If emo was black and moody, scene was emo after three energy drinks. Scene kids of the mid-to-late 2000s had huge teased hair in bright colours, often with “raccoon tail” stripes, tight band tees, neon skinny jeans, studded belts, armfuls of plastic bead bracelets and a love of anything cute and loud, from Hello Kitty to dinosaurs. Scene lived on MySpace, where its stars became some of the first internet-famous teenagers. Today it is back as a nostalgic TikTok style called “scenecore”.
What is scene?
Scene was a youth subculture that grew out of emo and pop-punk around 2005 and peaked around 2008. The name probably came from the idea of being part of “the scene”, the local music crowd, and was first used half as an insult. Scene mixed emo’s band culture with rave colours, Japanese cuteness and internet humour. It was less about sadness and more about fun, attention and self-expression. It was also one of the first subcultures built mainly online, through profile pictures, layouts and comment sections.
Where it came from
MySpace, launched in 2003, was the engine of scene. Users could customise their profile pages with backgrounds, glitter text and a song that played automatically, and popular users gathered thousands of friends. The perfect scene photo was taken from above, with a digital camera held at arm’s length, showing off a sweep of coloured hair. Some young people, nicknamed “scene queens”, became famous for their style and gathered huge followings, years before the word “influencer” existed.
The music ranged from emo and post-hardcore to electronic and pop-flavoured bands that mixed screaming with synths and dance beats, and acts such as 3OH!3, Breathe Carolina and Never Shout Never. Scene kids also borrowed “kandi”, the colourful plastic bead bracelets traded at raves, and the cute characters of Japanese pop culture. By around 2010, as MySpace faded and Facebook and Tumblr took over, scene disappeared from most school corridors.
The codes
- Hair: the most important element. Short, choppy, heavily teased layers on top, long fringe, extensions, bright dyed colours and “raccoon tail” stripes; bows and clips.
- Clothes: tight band tees, graphic tees with cartoon characters, zip hoodies, neon or patterned skinny jeans, tutus, mini skirts, leg warmers.
- Accessories: kandi bracelets, studded belts, chunky plastic jewellery, big headphones, Hello Kitty and dinosaur items, snakebite piercings.
- Shoes: Converse, Vans, skate shoes in bright colours.
- Make-up: heavy black eyeliner, sometimes with bright eyeshadow.
- Colours: black mixed with neon pink, green, blue, purple and leopard and zebra prints.
See the mood
IMAGES: PINTEREST. TAP ANY IMAGE TO SEE IT ON PINTEREST AND ITS ORIGINAL SOURCE.
The references
Platforms: MySpace, early YouTube, PhotoBucket, and forums where kids shared hair tutorials and layouts.
Music: electronic-tinged post-hardcore, emo-pop, 3OH!3, Breathe Carolina, Never Shout Never, and the Vans Warped Tour.
Pop culture: Hello Kitty, Invader Zim, dinosaurs, “rawr” and other early internet slang, and the 2000s fashion of stores such as Hot Topic.
The key pieces, explained
The hair. Scene was, above all, a hairstyle. Hair was cut in short, choppy layers on top and left long underneath, backcombed for height, straightened flat at the ends and swept into a heavy side fringe. Colour was everything: jet black with neon pink, blue or green sections, blonde-and-black “raccoon tail” stripes, and clip-in extensions in every shade. Bows, plastic clips and bandanas sat on top.
The jeans. Skinny jeans, but rarely plain: neon colours, leopard print, checkerboard, tartan or bleached. They were usually worn with a studded, checkered or rainbow belt.
The tees and hoodies. Fitted band shirts from the scene’s favourite groups mixed with cartoon prints, video-game characters, cute animals and dinosaurs. Hoodies came in bright colours, sometimes with ears or prints all over.
The kandi. Stacks of brightly coloured plastic bead bracelets, borrowed from rave culture, where they were traded between friends. Some spelled out words or band names; the more you wore, the better.
The make-up and photos. Heavy black eyeliner, bright eyeshadow and sometimes small drawn-on hearts or stars. The look was designed for the camera: scene kids perfected the high, slightly tilted “MySpace angle” selfie, taken from above with one eye peeking out from behind the fringe, often finished with glitter effects and text.
The shoes. Converse high-tops covered in drawings, Vans slip-ons in loud patterns, and chunky skate shoes. Like everything else in scene, they were meant to be noticed.
Why it caught on
Scene combined everything teenagers of the late 2000s loved: loud music, bright colours, cute cartoons and a brand-new way to be seen online. It rewarded creativity, especially with hair and photography, and it gave shy kids a dramatic way to stand out. It was also one of the first times that teenagers could become famous just for their style, without the help of magazines or TV.
The debate
Scene kids were heavily mocked, by emo and punk fans who saw them as shallow, and by the wider internet. Today, a more serious discussion looks at what early online fame did to the teenagers at its centre: many former scene queens have spoken about harassment, pressure and the risks of becoming public figures so young. Their stories have become a warning for the influencer era that followed.
How to wear it now
Today’s “scenecore” is lighter than the original. Try a bright streak or clip-in extension, a cartoon-print tee, patterned skinny or flared jeans, a studded belt and a stack of kandi. Add bold eyeliner and big headphones. You do not need to tease your hair to the ceiling, unless you want to.
Where it is now
Scene has returned through TikTok, where young creators recreate the look as “scenecore”, and through nostalgic millennials posting their old MySpace photos. Its maximalist colour and internet-native spirit can also be seen in e-girl and kidcore styles.
Related aesthetics
Emo · E-Girl & E-Boy · Kidcore · Y2K · McBling
Learn more: hear from more voices
A former scene kid’s in-depth guide to the culture, and a style study asking whether scene queens were the e-girls of the 2000s.
Read more
- An oral history of the MySpace scene queens — Nylon. The internet’s first style stars in their own words.
- Life after MySpace for the scene queens — VICE. Where the scene’s best-known faces ended up.
Sources: internet culture histories of MySpace and 2000s youth subcultures; interviews with former scene kids. Videos are embedded from YouTube and remain the work of their creators. Linked articles belong to their publishers.
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