How to Look Emo

Dressing Emo

Stock up on vintage or band shirts. Vintage clothes, in particular, are a popular emo style, as are clothes that promote punk or underground music. Visit a thrift store or garage sale to shop for older clothes that speak to your personal style. Make a list of your favorite punk or "emo" bands as well and buy their T-shirts to complete the look. If you're new to the emo subculture, popular emo bands include Rites of Spring, Moss Icon (American post-hardcore band), Sunny Day Real Estate, The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday, Armor For Sleep, Hollywood Undead, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons and My Chemical Romance. You could combine the vintage and band look and buy shirts from early punk or new wave bands. You could, for example, wear a black and red plaid button-up with your favorite pair of jeans. Plaid shirts and sweaters are also good options.

Select form-fitting outfits. Part of emo fashion involves wearing tight clothes that contour to your body's shape. Take your body's measurements and find clothes that closely match these measurements for a tight fit. To look Emo, wear skulls. While skinny jeans were once a staple of emo fashion, slim-fit jeans have become more popular in recent years. Also, jeans with holes are very popular in emo fashion.

Choose slim-fit jeans or skirts in dark colors. Emo kids usually wear form-fitting bottoms in dark colors or patterns. Skinny jeans or tight-fitting skirts are both popular options, especially when decorated with chains or buckles. Pair black jeans, for example, with a Saves The Day T-shirt and Converse shoes. Boot-cut jeans are popular in Midwestern emo fashion.

Wear canvas shoes, sneakers, or combat boots. Emo kids of both sexes often wear boots or shoes that mimic "punk" footwear because of its origins in underground music. Canvas shoes, combat boots, and sneakers are all popular choices for emo footwear. Many emo kids decorate their canvas shoes with markers or paint to express their personal style. If you're wearing a black band shirt with a plaid skirt, for example, pair the outfit with a pair of dark combat boots. Although heels are not traditionally "emo," Emo people of any gender can always wear heels or flats, typically with a dark color scheme or sometimes models resembling of punk rock footwear. The most important part of your look is confidence! In summer or whenever you feel like it, you can wear leather sandals, preferably black or metallic "glam" glossy straps, with few straps or as many as a gladiator sandal. They pair greatly with light clothing, shorts, light cropped pants, skirts of whatever length worn with bare legs. Once you gain confidence, you can make non typically emo footwear such as loafers or superga work with your overall look.

Pair your look with emo accessories. Once you've chosen an emo top and bottom, personalize your look with a few accessories. In the emo subculture, large or studded belts, horn-rimmed glasses, messenger bags, wristbands, fingerless gloves, and striped socks are all popular accessories. You could, for example, pair a studded black belt with your favorite Fall Out Boy or My Chemical Romance T-shirt. Piercings and tattoos are another common accessory in emo culture. If you're a teen or young adult, always ask your parents before getting piercings or tattoos. A carabiner keychain is a popular accessory in Midwestern emo fashion.

Styling Emo Hair

Do a deep side part in your hair for a traditional emo look. Hold a brush near the corner of your eyebrow and sweep your bangs from your hairline to the side. Continue brushing your side part until it sweeps to the side, then spray it with hairspray to hold it in place. Try borrowing some ideas from the emo pop-punk style for your look! Flat-ironed, choppy, swoopy hair with bangs could work well. Keep your hair short—not long, like a metalhead's.

Get side-swept bangs if desired. Bangs that follow your side part and sweep to the side are a popular hairstyle in emo culture. Depending on your experience cutting hair, you can give yourself bangs or ask a hairstylist to cut you side-swept bangs instead. If you're not sure whether you want to commit to bangs, try sweeping your hair to the side and bobby pinning it up to mimic bangs. Let your bangs fall over or just above one eye for a traditionally emo look.

Dye your hair a dark or experimental hair color for a bold option. Emo kids often dye or streak their hair either black or bright, experimental colors like blue, red, or pink. This is, however, completely optional—if you don't want to dye your hair, you don't have to. For better, long-lasting color, choose a high-quality hair dye with plenty of positive reviews online. If you're not sure what color to choose, ask a hairstylist for advice. You can also try clip-on hair extensions if you're not ready to dye your hair permanently.

Add a few emo hair accessories to complete your look. Emo kids, especially emo girls, often style their hair with a few accessories. Hats, hair clips, and ribbons that follow the emo color schemes are all popular ways to accessorize. You could, for example, put a pink skull hair clip in your hair to complete your look. Although less common, emo men are also welcome to accessorize their hair however they want.

Applying Emo Makeup

Even out your skin tone with a layer of foundation and powder. Choose a foundation that matches your skin color and apply a thin, even coat to your entire face with a sponge or powder brush. Lightly powder your face to even out your skin tone and help mask any blemishes. If you have dark circles or pimples, you can also apply concealer around your eyes and any blemishes.

Wear dark eyeliner to draw attention to your eyes. Thick black, blue, or violet eyeliner is a popular part of the emo look. Draw the eyeliner in a border from the top corners of your eyes to the sides and bottom for a dark, heavy look. You can apply the eyeliner to just your top lid instead for a softer look.

Apply smoky or bright-colored eyeshadow if you want to stand out. Choose an eyeshadow color that either matches or contrasts your eyeliner and apply a thin layer over your eyelid with a makeup brush. Add a thinner layer to your brow ridge and lower eyelid as well for a more shadowy style. For a vibrant look, for example, try applying red eyeshadow with black eyeliner. If you want, you can finish off the look with a thin coat of mascara as well.

Wear dark or colorful lipstick if desired. Choose lipstick that either complements or contrasts with your eye makeup. Apply the lipstick from the center of your lips to the corners, filling in any gaps that you notice afterward. If you have smoky black eyeshadow on, pair it with a violet or red lipstick for a moody, eye-popping look. Anyone can wear lipstick if they want to embrace that part of the emo look.

Add nail polish to complete your look. Nail polish is a popular look all emo people. You can choose a nail polish that goes with your makeup color scheme or an entirely different color if you want to draw attention to it. If you applied black eyeshadow and violet lipstick, for example, you could alternate between black and violet nail polish on your fingernails.