All Taylor Swift's Style, Fashion, and Outfits Explained

This is not Swifts jam or rather its brand. She considers herself a storyteller, in the tradition of Joni Mitchell. She sang about love, breakups, revenge, family and self-loathing. These are universal themes and particularly relevant to girls and young women. Swift is famous for planting what she calls Easter eggs, hidden clues, in her lyrics. Describing the strategy as a way to get fans to read her words, she said: I think the best messages are the cryptic messages. This also applies to his style. Indeed, with Swift more so than most pop stars, every choice seems tied to her work or Swift's brand image. An obvious and comforting point of connection with her audience, which includes moms who accompany their daughters to concerts, is nostalgia and a sense of pageantry. Some of her frothy dresses evoke not only a high school prom and images of old-fashioned debutante parties, but also the glamor of Edith Heads movie costumes in the 1950s. Swift has said that watch Hitchcocks Rear window Head dresses and reading the romantic novel Rebecca during confinement influenced his albums Folklore And Always. In a cynical, fast-paced world, this type of traditional form can seem very appealing.

It's also worth noting that Swift is hyper-aware of the dangers of fame. I see a lot of celebrities build emotional walls around themselves where they don't let anyone in, she said in 2014, and that's what makes them feel very alone at the top. Staying emotionally open in her words and accessible in her fashion is surely a way for her to avoid creating walls. His fans must feel it. But this can lead to awkward looks on the red carpet and in business attire. Such was the case with the custom-made white Schiaparelli dress with a floor-length hem and train she wore to this year's Grammys, which was criticized on social media. On Instagram, Sarah Chapelle (@taylorswiftstyled), who is publishing a book on Swift's style this fall, compared the drape of the dresses to tangled sheets and said that since they were Daniel's work Roseberry was almost a bigger disappointment. Chapelle, who spent years tracking and decoding every detail of Swift's outfits, assumed the dress and its black accessories were Easter eggs. This time, the allusion was to his next album The Department of Tortured Poets, which features a black and white cover depicting a woman in black underwear lying in white sheets. Chapelle researched the brand of the underwear, a Saint Laurent sheer top and The Rows briefs and noted that Swifts wearing so many of those brands lately was no coincidence. Is there ever one with Taylor, really? writes Chapelle. She felt that the beautiful elements of the Schiaparelli dress had been sacrificed to the early evocation of a scholarly-sounding album.

In other words, Swift laid a bad egg.

In customSchiaparellifor the Grammys
Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

There's also a lot of calculation in the singer's off-duty clothes, more than a non-Swifty might assume, given how basic her street style is. Her favorite, and perhaps best, looks are simple dresses, or a frilly white shirt with denim cutoffs and boots, or a plaid schoolgirl skirt with a plain sweater and chunky loafers, which 'a Swiftologist calls a liberal arts student, a resident of Shoreditch. Although Swift is known for wearing relatively inexpensive brands like Rails, House of CB (for a $119 black strapless top she wore earlier this year with a $1,400 Miu Miu mini), Madewell, and Reformation, she also carries many high-end brands, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, The Row, Stella McCartney and Area. Many celebrities play with a similar high-low mix, but with Swift the effect usually comes across as decidedly junior, as if she's consciously trying not to exceed the tastes or means of her fans.

From left to right : In 2018 Photo: TheStewartofNY/GC ImagesIn 2014 Photo: Raymond Hall/GC Images

From left to right : In 2018 Photo: TheStewartofNY/GC ImagesIn 2014 Photo: Raymond Hall/GC Images

As a Kansas City Chiefs fan, I watched Swift's appearances during the NFL season to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Still, I didn't find anything special about her red sweaters and bombers, with layers of gold jewelry, other than a connection to KC's team color. But Chapelle found the Easter eggs. The red crewneck, from Gigi Hadids Guest in Residence, that Swift wore to the Chiefs' title game with the Ravens was a sentimental nod to a friend. In Chapelle's view, its simplicity showed that Swift was careful to play a more supportive spectator (and not star) role during such an important match. Chapelle decorated her diamond tennis bracelet with the romantic letters TNT, then tied the style to the friendship bracelets her fans wear, a trend that started because of a line from a song she wrote.

Swift carrying guest in residence
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

From left to right : In 2023 Photo: MEGA/GC ImagesIn 2023 Photo: Marcelo Endelli/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

From left to right : In 2023 Photo: MEGA/GC ImagesIn 2023 Photo: Marcelo Endelli/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

The fact that Swift makes all of these moves, with or without the help of a stylist (she has long worked with Joseph Cassell), is a great way to keep her fans engaged. And apparently, it's also good for business. But it seems exhausting and limiting for a woman in her thirties to dress according to girlish words or feelings. You can see why many people on fan sites wish she would take more risks with her street style. They probably miss the liberal arts student look. It's also a bit misleading, given his adult status. I admire the fact that she doesn't seem interested in playing the high fashion game, that is, attending shows, appearing in a campaign, or being a brand ambassador. She has her own huge platform, which she uses for political and social causes.

But she could afford to go further in her style. Instead of a schoolgirl skirt or loose jeans, she would look great, for example, in an elegant, custom-made Dior pencil suit, why not? and without all the trinkets, however expensive they may be. It's worth remembering that Taylor Swift has always been older and wiser than her years. The girl cannot discover herself forever.