THIS is what they shoulda been wearing at the Met Gala

I am closer to 30 and I grew up with this style and MySpace at 13. You did a great job covering it and the depth with Japanese alternative culture influences. I am so for those who want to embrace this style now. You can actually do it without frying your hair now 🤣

As a 2008 scene girl... this was a real trip down memory lane!! As a now 27 year old... I can leave that style in the past! hah

as a former emo/scene kid (still have emo bits in me), i have to appreciate how much detail you were able to compile about that era of the aesthetic… but the “i ♡ boobies” bracelets weren’t just goofy and edgy, they were actually supporting breast cancer charities! they became super popular with a lot of young-late teens because of the fun, collectible and often free nature of them so loads of bands and brands and other charities and organisations (i.e. PETA - a good amount of kids in this scene were vegetarian or vegan!) started making their own. they were given away for free or sold for a few bucks at Vans Warped Tour or other emo/hardcore shows and of course Hot Topic lmao - that’s how it formed a solid place in the scene kid community 🥲 thanks for making this video !! 🖤🥀⛓

I never considered the possible connection between scene and gyaru fashion, but it makes so much sense considering how many scene kids were into anime back in the day.

"If you're over 25, you've probably never heard of them." That, unironically, aged well lol. Here I am at 25 and reminiscing about being emo and scene.

one thing I really appreciate about the comeback is that modern scene kids are allowed to have more than one body type. In the 2000s there was no way you could dress scene, emo, or really.. in any way considered "trendy" at the time if you were heavier set without being harassed for it, not to mention the racism that dominated a lot of those spaces. Those problems still exist, but I'm glad we're seeing a slow shift towards acceptance and diversity.

As a preteen in the 2010s I remember wanting to be a scene kid so bad. I was into mcr and looked at scene kids on google. I’m happy looking at the video and seeing some black scene kids , because I never saw any when I looked up pics and that was my main deterrent from the aesthetic(I’m black btw).

it's been years and i still can't understand how they did their hair, so much going on!

Oh, I fucking lost it at the "Rawring 20s" lmaoooo I was a scene kid back in the day, and I just have to say, more power to the ones wanting to try it out now. The piercings are certainly more mainstream now!

Audrey Kitching’s scene style back then was all 15 year old me wanted 😂 I literally would wake up at 4am for high school so I could “tease” my hair to be that big

Me, a former scene kid who self harmed, knowing 99% of my scene friends also self harmed: Yesss.. Arm warmers were just to keep us warm (๑•﹏•)

I still remember when i was 10 and i want to be a scene girl so bad 😭

it was so odd to watch a video talk about my teenage years as history… i didn’t know there was such a clear distinction between emos and scene kids. we were all so merged together back then, i always thought we were all one in the same.

My early high school days was the “safe” scene look without the hair because my mom was NOT having it. Lol the long converse, black and neon clothes with carton characters, and the bracelets and jewelry from Spencer’s. I miss those days.

I’m glad you mentioned the connections to Japanese fashion but I’m surprised you didn’t mention decora style as an influence to the more maximalist scene types of dressing. I def followed scenesters back in the day who wore 374647 clips and accessories like decora girls.

Me as a kid thinking emo and scene kids were always around and would be around forever and they pretty much disappeared when I was in high school.

As a 30 year old, definitely still emo, person who was right in the thick of it in the early 2000s, you've done a good job! Japanese/asian culture was and is such a big part of the scene, from the shows we watched, the shops we went to, and the snacks we ate (bubble tea, sushi and pocky were standard!), so I'm very glad that got a good sized mention! I will say though, Glam Rock and Hair Metal also had huge influence on the aesthetic, along with punk and post punk/new wave. Thanks for always doing such great content!

What a throwback. Scene kids were so extremely hated. So weird to be in an age group where my teen experiences are now a historical artefact.

This honestly could be a 'how to be scene' video lol I loved it so much! Many of the people wearing the style now, including those who were featured in this video (myself included) are actually adults! I love dressing the way 13 year old me wanted to :)

As someone who was never brave or rich or skinny enough to afford the scene life when I was a teenager, I'm so happy that teens are able to do so now, the increased diversity is great to see!

RPDR queen Farrah Moan was formerly known online as scene boy 'Cameron Ugh' -- she did a really interesting interview about being part of the scene movement a few months ago!! Would recommend it to anyone curious about the subject and also from the perspective of someone who was one of the most recognisable faces. It's on The Emo Chronicles' channel :)

Y'all don't know how bad I want a pair of knee high converse 😭

My speech teacher in high school referred to me and my best friend as “Disney channel rejects” because of our scene style and colorful pants and tops lmao

I've never wanted to be like them but i really like to see how they dress and I unlocked Millionaries and Jefree Star music memory. it's was a very moment to live lol

i feel like you can't talk about scene kids without talking about the influence of hot topic. it was so heavily associated with the 2000s scene, emo and goth subcultures that some people even thought the stores were possessed and went in literally carrying bibles

So I’m 32 and very much still into scene music (my handle is a Brand New quote LOL), but I think that with time there’s come to be some confusion about how we actually dressed at the beginning of the scene (‘00-‘07ish) and what it evolved into. In the early aughts, Emo was a term used for those who were into softer, more melodic bands (think Dashboard Confessional). They tended to dress in a bookish, indie kid kinda way. You can still find early meme-like comics demonstrating this. Emo was also a slur used outside the scene for all of us in general (people would shout, “go kill yourself Emo kid”). Yikes. It has since been reclaimed and is now used as an umbrella term for a whole plethora of alternative music, in large part thanks to events like Emo Nite. Scene kids didn’t start off wearing these bright crunk core kind of outfits. We actually called our music post -hardcore or sometimes screamo. This is because scene was originally more of an offshoot of the hardcore scene. It maintained the screaming but layered more melodic vocal harmonies. It wasn’t until the late aughts that scene style evolved to incorporate these brighter colors and dancier beats. Also, the platform we used a lot in the beginning was Xanga, which was popular before MySpace. Finally, I will wrap up this TED talk with something I rarely hear about the scene, which is that it was way more diverse than it seems in the few remaining pics you can find on google images. It was a relative safe-haven for all sorts of LGBTQ expression, though at the time we only really had the term “bisexual” for all sorts of gender-non-conforming scene kids. Think about it - everyone was wearing extensions, exaggerated makeup and women’s clothing. It was like a giant drag party and a big middle finger to the gender binary and mainstream cultural norms. It also allowed an outlet and safe-haven for those of us who had mental health issues, before therapy was even a possibility for most people. So yeah, cool vid, but it’s more about the end of the scene than it’s entire history.

Ah yes, nothing could have topped walking into Hot Topic for the first time in 2010 where you were immersed in studded belts, a rainbow of wristbands, Invader Zim merch, all which soaking up the ambiance as the cashier played Blood on the Dance Floor

I went go high school in the south during the hight of the scene craze. Our school had an interesting spin on it since elements of southern prep would creep into people’s scene outfits which I thought was neat. My mom let me wear a lot of the scene kid basics, but was really strict about my hair, so I basically was a scene kid without the hair. In hindsight I’m kind of glad she didn’t let me since I had hair down my entire back by the end of HS, while everyone was struggling to grow out their bobs.

I was a scene kid! So much fun. Choppy layers, teased hair, myspace, neon animal print skinny jeans, overexposed mirror selfies in the bathroom, rawr, wh0re trains, warped tour, boobies bracelet's, pc4pc, our scene anthem "fer sure" by the medic droid. Ah, what a time to be alive🦖💎💖

I’ve never seen black scene kids before! I love that you’ve included them here.

I was a child when this was popular and I think part of why it's coming back in trend is because people who were too young to participate in the trend now can! I definitely have a huge appreciation for this fashion, it makes me feel cozy, reminds me of when I use to buy the magazines with the pink arm fishnets in and play roblox spaming "XD" in chat on the mini games♡

this could not have come out at a better time - i’m fulfilling my 13 y/o dream by being a scene queen for halloween

"Are E-Girls the scene queens of 2021" sounds more accurate.

I’m a guy and was really into this stuff. kandi bead making, teenage raves, highlighted hair, skinny jeans, crazy belts, band tees.. All of it. One thing that was unfortunate was a lot of the girls I hung out with had a very rebellious streak, they also tended to be depressed and I knew more than one girl that was a chronic self harming cutter. Im glad mental heath awareness is better now than it was then. Great summary PLUR

The scene and goth style and music was what got me through my teenage years. Growing up in a small town the prominent style was either preppy or hunting/fishing chic. My small friend group and I became social pariah's around town because we were the only ones dressing like this. I remember staying up all night chatting on myspace, vampirefreaks or aim/msn feeling much more accepted and understood there. The style became my armor both by hiding my self harm scars and making me unconcerned with what people at school thought about me.

I remember calling myself KikiRainbowx3 as a screen name. Man I miss this shit so much I'm glad teens are having fun with the style. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily a scene kid still, but I still hold on to a lot of the basic elements in my current style and have slowly changed it to be a little less cringe and more mature as I age. As I currently type this I'm using my Domo blanket I got when I was like 13. I still love it lol

I’m so ready for the scene kid revival - cringe is dead do what makes you happy

its so interesting how when I was 11 - 12, the emo subculture was at its peak and I couldnt fully participate in it because I was a kid and it wasnt until I turned 17 - 19 that I was able to join the scene era. And I was convinced that e girls from 2019 were just kids who were too young to participate in the scene era and took most of their characteristics to evolve it into the aesthetic that e girls now have.

I was around 8 years old when scene died down... What my current teen self wouldn't give to experience it firsthand :,)

This style, out of all of them, stands out to me as the most early 2000s thing ever. Like it's so 2006 for me. The style, the attitude, the teen culture back then. Whenever I think back to the teens of the early to mid-2000s, the scene kids come to mind first. They had the most distinctive style and attitude out of all of the teens of the early and mid-2000s. I was never a scene kid, but I aspired to be so free with my style as they were at the time, and I did borrow things from their looks from the big bows to the shutter shades. I never cared for their hair tho, lol. At least not on the girls when they went too crazy with it. I didn't mind the big hair (as I wore some of these big GothicLolita wigs when doing Gyaru and Lolita fashion), but the racoon tails and angular cuts of hair was not for me. But they made it look cool back then. But it is so scene. Nothing else looks quite like the hair of the Scene queens. Though I'm sure if I looked back on the social media sites and platforms of these scene teens back then I'd run into a lot of blatant racism, homophobia, and pro-eating disorder content as well- thinking of you Kiki Cannibal and her sister Dakota Rose.

when you said "crunkcore", i almost passed out... 😭 i missed this era with my shitty side bangs, band tees and going to warped tour lmao

Gyaru disserves it's own video, pretty cool subculture

I know this has been mentioned many times but the ED's and self harm of the 00's were out of control. It wasn't just the scene community. It was pervasive in popular culture at that time. I was way to old to be scene and an adult but in the early 00's everyone I knew, including myself, had disordered eating and was super self destructive. For me things calmed down around 2005/2006 but only after my friend/neighbor killed herself. It was a tragedy but also a big wake up call to me. My point being it wasn't just scene kids, the early 00's were a rough ride for a lot of people. I really hope the resurgence of scene doesn't bring that part of the 00's back. I have a preteen daughter now and am afraid of ... All that and more. Interesting side note I had no idea what scene was or that it even existed until 2015 and then only because my husband worked for someone who was a musician associated with scene culture. He asked me if I had ever heard of his band and I had not. The band is pretty well known and still touring. I was just that oblivious.

As someone who participated in scene ~back in the day~ it actually makes me really happy to see its resurgence. It’s was a fun time and I miss it a lot

I remember having a belt made of bullet casings that was legit like 20lbs that I would wear absolutely every day, with my tight band shirts, skinny jeans, and swoopy hair. Simpler times. 😌

Many of peers in middle school and high school wore the scene queen attire. Now as an adult in her late 20s teaching in middle school I was holy surprised that some middle schoolers have adapted this fashion. It’s super cool to see this iconic fashion comeback.

Hearing kandi be talked about in a historical/documentary style format is the oldest I've ever felt💀So many hours spent making crazy 3D cuffs and masks(little did we know)😷

I’m 34, so this was actually when I was in high school. Never thought I would see scene girls come back, but I’m glad. It was a fun movement and really radical back in the day. Style was much more modest 20 years ago, so seeing someone go out in skin tight torn up jeans and big colorful hair was really fun. I wasn’t much of a scene kid, but I did wear more punk attire, high top converse, and had big layered hair. My friends were definitely into the scene style more than me and it was super fun teasing and killing each other’s hair after school.

I can't believe how well researched this video is! I dressed as scene as one possibly could with moderately strict parents. I then switched to "tumblr hipster" fashion my last two years of high school after 2010 😭

I’m a teenager in 2023 and I’ve always been obsessed with scene and emo since I was a little kid. I remember my older sister had a slight scene/emo phase when I was little and I still remember her dying her hair bright red while blasting FOB and Panic! :)

i was in emo-scene scene since 2011, still listening to same music and still doing the look part all the way and im happy it kinda revived in past years

the moment you showed that fox news segment I remembered that being aired. My school had alot of emos, hardcore, ska, metal, and goth kids and so we all kinda kicked it with eachother (sometimes even starting ska/ moshpits if someone brought speakers) other sites that were kinda big at the time for alternative kids was vampirefreaks,IMVU, gia online, and maple story. I was around when emo/scene blew up at warped tour in 07 saw bands like scary kids scaring kids, bayside, along with other bands that were under the punk subculture umbrella like bad religion, catch22. It was a moment in time that only could've happened then. I look at it fondly but I will admit there were things that would not be okay now but we learned.

i love how you add in different pictures of the aesthetic and not just one skinny white girl, sometimes when i see popular trends i never see girls who are curvy and black like me so im really glad you did! 💕

Trying to put your part in your hair down the middle for girls like us who did this to our hair feels like it’s impossible.

God this video is like my life flashing before my eyes lmao. One thing I'll note though - I think your Gyaru observation is super interesting, I had never considered that, but I'd argue it draws more from Visual Kei than Gyaru. Partially from the aesthetic and just partially from knowing many a scene kid, there is a chance they know who Gackt is but there's no way they'd know what Liz Lisa is.

Soo happy you talked about gyaru subculture!! I love them so much !

The Japanese trend of Decora was also an influence on the Kandi and excessive colourful and cute hair accessories. Loved this trip down memory lane ❤️

im grateful this style is making a comeback tbh!! im nearing 22 and didnt rlly learn abt scene fashion until i joined tumblr at 11, and by then the subculture was dying pretty quickly. i was emo nonetheless (stopped dressing tht way bc i got bullied in school rlly badly tho), but a lot of details from scene culture have always been more fun to me, and id find myself googling “scene girl” and “scene boy” wishing i could look like them. i like to mix scene and emo nowadays, i like fashion/music aspects of both. plus now that its regaining popularity i cn dress how i want and not worry abt bullying \o/

when i was like 8-10 somewhere in there, I wanted to be a scene kid so bad. I would go to hot topic getting invader Zim stuff (since my dad also loves that show) and look at the workers wishing to be them. now that I'm older im now 100% living out my dreams :)

my case is this scene queens is the mother of egirls fashion aesthetic

As an emo kid that wished so badly to be a scene queen this hits my nostalgia. I did alot of this without the hair and piercings

The thing that I personally like the most about these recent re-emergences of trends from the 2000’s and the 2010’s by Gen-Z is that it’s all done out of a place of love. I’m 19 and while I don’t see myself ever going full scene Queen or twiheart, these trends were things that we saw around us growing up but before we weren’t old enough to have the agency to choose it for ourselves. I personally have been really into soft kidcore (kidcores older more respectable in a workplace sister) and have found my choices of clothing reflecting youthful silhouettes and styles from my elementary school days with a more mature colour palette and themes. Things that reflect this in my wardrobe are ‘timeless’ shoes like Mary Janes and Vans, colourblock clothes, denim jackets with denim in pants, minimal accessories, no makeup makeup (or just no makeup) tshirts with graphics, friendship bracelets, and other childlike but not childish things.

The cutting thing wasnt just a stereotype w a lot of scene queens doing self harm photoshoots or being proud of their fans cutting for them. Jeffree star is probably the most famous example of that

Id love to see you do something on the history of goth fashion, there aren't many videos that actually go into detail on the fashion specifically because it's a music based subculture, but you can see the differences and new things added to the old

As a person whos been emo/scene for 6 years this is the most respectful and in depth analysis of it ive seen. No one really takes it seriously so you handling it so respectfully is actually really unheard of

I remember being obsessed with scene fashion and photos of girls on MySpace when I was in high school 2004-2008. I lived in such a small town that NOBODY dressed like that and I only saw that type of clothing in Hot Topic and Spencer's in the mall over an hour away. Now I'm 30 and looking back I see how badly I wanted to be scene and missed out, so this video feels like an ode to my denial of self back when it first began. Think I'll add some of the discussed gloriously tacky scene elements into my wardrobe nfg. Thanks🖤

in my opinion i think the difference between scene kids and e-girls is that scene kids had their roots in music (: 💔

I dressed pretty emo in high school and I remember wanting to dress scene so bad but I was too afraid of what people would think so I would stick to subtle things such as hair bows, converse, coloured skinny jeans and graphic tees. Now I kinda regret not trying this fun look back then.

Oh, the nostalgia! I was definitely scene lite/adjacent. Skinny jeans, band tees, and converse (yes, I loved my knee hi converse). It’s cool seeing the style get more inclusive.

I am 30 now and this really took me back, haha. As much as I loved the fashion and music of the scene and Emo community I do not miss the dark side to it….Unfortunately, eating disorders and self harm ended up being glamorized in some parts of the community and it was easy for younger girls/boys to get pulled in. But the other parts of it were iconic and really paved the way for different genres today.

I WAS SCENE 2008-2009 😂 it was glorious days, my iconic oufit was red skinny jeans with rips up to the hips (yes exposing boxers), band shirt layered with white long sleeve, red and black striped gloves, one red converse and one black, and a COLLAR made from a broken $3 BELT...

My Myspace was FILLED with the scene themes and I was living my broke ass scene looks. Now that I’m independent and I earn my own money I’ll revisit these looks again with a modern flair lmao

"The rawr-ing 20s" is so good oml

absolutely hysterical reliving my days in this style, and one of my friends appeared in this video twice!

In Argentina, during the 00s we had the "floggers" (users of Fotolog, a popular social media site of the time) whose aesthetic was similar to the scene kids (specially regarding skinny colorful jeans and heavy eyeliner).

The sexual politics of the scene were awful, which only made the concept of "queens" more bizarre. This was the scene that gave us Dahvie Vanity after all.

I'm so glad she covered it with great respect despite her not liking a lot of styles in the scene space, like the shutter shades.

i was friends with a lot of kids that were into the scene subculture so i incorporated it into my style a little bit but i wasn’t an actual “scene kid”. i don’t mind the revival, i love seeing kids getting to express themselves and i’m glad it’s seen as more of an acceptable style now. i just hate that it makes me feel old.

I remember this trend so well. It’s never appealed to my personal style, but I’m glad scene having a comeback. It feels very nostalgic.

Scene/emo was probably my first experience with alt fashion/subculture I was too young and shy to really be apart of the subculture but I remember admiring scene queens so much as a young girl

I was goth in those days but had plenty of emo and scene friends. This video was SO nostalgic thank you!😂❤

let's be realistic. armwarmers weren't to "keep people warm"... they knew exactly what they were implying. whether they actually cut themselves or not, they liked the idea that it might *look* like they do. so many emos glamorized self harm, let's not ignore that.

cycling through nostalgic trends seems to be *the* trend today .... im an older gen z and even i'm getting whiplash from how fast theyre going through all the trends from 80s to early 2010s. istg if i see a 'hipster' again i will lose it kfjdkdjkdd

I was a 10 year old black girl who was OBSESSED with scene queens but none of them ever looked like me lol. I only found two black emo/scene queens ever (shoutout to drew disaster on YT lol)

love your in depth look/breakdown videos!

I used to be a scene queen so I was so happy when I saw that you uploaded this. I did my hair so much that my hair is actually still fried to this day I still have the tiaras piled up in my closet and even some of my skinny jeans and the bracelets very have a special place in my jewelry box lmfao

As an OG scene kid I am SO HERE for the revival! RaWr!!!1!!11!xDDD

I was a myspace scene kid back in the day xD I still wear stacked bracelets, black eye liner, and do weird shit to my hair. My son turned 12 this year, and he's been showing an interest in more alternative aesthetics.

Oh lord, I remember growing up with this style and being obsessed with it in middle school in particular. Oof. That’s some humiliating memories that brought up right there 😅

32 and a former emo kid here! It was such a fun time, I remember being at a gig (I think it was AFI?) and someone was handing out FBR mix CDs, which is where I heard P!ATD for the first time. Kinda miss it, but not enough to ever do that to my hair again. 😂

Omg this is so nostalgic. I never managed to achieve the ultimate scene queen look, but I did have most of the stapels described. Still deeply submerged into J-fashion nowadays. Alternative fashion love in me will never die

I love your videos about 2000's style and how you mention how a lot of "aesthetics" in the 2000's were basically about being skinny and white lol

My aunt was a scene queen. I showed her this video and she was actually happy about the revivals. with the resurgence more people are thrifting. Alot of people have boxes of thier old clothes sitting in boxes(like my aunt), so for those clothes to be given a new life is awesome

As a good straight-laced girl growing up in a very conservative household, I coveted the scene look so bad but, naturally, my parents were having none of it. I wound up with a few neon or black accessories (I loved the crap out of my stockings and my arm warmers) but never was able to go full scene. At least I never fried my hair. 😂

Ive been waiting for this one... As someone who was in middle school in the mid-late 2000's living my Skins Gen 1, scene-kid fantasy, absolutely unsupervised on the internet and in awe of my few moderately "myspace famous" friends; my formative years were spent at local screamo shows and blowing my allowance on Hot Topic, Claires and Sanrio hair accessories and novelty pieces. This was such a great breakdown! I really appreciate seeing the influences for scene culture be so well explained and presented especially the early 2000's Japanese influences. The only thing I would love to see explored is the hardcore music scene's influence. Hyperpop and crunk core were huge, but post punk, indie, emo, screamo, and hardcore music were super connected to the style. Especially hardcore and some metalcore influenced the '"brutal"' parts- brass knuckle necklaces and harsh black eyeshadow, the cartoon violence on graphic tshirts. "Scene names" were usually a first name or nick name followed by something shocking and dark (or sugary sweet, like Cupcake). Malls were also such popular hangouts ( iconic banger "Lets Go To The Mall") a lot of the look was off the rack but blended a lot of current styles together like borrowing from skater or even "preppy" fashion so its interesting to watch Gen Z mostly find their looks through depop or thrifting! Thank you so much for covering this era with respect and positvity. Scene culture as fun as it was was filled with a lot of toxicity most of us were enduring at an unbelievably young age. It had a lot of focus on vanity and appearance, and I remember constantly comparing myself to other girls especially with things like Myspace trains and online popularity. I really hope these kids can have a space to express themselves more freely. I still play my 2007 playlist all the time.

The connection between gyaru and scene is so interesting but also pretty valid considering a lot of late 2000s scene trends took notes from Japanese street fashion and culture. I remember being a baby weeb during the late 00s and early 10s while also loving scene fashion. As a grown up now, and knowing more information and even occasionally dressing in gyaru (mainly Ganguro) fashions, the big teased hair of the Yamanba (a late 00s gyaru subculture) was never something I would have ever thought had a correlation with scene. Great analysis! Also, just to note, the images shown in the video to represent “gyaru” are a mashup of different gyaru sub styles from different periods in gyaru’s timeline. I think scene took notes from the Yamanba of the late 00s. While this channel may be more focused on Western trends and fashion, I would love to see gyaru being discussed in detail because due to Tik Tok, I’ve seen a small rise in 90s-00s inspired Ganguro gyaru and thus, a misrepresentation of the gyaru style and it’s culture as a whole. People need to know that a mid 2010s Kuro gyaru isn’t the same as an early 2000s Manba.

I’ve saved this video for a time when I can truly appreciate it. This was extremely in depth and accurate! Having lived through the height of this period when I was an early teen this made me sooo nostalgic. I still integrate some of the style into my wardrobe today and will defend my side bangs til death! I’m happy there is a resurgence, I was so sad it died off.

this is so good omg. I'd love to hear you talk about how so many of the style waves (even the more alternative ones) of the 2000s kind of relied on being super thin to fit into the aesthetic.

I hope one day you'll do a seperate video on gyarus! I'd love to see your opinions the specific subcultures!