To wonder what happened to Emos?

[Vipersnest88]

Is anyone else young/old enough to have gone through an ‘emo’ phase in the 2002-2007 period? You know, the heavy eyeliner, boys with side fringes, black skinny jeans, studded belts, cool ‘band’ T-shirts and the angsty music that usually talked about broken hearts and self harm?! It was such a huge thing at my secondary school!

You just don’t see teenagers like that anymore! It wasn’t just a few quirky people, whenever I speak to friends of a similar age we all seem to have gone through a similar phase.

Clearly the UK/the world moved on from it but it’s just like that sub-culture has totally disappeared! I realise this is probably how people feel about the 80s etc and the various subcultures! Do they not exist anymore or have I just grown up?

Emos/mini moshers/baby bats. They do still exist.

I was bit too old for emo but was in the mini mosher/skater tribe. Huge baggy jeans that you could fit 3 people in each leg, band hoodies and massive wallet chains. My dress sense and music tastes haven't changed much but I've refined them enough to look like, as my sister says, "Your favourite high school art teacher."

I want to say I’m a former emo kid but I’m actually still an emo kid. What’s the point in clothes if they aren’t black and skintight? Any From First to Last fans about still?

The Emos I knew have all moved on to other looks now which I find quite sad as they claimed to be Emo til they died.
All the Goths I knew in the 70s/80s are still Goths - they go to Whitby twice a year, wear dark smart clothes, eclectic home decoration, their hair is still quite dark but it's all toned down now we're in our 40s/50s.
The Crustie, Rock & Indie fans from that era also show their roots. They tend towards IT or Academics where they have a looser dress scheme.
Lots of bands from that era still touring which is always a fun reunion.
I merged various scenes, Goth/Crusty/Indie/Rock in the 80s & Grunge & Britpop in the early 90s with a fair amount of Madonna & Prince records as well so have always looked a bit of a mishmash and continue to do so.
My smart look is a dark trouser suit with dark shirt & clompy boots, my casual look is more dark jeans/flowing skirts/tie-dye wide-legged trousers with clompy boots. It's very rare that I wear bright colours but still have a predilection for grungey check shirts.
The boots are always from New Rock and subtlely platformy with a few sneaky buckles. Still got all the piercings. Hair going grey so toning down the dark ready to go totally grey. Snakebite & black still tastes damn good - much better than wine!
Ain't ready to change my look/life yet & Im 47!

I listened to the music and did the heavy eye liner but didn't do the clothes. I still listen to the music and similar styles of music from newer bands. My stepson and his girlfriend who are 13 years younger than me like to go through my music collection (I still use cds). I haven't seen any teen emos, goths, metalheads or skater kids in years.

I love this thread!
My sister was a full on emo although now a metaller and mortified if you bring it up to her and I was a fairweather emo for all of five minutes! I tried but only half heartedly liked the music. I went to a Greenday show in Wembley and fell completely in love with the music of the support artist (Frank Turner) and I think that was the end of my emo days. I now listen to the aforementioned Frank Turner, The Gaslight Anthem/Brian Fallon, Against Me, Dave Hause, Cage the Elephant etc. I don't know what that makes me. I have a somewhat patchwork sleeve tattoo that I have been chipping away at for years and still wear docs and plaid though so who knows...

I have one here. It hasn’t gone away. All her friends are similar 🙂

I was a cure-head. I let her at it.

I’m in my early 50s and was a goth back in the day. Grew up in Leeds where there was a huge scene. Phonographique was a notable club, lots of local bands - fields of nephilim, mission, sisters of mercy, all about eve - still listen now and again

Love this thread. I have found my people.

I'm in my late twenties, married with two children, and don't think I've ever quite outgrown my emo phase tbh. My username is an All Time Low song ffs

Who remembers standing in a circle with your friends, taking photos of your feet (obviously all wearing checkered Van's or converse) for myspace?

I was almost an emo, if I'd been a couple of years younger I would have been right there like a shot. The fact was I hung around with goths and metalheads, and emos were just sooooo uncool and everyone's little brother/sister.

:o to the star tattoos.

My brother was the ultimate emo.

He's now a clean eating hipster who runs marathons, is bald (purposely) and has a statement beard.

He is very embarrassed when any old pics of his emo phase surface

The same thing that happened to the goths of the late 70s and early 80s, I should think! I still have the Mary Quant 7th heaven silver blue lippy that was my go to at uni, but these days I prefer a berry shade, and instead of black I wear charcoals and greys and even some colours!

My younger sister and her friends were emos, she took DS out one day and he came back in black skinny jeans with a chain, black skull t shirt and hoodie, skate shoes, and his hair straightened. He looked ace and insisted all his clothes were black for a long time after - he was about 6! He is 19 now and still loves the music.

Bunnyhop I had a FFTL school bag that my grandma bought me with a postal order from one of the companies in the back of Kerrang I tried to play it cool with "it's actually Skrillex ugh God."

I'm in my early 20s and I think we were just the tail end of emo/scene before Tumblr became a culture of its own and Instagram took off. I always wonder how I managed to get my hair to do the puffy thing and how we didn't set ourselves alight smoking rollups or sterilising compasses to jab through our own ears and lips with all that hairspray about.
I love looking at all the old Myspace icons to see what they're doing now. I covered my books in pictures of Jeffree Star/Alex Evans/MCR/FOB/Panic/BMTH/Hawthorne Heights etc. Frank Turner ended my emo phase and I remember being told he was a sixth form Tory wanker which I disputed and now agree with
I was relentlessly bullied for my emoness and I don't think I've ever felt an anger such as when The Black Parade entered the charts and everyone suddenly liked it.
I remember telling my mam I'd found this sick band no one had ever heard of called The Damned and she rolled her eyes and said she wanted to call me Eloise.
I have seen a few tiny emos bopping about lately and I absolutely love how every recovered emo's ears prick up when they hear a G chord. I am still an emo at heart, I've just cut the fringe, accepted that I also have a deep love of rap and country music, and chucked the Criminal Damage jeans cos I can't fit in them anymore

I’m 36 and still here! I’m a goth though. During the ‘day job’ I have to make do with my new rocks, skinny jeans or skirt and lace top, but come the weekends I’m in a corset most of the time!

I was a bit unclear about what emo was
But as a fan of the 1975, I'm told the multitalented Matty is the Emo
King?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=1nUXY7io9xg

I was an emo kid! MySpace ruled my teen years as did the eyeliner and fringes.

Friday night gigs were my life as were my collection of converse and skinny jeans.

I am now 28 and I actually met my DH at a gig. I still listen to the music every now and then.

God I loved it.

DD isn't far off it at the moment. She doesn't follow fashion at all, and is massively into Billie Eillish as well. Then her godmother brought her round a huge bag of her daughter's late 90s Criminal Damage and He'll Bunny stuff, loads and loads of Emo style stuff and she nearly fainted from joy.
She's already on at me to cut her hair with a longer fridge bit and shaved up the sides ( had to decline that one due to school).
She more recently found an old studded leather cuff of mine from my indie goth kid days pre her dad (so 97/98/99) and wears that quite regularly.
A newer thing her lot do is buy face masks off Wish with little designs on. She's been bringing home cash from her mates and nicking my Wish account as they're £1 on there. I had to text mum's to check they were OK with it but thankfully all were fine.

Ahhh former Emo here too
I'm a mum to a 5 month old and still listen to the music in the car but dress much more 'normally' (still have piercings though!) and dabble in unusual hair colours but can see under my fringe now

There are still some emos. But I think a lot of youngsters who in the past would've been emos are 'non-binary' now instead.

I did keep wondering why so many teens look so "normal" now!
I was "alternative" a bit before the emo stage , mainly those weird massive combats with tassles or huge punkyfish jeans, hoodies with thumb holes, purple cord flares with a budda top, thigh high socks and denim skirt.
I've mainly swapped it out for dm's, skinny jeans, irregular choice, 50's dresses, hippy stuff and purple hair with nose piercings...
I'll still wear crazy tights and socks.

I’m 31 and was full-on emo in the mid-00s. I still have the piercings, pile on the eyeliner and listen to practically nothing except MCR and TBS. I don’t run around in ripped fishnets and red tulle tutus any more though!

Ah, those were the days!

May be outing but I've recently got a pixie cut and invested in a leather jacket. Feel a bit retro and look a bit more intimidating than I would like but I feel more "me" than I've done since I was a greebo (sort of goth but more colours allowed, crossed with skater I guess).. emo was the style that came after, we used to sneer at their side partings and coloured streaks! My go to going out outfit was a charity shop corset or crop top with extra black ribbons, rainbow beads choker necklace, loads of little stud earrings plus flesh tunnels, hipster baggy corderouys the wider and more ridiculous the better, long hair for moshing/headbanging and big chunky DC skater trainers. I miss the freedom and creativity to put together a totally bonkers outfit!

@jaseyraex I remember the feet photos! And putting out two fingers with everyone to make a star!

There's a club in my town and it's full of emos in their mid 20s to early 30s every weekend, they dress like that all the time so not just getting dressed up for a night out- there's still a bit of a scene for it here!

I was a real mix. Am 30 now and I miss that era so so much , I would say I was more of a 'scene kid' than an emo kid as didn't really like fall out boy and bands like that( did love taking back Sunday and funeral for a friend though) but LOVED Atreyu, Aiden, from first to last , bleeding through and more of the heavy stuff.
I used to wear skinny black jeans with creepers , a band t shirt and studded belt with a leather jacket heaps of eyeliner and red or pale lips with long black hair extensions and a thick fringe. I kinda mixed emo , psycho billy and goth all together as I was into all of it !!! I still dress like this too haha...I wonder what people think haha.

I look back so fondly at this time as it was the best time of my life. Gigs , going up to London and feeling like I belonged and the atmosphere. My boyfriend and I were the only ' emos ' in the school.

It is so nice to many of us on this thread 😍