based on how they are feeling when they put that item of clothing on. Although, a lot of emo kids will always be found wearing a dark style. The style includes: -Tight shirts with either NO logos or emo bands - such as Fall Out Boy or Hawthorne Heights. -Tights jeans with faded colors, usually black. -Bracelets, or necklaces with sentimental value. Emo's just don't put on things to make them look cool. -Belts, usually checkered with an awesome looking belt buckle. To sum it all up, emo's have their own sense of fashion. It's ALWAYS unique and ALWAYS has a personal side to it.

Basically emos wear a lot of black, but unlike goths this is usually paired up with some bright and funky colours, for example if you were wearing dark jeans and a black shirt, you might wear a bright crimson red tie and white jacket, with matching or contrasting accessories. Band t-shirts are also popular, but make sure you buy a band you actually like and know a bit about, and not just some popular band like 'My Chemical Romance' just because you think they might be cool. For emos being clued up to music is a must, and you will look totally shallow and fake if you wear a band name that you don't know anything about. Hoodies are also a must, especially as jackets are not really in the emo fashion picture, so think about motifs such as skulls, stars and crosses. If you are very confident with your style you might also get away with some printed ironic catchphrases and logos, but you should stay away from anything that actually says 'emo' as you will look like a major wannabe. Layers are also a good emo look, such as a t-shirt over a long sleeve shirt, or a long sleeve stretch top under a vest top. Scarves are great for creating a layered look as well, and also brightening up dark outfits. You can get thin silk and linen scarves to wear in the summer, just loosely draped around the neck purely as an accessory. Those big long stripy winter scarves are very cool and you can also get cute matching mittens or even better fingerless gloves which are very much part of the emo look.

Emos never wear sports logos such as Adidas or Nike - way too mainstream, but the odd article of designer clothing is acceptable, such as a really nice pair of tight jeans or a super stylish black shirt, as long as it doesn't have the label in a really obvious place. Jeans of course as mentioned should be tight for an emo look, and also well cut. The emo style usually stays well away from scruffy, so make sure all your trousers are the right length so they are not dragging on the ground and getting tatty, and also the right fit for your legs.

Shoes should be flat, think funky pumps for girls and Converse or Vans trainers for girls and boys. Stay away from big chunky boots as this will look at little too punk, especially when teemed with skirts and tights for the girls. High heels are acceptable in some cases.
Accessories are not vital, but they can help to jazz up a dark outfit. Layering accessories is a popular emo look, such as having lots of bangles on your wrists, or lots of necklaces. Cute tote bags and little backpacks are good too, but stay away from designer or leather handbags, as they look way to formal and showy for this emo style. Piercing and tattoos are also popular, but in moderation otherwise you are straying into punk/goth/metalhead territory.

(I'm going to keep saying this and probably get anyone's nerve who's reading this, but these are just guidelines with MY taste mostly, you can and SHOULD make up your OWN taste. Be creative and fun and funky. Best of luck.)

(This is a crappy pic of some clothes I have, not the best of course because I have almost no jewlry on...I hadn't gotten that far in my daily fixing up yet.)

Long Emo Hair

Long emo hair
Long hair needs to be really well cut, with lots of sharp, funky layers to create definition and stop the hair from looking out of condition and lank. It can be too damaging for long hair to keep dying it different colours, so it might be a good idea just to dye it the basic black, and then use temporary clip-in hair extensions for splashes of colour. Also if you have very thick hair then layers can help smooth out the overall shape and stop it from looking too bushy. If you want to create more volume in a longer style, you can spray the top back layers of your cut with a good holding hairspray, and then gently backcomb with a brush. Keep the longer bottom layers and the fringe straight to maintain that look of well groomed sleekness.

Mid-length Emo Hair

Mid-length emo hair
Mid length emo hair is great for showing off those really choppy sharp styles, so get your layers razor cut and use straightening irons and hair serum to make the finish really modern and sleek. You can also have fun with colours, such as streaks or even clip-in extensions, which come in a range of funky bright dyes. Experiment with accessorises as well, but remember that Emo styles are rarely 'up dos', and the shape of the hair comes from the cut and textures, rather than styling the hair into standard pony tails, plaits, French twists etc.
(See example of Trace Cyrus below.)

Short Emo Hair

Short Emo Hair
Shorter Emo hair styles are all about shape and a good guideline to a basic cut is short and snappy at the back, and longer and sharply razored-in at the front. A simple style to create is to rub a little styling wax into your hair with your fingers and then mist over with hairspray. Then use straightening irons all over to finish off with a smooth, glossy look. The fringe and front sections of the hair are normally left to fall sleekly across the face, or you might want to clip them back with some funky hair grips. Short emo hair is also excellent for recreating spiky styles, and to get those really well groomed, sleek spikes straighten the hair first, and then use a little hair wax to sculpt the spikes upwards.
(See example below.)







(This is a picture of my hair, I know it's crappy but I got bored and realized I sort of have the same hair that I'm describing.)

More on Emo Hair

Emo hair styles encourage people to experiment with the shape of their hair from the cut right through to the accessories, and can be a fun way to individualise your personal look. Clips, grips and hair bands can be used to accentuate and create various shapes, and colour can be added in blocks or streaks to create volume and texture. Emo hairstyles can be any length, and can easily be created at home, although it might be a good idea to get the basic cut done by a professional to get those really sharp, razored-in layers. There are no particular rules when it comes to cutting the hair for Emo styles, just get inventive with choppy layers and fringes, but whatever length you have these styles are normally longer at the front to cover and frame the face.

Emo Wordrobe

Wordrobe
Choose the perfect clothes. Clothes are extremely important, and will help form the basics of your look, define your own style and change your look. Although every person is unique and has their own taste, there are some basics to perfecting the Emo wardrobe. Follow these instructions and you get there:

1. 
   Choose black or navy coloured skinny jeans to wear(you can have different colors if you like even though this would most likely result in you looking like a rainbow) - skinny jeans are optional, there are also baggy jeaned emos out there (those would be more skater though.) They look great when they are ripped and combined with a (usually silver and black) studded belt. You can also try chains hooked onto your belt, badges, or patches.
2. 
   A dark coloured zip-hoodie is a classic must have. Try black, or dark purple. Stripes also work very well; red and black, purple and black and so on. This hoodie and the skinny jeans form the basics of your wardrobe.
3. Wear band t-shirts. These are great for comfortable everyday wear. Find lots of bright colored t-shirts. They can have cartoon characters on them, or they can just have an interesting print - the important thing is that you are comfortable being seen in it. Wear the classic 'shirt and tie'. Find yourself a white shirt with a collar, and wear a black or red tie with it. This also looks good with a black shirt and red tie. Get some proper shoes. Converse, Vans, and DCs are common, but pumps and Doc Martins are also acceptable. Try writing or drawing on your Converse to add a personal touch.

Arm bands, chokers, wrist bands and piercings all help define your own personal style and add to the Emo look.
Remember that Emo is more about the music than the clothes.
People think that Emos have to wear dark colors. There are other colors to wear. Many wear bright, neon colors, such as hot pink, bright green, and bright yellow.
It's a good to get an idea about the Emo culture, since you are trying to immerse yourself into the scene. Falling into sterotypes will only make people hate you; ignorant posers are never popular. So don't just dress Emo if you don't know anything about it, or you will definitely be called a poser.
Don't become the generic "I hate life", "I'm so depressed", "I cut myself" or "I want to die" Emo kid. If you feel this way you should consult a doctor. Emo is not about being depressed.

JEWELRY/ACCESSORIES

1. 
   Short chains with crosses or skulls are great for the boys/girls. Only for girls, small choker style beads are always cute.
2. 
   Small funky colored wrist bands with a small, random insignia on them are great.
3. 
   Spikes are okay as well (but again, more Goth).
4. 
   If you're a girl, wearing different types of earrings is funky.
5. 
   Again, if you're a girl, little girl clips in the hair is always a yes (cute).
6. 
   Arm warmers are cute for both, boys and girls.
7. 
   Horn-rimmed glasses : If you don't need glasses don't wear them, you'll look and feel really stupid and be blind.

Go thrift shopping!

Thrift shopping (charity shops)is so, so cool for an emo; your look is completely unique, nobody else will have the same stuff, and you avoid that poseurish mall-bought look. Some things to look out for:

1. 
   Vintage t-shirts
2. 
   Lots of plain tops (long or short sleeves) for layering
3. 
   Skinny jeans - these are harder to come by on a budget as unfortunately jeans are one of those things where you get what you pay for, but if you hunt around you might find a decent pair that someone's thrown out. They'll be slightly worn too, which is always good.
4. 
   Alternatively, you CAN buy skinny jeans cheap at chain stores. Actually, never be afraid to go into chain stores for anything. Just because they cater to the mainstream doesn't mean you can't find some great stuff there, and it tends to be cheaper than specialist stores. As long as you don't deck out in all the latest fashions, it should be fine.
5. 
   Scarves, cute stripy socks, children's hairclips, safety pins, wristbands, fingerless gloves - these are all things that can be found very cheaply and are definitely emo.
6. 
   Get some shoes...they aren't so cheap. There are some staples that just can't be bought cheap, so save up for a pair of converse sneakers, a cool band hoodie and perhaps a pair of good-quality jeans. If you get the bulk of your wardrobe cheap then you can afford to invest in a couple of dearer items.