Emo fashion is highly variable and borrows from goth and punk subcultures. Skinny pants, t-shirts, hoodies, and emo slogans are common. Emo shoes can vary, and accessories should match clothing. Emo is more of an attitude than a fashion style, making it difficult to define. Look to popular emo figures for current trends.
Emo ensembles are highly variable, but they are closely related to emo music. As such, the styles worn by emo bands can be used as an indicator of what is currently acceptable in emo fashion. More generally, emo outfits borrow stylistically from the goth and punk subcultures, and often include tight, black clothing. Much of what looks emo is determined not by clothing, but by hair, makeup, and posture, making it more difficult to determine what clothes will look emo in a finished ensemble.
Commonly, emo outfits will consist of skinny or skinny pants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie of some kind. The pants can be any color, although black and neon are extremely popular. T-shirts can be plain or patterned, and displaying the name of a popular band is common. Hoodies can have patterns all over them or they can be a solid color, but they are usually fitted. Sometimes clothing with long sleeves will have thumbholes cut into the cuff of the item.
Unlike gothic clothing, emo outfits can incorporate any number of colors, although it is typical to combine these colors with black and white. Neon colors are more popular than pastels, but there are no restrictions on colors in emo clothing. In fact, what makes an outfit look emo is much more the fit of the items than the design. Happy, kid-oriented designs can be subverted into moody emo outfits with very little effort.
One feature of emo clothing that is highly unique is the use of emo slogans on clothing. Phrases glorifying bad mood, suicide, and loneliness are popular in emo subcultures. Some people who identify as emo may accuse others who use these slogans of being fake, but it depends on the environment.
Emo shoes can take many different forms, but the shoes worn by skateboarders are popular. Women have many shoe options and many choose to simply wear black or neon shoes. Accessories usually only need to match the clothing. Fine jewelry is generally avoided in favor of cheap, plastic items.
It’s hard to define what constitutes emo clothing because emo is more of an attitude than a fashion style. People who behave a certain way, wear their hair a certain way, and talk about certain topics are likely to be identified as emo no matter what they wear. When selecting an emo outfit, the best strategy is to look at what people who are popular in the emo movement wear. In this way, an observer will always have an impression of what is currently acceptable in the movement.
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