Emos are generally seen in skinny jeans and bright t shirts, sometimes with band names, as well as dark colours, studded belts, badges, and perhaps a band hoodie and classic Vans or Converse. Hair is often straightened and dyed black, and popular looks include a long side-swept fringe, sometimes covering one or both eyes.

Emos love their music, from mainstream bands such as My Chemical Romance to hardcore old school groups like Rites Of Spring. Emos are viewed as being over emotional, sensitive, and shy, and has also been linked by the press with depression, self-injury, and suicide, though they are often annoyed by these assumptions.