whenever people call this

emo it drives me BANANAS. no! this is not how emos did their hair. this was a scene look!!! some people might have gone from emo to scene depending on their age when new trends happened but they’re DISTINCT

this is getting more popular so i want to clarify, the above are obv scene queens and were what all scene kids aspired to HOWEVER. all of this⤵️? absolutely would have been considered scene in the late 00s (all photos from searching “emo” on pinterest)

whereas these are more emo⤵️

you will note that the scene kids wear brighter pops of color, especially neon pink and green. there’s a lot of pop culture references, patterns and texture. miniskirts very popular, the more layered the better. the emo kids are more simple, the black skinny jeans are a staple obv and usually dark hair and a band shirt, maybe some stripes but not anything crazier than that in terms of patterns. maybe a few accessories, but not so many that you hear them coming from a few miles away.

now THESE three are more in the middle. personally, i would categorize the first as scene, and the #1 giveaway there is the domo necklace- a scene icon- and the multitude/stacking of accessories backs it up. the middle is harder- the front of the hair and band shirt suggest emo, but the pink, layering, and the hair bow are decidedly scene. i think you could probably call it either way but i would lean scene. the last one is also hard- the hair highlights and amount of accessories are more scene, but the color scheme, especially the silver and black for the accessories as opposed to patterns, make me lean emo.

(source: i was in middle school in 2008)