Not Just Black Clothes:The Many Styles of Alt Fashion

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By Leila Sell, Opinions Editor

To most people, Emo just means wearing black. Dark hoodies, band shirts, or accessories. That’s just the stereotype. In reality, Alt Fashion is much more than that.

Emo stands for “Emotional.” The subculture is mostly about being in touch with your feelings, and most of the music includes emotionally intense lyrics and sound.

Many famous bands of the Emo genre include My Chemical Romance, Panic! At the Disco, and Fall Out Boy.

“I’ve heard people say it’s stupid, and I hate that because Emo isn’t about wearing black,” senior Michael Sell said. “It’s about the music.”

Emo is just one piece of the Alt Fashion pictureThere's Grunge, Punk, Metal, and Scene: Each with its own style. People may interpret how they are all the same because they all “look the same.” Some go as far as making fun of these styles because they don’t know the deeper meaning of where they come from.

“A lot of people make fun of others who tend to dress Emo, Scene, Goth, etc.” sophomore Madison Trinkle said. “It saddens me in a way because people just want to express themselves and in this generation it seems like you can’t do that without getting any weird looks or harmful comments.”

Grunge originated from the 1990s in Seattle where bands like Nirvanna, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden gained popularity.

These bands land in the Alternative Rock genre. They mostly wear baggy shirts, flannel, and baggy jeans. Some people would describe the style as “bummy” when it's more laid back and casual.

“Goth and Emo are very different, because of their music and their styles of clothing,” senior Erin Frazier said. “Goth is more colorful as Emo wears darker colors.”

Bands like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Joy Division are most known for their gothic lyrics and sound.

There are many sub genres of Goth but the styles are fishnets, leather, and plaid. Goth and Emo are the most likely styles to get mixed up due to their identical color palettes and choices of accessories like, chokers, spiked and/or studded belts.

So is wearing black “Emo?” Well, it can be, but Alt Fashion is all about owning and expressing creativity.

There are many styles that come with black clothing. Each style says what some words can’t.