Tag: red

Say what you will about her music, her career choices, or her love life, Taylor Swift has been iconic in each of her fashion eras. Each new album brings about a new style and fans and fashionistas alike enjoy looking forward to what will be next. In fact, if we think about it, Taylor Swift has shown us exactly what a style evolution can be like and how different our style can be throughout the years. Maybe your style eras are not as defined but if you look back you will see the slow evolution into your current style today.

I have — put nicely — a lot of clothes. Some of them are costume elements for our amazing Halloween parties but at the end of the day, I just have a large wardrobe of items. I also know that I have a lot of items hiding, barely used, at the depths of drawers. As I scrolled through yet another iteration of Taylor fashion, I wondered if I could recreate a look of hers from each era using only the clothes that I owned.

This post takes you through a deep dive into Taylor Swifts style, starting with her Red album (as I feel that’s really when she started to come into her own) all the way through the most recent evolution of folklore. I will showcase a look from my own closet (no new for this pieces) that encompasses the concept of each era, as well as providing some guidelines for recreating these styles at home.

— RED ERA —

Red was Taylor’s album that really started to bridge the gap between country and pop, and holds some of the classics that fans of “old” and “new” Taylor love. Her fashion made this leap with her – losing the “girly dresses and cowboy boots” look of her previous few albums and moving into what I’ve dubbed pretty but approachable hipster. Her basics focused around comfortable classics such as the white t-shirts or button down blouses and cigarette style pants. It was this base layer that made her showy pieces stand out. Think of those red glitter oxfords? The top hats? Those band jackets?

Her look is definitely one that’s easy to filter into everyday wear: if you take out the clearly-meant-for-the-stage pieces that bring it out of classic office wear and into costume, it’s a really clean office look done with flair.

When she stepped out of her white top/black pant uniform that showed up several times, she was wearing clean retro looks that hearkened to a modern 50’s style. Think fit and flare dresses or simple graphic prints filled with Peter Pan collars. And we would be remiss to ignore the bold red lip paired with natural looking makeup that dominated her style.

Red Era Taylor was all about being clean and manicured from top to bottom, while playing with familiar silhouettes.

For my version of Red era Swift, I played with her basic uniform – black on bottom, white on top, showy elements. I was thinking of the character that would move seamlessly between the songs “22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” during her perfect night out with friends.

My top hat and band jacket are not something I usually combine as it feels a bit costumey, but I had this in mind as a stage look for Taylor, and thus the more the better. However, the rest of the outfit (sans hat, if you will) is just a nice classic look. I honestly could wear this to the office.

I chose a simple white t-shirt and these skinny pants with the leather accents, because they felt luxurious, and Taylor’s style always has these smart little details that elevate the look. Finished with my black and white leather sneakers for the completed concept of pretty but approachable hipster.

TAKE HOME TAKE AWAY: If you really love Red era Taylor, then here are a few things that will help you achieve this look in your own style.

• Look for classic, timeless pieces (a white t-shirt and black pants will work in almost any era; the fit and flare shaped dresses are the same)
• Keep prints simple (polka dots, stripes, etc.) If you do want a busy print, make it a small and delicate.
• Find a really solid color story and roll with it (red, white, and black). This is also a great way to make sure that everything in your closet has a lot of re-wearability. If you can pair every item with something else you own, the combinations are endless and you get more mileage out of less clothing.
• Focus on small details (cute buttons on a blouse; leather edges on pants; unique necklines/collars) and let the rest of the clothing stay clean.
• Find one showpiece and let it shine (a hat, a jacket, a cute scarf, etc.)

— 1989 ERA —

1989 was a huge year for Taylor as she fully transitioned into an 80’s synth fueled pop sound. Many original fans lamented the death of “old” Taylor, while she gained other fans anew. With the transition of her sound, her fashion transitioned as well. I’ve dubbed 1989 Swift as colorful, shiny, 80s. We really start to see less safe choices from Taylor here, as far as fashion goes. She was stepping out of the box with both her music, and her style. Honestly, I think this era of fashion is where Taylor is having the most fun. Her looks all read as though she picked them from a cart while doing a mad dash shopping trip with friends.

There are a LOT of sequins and shimmering fabrics in this era, enough that I honestly had a hard time creating a look that was shiny enough. This was also the first era where Taylor settled on what still remains her silhouette of choice: high-waisted bottoms and crop top. If you think I’m kidding, there’s a whole pile of these pieces in her 1989 tour looks here. She played a lot with color, and pattern, and matchy-matchy styles in opposition to the stark contrasts of all her pieces throughout Red.

1989 is a lot less exaggerated office classics and a lot more party clothes. To sum it all up: the 1989 era was bold and confident.

My take on 1989 played off of the character that would be taking the train to her New York job (maybe at a fashion magazine?) later to head out with friends a la “Welcome to New York” and “New Romantics.” It’s definitely bold and colorful, and while I don’t have a closet filled with skater skirts, I kept to the heart of the silhouette with high-waisted on bottom and cropped on top. To get the shine factor up, I added my silver oxfords and one of my few pieces of actual jewelry – this Swarovski crystal music note necklace.

This outfit is far and away outside of my comfort zone, so bold is definitely an understatement, but I will say it was the most fun outfit I crafted for this post. I really enjoyed pulling together elements that I normally wouldn’t pair, and playing with a flirty concept like this bralet/blazer combination.

TAKE HOME TAKE AWAY: If you really love 1989 era Taylor, then here are a few things that will help you achieve this look in your own style.

• Play with color, but keep it relatively monochromatic and matching. This lets you really mess around with brighter colors without risking clash, as well as fun patterns and textures.
• Add sparkle and shine – a little bit in each piece will do the trick.
• Find a silhouette you like and stick with it. Similar to the color scheme rule above, this will help make it so all your crazy colors, patterns, and textures will be easier to pair.
• Be bold in your outfits – 1989 era looks are all about confidence and standing out.

— REPUTATION ERA —

The lyrics from “Call it What You Want” really sum up Reputation era Swift:

My castle crumbled over night

I brought a gun to a knife fight

They took the crown but it’s alright

– Call it What you Want, Taylor Swift

Due to scandals and the chaos that is super stardom, Taylor really went through an evolution as a person, and her fashion rightly reflected that. Do you remember that year where you got over your worst break up ever? Imagine a whole era defined by that. It’s the year Taylor really gave up on her good girl image diving deep into what she felt like a bad girl would be. While 1989 was definitely Taylor dressing to have fun, every outfit in Reputation is making a statement. Succinctly, Reputation fashion is edgy with oversized comfort.

It’s our first real look at Taylor in sweats, though rarely an entire sweat suit at once. Her clothing pieces are a lot of plays on hard vs. soft – think a latex jacket paired with sweatpants. She didn’t lose her love for the high-waisted/crop top combination but was not as sold on the concept as she had been through 1989. Here we see new takes on leisure and sport pieces combined with high end fabrics and colors. It’s our first glimpse of what Taylor would dress like as a rap star too. All in all, she just went more street with everything.

I find it most interesting that while some of the strides from 1989 still show up (playing with more bold combinations and interesting patterns) we have a return the the comfortable color scheme from Red. It feels very much like all of the glamour with none of the fun. And the SNAKES. Man when she picks a theme, she goes hard.

It’s always a good look when I pull out these boots that Oliver has to lace up for me – isn’t that just so fashionable? (He doesn’t mind btw, but I feel bad, so I rarely wear them). This look was again, quite out there for me. I really wanted to put on tights, or just something? else on my legs? But oversized hoodies are my jam. I think that precise combination of comfort vs. uncomfortable is a real crux of Taylor’s fashion in this time period. She was hurting, and it’s so obviously translated into her fashion.

TAKE HOME TAKE AWAY: If you really love Reputation era Taylor, then here are a few things that will help you achieve this look in your own style.

• Play with shape, but keep it balanced. If you have an oversized jacket, for example, wear a fitted top. If you have short shorts, wear them with thigh high boots.
• Play with edgy details (in place of the pretty ones from earlier looks) like studs, laces, and leather. These looks are very classic rockstar – think studded leather boots and ripped denim.
• Don’t be afraid to combine sporty pieces with high fashion items to create a #lewk.
• Find a color scheme and roll with it – this makes it easier to play around with the crazier points of fashion without looking like a walking Hot Topic store.

— LOVER ERA —

Ah, the return to manic pixie dream girl Taylor. With the release of the Lover album, Taylor left several dark caves behind. She is healed from the hurt of Reputation scandals, she has left behind the good girl aesthetic from the Red era, and she has started speaking up about issues that are important to her. Lover saw a Taylor that spoke out on politics and came out in support of the LGBTQ community. Lover era Taylor wanted everyone to both have and give love. She talks a lot about loving yourself (“Me!”), accepting the love that others have (“You Need to Calm Down”), and recognizing a good romantic love when you have it (“Lover”). Lover era Taylor is ethereal; she’s unapologetically lost in the clouds and never coming back down.

This made the Lover era fashion really hard to pin down. There’s color – for sure – and shine, two leftover pieces from 1989 that are now written on the hard drive of Taylor fashion. But the colors are softer pastels, and the patterns are interesting. The whole look is very Coachella: girly, smart, and wistful. There are a lot of feather and butterfly motifs at play and a lot of tye-dye. Each outfit reads as it’s own breathy gasp; at once a statement and immediately dissipating.

Lover also brought the first foray into colored hair on Taylor (albeit just extensions, but I’ll take what I can get) and I am very much a fan. It’s doubtful, but perhaps in the future we’ll see Taylor’s hair fully dyed some other color.

Alright so anyone who knows me knows that pink does not play heavily into my wardrobe, and I will openly admit that Lover era fashion was a real struggle for me. I tried a lot of combinations of florals and pastels, but none of them were really airy enough. I finally settled on a look using some favorites of mine, as well as including these awesome rainbow fishnet tights because if there was ANY time to wear them, it’s for this outfit.

There are so many elements in this outfit to talk about. Those rainbow butterfly earrings might has well have been Lover era merch. I added my shiny star sneakers because any person at a music festival will be walking around a bunch, right? I added the Peter Pan collar of my pink lace tank, under this perfect gold velvet t-shirt dress. Maybe the look is still a little grounded for the era but I feel like I landed some of the basic concepts. It’s shiny; it’s girly; it’s colorful.

TAKE HOME TAKE AWAY: If you really love Lover era Taylor, then here are a few things that will help you achieve this look in your own style.

• Pastels are key. You don’t necessarily have to roll as hard into Eastery feeling pink and yellow like Taylor does, but pick three major players of pastel colors and find new interesting ways to combine them. You could pull off the same concept with cream, turqouise, and violet.
• More is more. Don’t be afraid of fringe or fishnets or rosettes on gauzy fabrics. Add tulle and leather. As long as they are all telling the same story, keep adding.
• Play with gauzy princess fabrics like tulle, organza, and chiffon. Play with cloud motifs. You want to give the impression of being otherworldly a bit, and fabric choice is a great start.
• This style is all about your inner unicorn – find something shiny, find something colorful, and keep it comfortable.
• Statement sleeves are in – look for princess bell sleeves, elastic rouching in layers, or fringe. If you’re going a lot of top, keep it simpler on bottom with lighter denim.

— FOLKLORE ERA —

Yes, yes. I know that this album just came out (a surprise to pretty much everyone) and I know it’s been a global pandemic with stay at home orders, so there are no tour looks to pull from and few street style looks. However, Taylor did give us a pile of saucy pictures and some fun filtered video snippets for Spotify and I’m going to to roll with it because I have to!

folklore (all lower case for #reasons) was a complete 180 from the heady high of Lover. This album was a return to nature, a return to the tall tales that we keep telling, and a real storybook adventure. Far from the fairytales being told in her earlier albums (looking at you Speak Now and Fearless) it’s a more earthy and real concept of being lost in the woods but enjoying it. The album is very much stripped back and the opposite of ostentatious. Lots of feelings of cozy sweaters, and cabin books. This new sound (or lack thereof) allows the real high point of Taylor’s music to shine: lyrics.

Her fashion for this album was very much down-to-earth, and very me. Moody florals, and plaids, and dresses just meant for running through meadows. There are some schoolgirl elements here, but played off in more collegiate age. If Reputation was a contrast between hard vs. soft, then folklore is all about mature vs. young. ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT CARDIGAN? I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a piece of merch from a band as much as I wanted this. I would sum up this era as cozy, indie, and collegiate. The “You Belong to Me” Taylor finally went to college. She has finals soon. Her parents have property nearby. She probably has a working record player, and a lake house.

Fully inspired, I landed on a floral skirt and oversized cozy sweater. I even got a good frolicking picture because folklore outfits are meant to be frolicked in. I imagined a version of me that lived in a little cabin, off the coast of Ireland, drinking tea. This is what the folklore storybook character of me would wear.

The sweater – cozy. It’s a beautiful waffle sweater that feels very ivy league.

The boots – leather.

The skirt – floral.

What more can I say?

TAKE HOME TAKE AWAY: If you really love folklore era Taylor, then here are a few things that will help you achieve this look in your own style.

• Oversized is back – but more understated. Instead of baggy, it’s more fitted.
• Collegiate style is easier to narrow down than you think. Leather shoes are a good start; smart looking sweaters; well placed stripes.
• Keep the colors muted and earthy for this look. Notice that Taylor plays with creams and browns, whereas I stick with moodier burgundy and black.
• Pattern mixing is encouraged. Once you’ve identified your color story, play a lot with pattern and texture to get the right vibe. Plaid, stripes, dainty flowers, and lace are all good places to start.
• Not too shiny! For the first time, you really don’t want to introduce too many shiny elements to this one. Keep the fabrics natural, and the jewelry understated.

This is it for my first deep dive into fashion! In this instance, I stuck with one person who had an evolving style, but these posts might take a lot of different forms. Maybe I deep dive into blazers throughout the year, or look at the evolution of punk fashion. Is there an element of fashion you would like to see me take a deep dive into? Let me know in the comments!