The Evolution of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is one of the most iconic female musicians of the 21st century. From her innocent country roots to her glamorous pop persona, she has created a permanent place for herself in pop culture as one of the most business-savvy and influential musicians. However, her persona also has a double-edged sword. It’s revered and admired by many, but by others, it’s critiqued and ridiculed beyond reproach. 

While many consider her a music icon, many wouldn’t necessarily consider her one in the fashion world. However, Taylor’s affinity for Easter Eggs has made her styling meticulous and thought-out, as a costume designer would create for a film character. Like female artists such as Madonna and Britney Spears, Taylor has time to reinvent herself time and time again and usually does so alongside the current project she’s promoting, usually an album. 

Taylor has down-to-Earth, American roots. She grew up on a Christmas Tree farm (hint, hint) in Pennsylvania before her family, who believed in her wholeheartedly, decided to move to Nashville to help her follow her dream seems of becoming a recording artist. After years of submitting to record companies and mastering the craft of songwriting, she eventually got discovered by Scott Borchetta, who was about to open his label Big Machine Records, and through his wife’s Sandy experience in fashion styling, his connections in the music industry and Taylor’s talent, endearing personality and admirable work ethic, Taylor made herself into one of the biggest up-and-coming acts of the 2000s, until her debut album Taylor Swift in 2006, which was an undeniable success.  

Her self-titled debut album received widespread critical acclaim, with many praising her songwriting abilities for her young age. The songs on the album struck a chord with many teens due to her poetic lyrics about high school, young love and first heartbreak. The image of the album was all about making Taylor the ultimate American Sweetheart, and the same style sensibilities informed her style throughout her Speak Now era. The aesthetic especially struck a chord with 2000s teens due to how in-vogue western wear was, as seen in Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith. Denim, fringe, trucker hats, slogan tees, cowboy boots and hats were all-the-rage. Coyote Ugly and Georgia Rule were just two movies from the time that also employed the Western aesthetic. This was due to the rise in patriotism after 9/11. So, this combination of classic American with teen pop stars was a guaranteed success, and luckily Taylor had the talent and uniqueness to back it up. When Taylor first debuted, she was praised for lyricism and wholesome appeal. Her image was meant to make you think she was Country Barbie come to life with her big bouncy blonde curls and natural makeup looks. 

Her looks from this time told a distinctive story about what kind of artist and person Taylor was. Her image mixed country elements with fairytale elegance for a unique look that perfectly matches the tone of her music, which was country with a sophisticated lyricism. She also had a bohemian vibe for her street style with headbands and flowy dresses. Her mainstay included cowboy boots, corsets, sequins and empire silhouettes and ball gowns. 

The image was meant to show that she was a down-to-Earth teenager who was a hopeless romantic, however, she’s very unlucky in love. Her music videos had her casual clothes (Think Elena Gilbert in Seasons 1 and 2) that any teenager of the time would wear. This was shown in her music video for her debut single Tim McGraw. This gave her a relatability and innocence that many other stars of the time like Katy Perry and Britney Spears lacked. Her music videos also featured a Cinderella-like transformation, where she went from a normal teen to a beautiful young woman. That Cinderella quality would stay a theme in her videos for years to come. The silhouettes of her music video looks were also modest, making her the perfect role model that parents were okay with their kids admiring. She created a squeaky clean image, instead of stars like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton who were out partying. As she became more recognizable, she moved towards a more glamorous look to show her range, but still stuck to the fairytale sensibilities, which was represented in the music video for Our Song. 

Her bigger red carpet attire included a floor lengthy gown with romantic silhouettes that made her look like a literal princess, making her seem mature at a time when youthful celebrity was frowned upon. Her more casual dress carpet attire included cowboy books, a midi-length flowy dress and bohemian details. The goal of Taylor’s image at the time wasn’t to make her sexy or edgy like pop stars Britney Spears or Ariana Grande. Instead, she was meant to be seen as approachable or amiable, which worked because in turn, the media gave her the title of American Sweetheart. 

She showed her versatility further in her music video for Picture To Burn, which showed the now iconic angry Taylor for the first time, where she wore darker makeup and edgier clothing, but with her signature southern sensibilities. It drew comparisons to Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats music video, due to how distinctively different it was from Taylor’s past music videos for the era. It was foreshadowing just how outspoken, boundless, creatively multifaceted and powerful Taylor would become.

After the music video for “Picture To Burn” came out, her style kept its same elegant and country sensibilities, just with a darker color palette that instead gave her an edgy country pop aesthetic, instead of the innocent country roots she had earlier in this era. She started wearing more black when white was a mainstay of her previous wardrobe and taking a cue from Old Hollywood, which is something Taylor would continue to do throughout her career. She started wearing mini dresses and tons more sparkles which would feed into her Fearless era. Sparkles have also been a mainstay of her performance wardrobe throughout her career.

Fearless came out in 2008 and featured more pop elements than the past album. It was her breakthrough album, making her go from Brad Paisley’s opening act to selling out arenas all over the world in a full-on country-pop extravaganza. The album’s songs deal with ideas of love and life from a teenager’s perspective, including themes of heartbreak, high school friendships, parents not liking who you date and crushes. Early on in the Fearless era, the aesthetic mirrored elements of her Debut era, the biggest being the fairytale quality. This is seen in her music video for one of her most iconic songs to date, Love Story. It was a near parody of her ball gown look from her Debut era. During this era, she stopped wearing costumey princess gowns and started wearing designer gowns instead. She also started doing edgy editorial shoots, which contrasted her wholesome image, showing how the fashion industry saw her potential and star quality. Her April 2009 shoot for Allure and editorial shoot for New York Times magazine were the first appearances of her now-signature red lip and showcased her in high concept, edgier looks. This was also before she hit superstardom, which made this an undeniable achievement as people in the fashion world were already seeing her potential. She got a new stylist at this time, Joseph Cassell, who had access to designs. Instead of her youthfulness being on full display, they started to dress her in mature, glamorous looks with a youthful twist. She wore sequins, tight-fitted looks, interesting necklines and neutral colors. It still had the princessy-ness, but in a more glamorous Grace Kelly-like way, instead of looking like a girl playing dress up. 

This goal to make her look mature was a conscious effort due to the criticism young women’s successes face that she deserved her achievements, they weren’t just a fluke. This meant testing if she could cross over into mainstream pop, which was already seen as possible due to her unprecedented mainstream success. Her performance attire took a similar direction with flapper fringe, sequin mini dresses, and black go-go boots. Her street style took on a flirtier and more mature vibe as well but still stuck with her modest style sensibilities. She often wore mini skirts, tights, and button-downs and traded her cowboy boots for riding boots instead. This more mature look was exemplified in her monologue look on Saturday Night Live where she was a mixed-textile black and gold sequin mini dress, which was quite the edgy Picture To Burn look for the Country barbie. This look was meant to show her as a mature and fun young woman, not as a hopelessly romantic teenage girl. She also began wearing low-rider headbands, which she started wearing during the Debut era. This trend has its roots in flapper dresses and boho-chic aesthetics and prompted many to call her a trendsetter for the first time in her career. It also pre-dated the 2010s, Lana Del Rey phenomenon of the flower crown. Her overall aesthetic was still casually girly and cute, but she also dipped into boho-chic, grunge and preppy style, which foreshadowed her later eras, showing how while her style is curated to every album, it’s never not her taste. It was also very reminiscent of a teenager trying to find their own personal style. The preppy elements specifically have been mainstays of her wardrobe including pieces like tights, trench coats, t-strap heels, plaid and cardigans (hint). She became a figure for fall fashion, often wearing scarves (hint), sweaters, jeans, boots and hats, which is another element that has been constant throughout her career. This whole idea can be interpreted as a teenager trying to find their personal style and eventually mixing elements that she liked and discarding the pens she no longer did. The entire look overall was the quintessential glitter country pop star, with elements of the typical 2009 teenager. She also had her first clothing line t collaboration with L. E. I. during the Fearless era. The vibe of the collection was youthful flower-child that honed in on her America’s Sweetheart image with bohemian elements, floral patterns and sundresses.

The music videos for the Fearless era showed Taylor in real-life high school situations with a fairytale element to them. In You Belong With Me, she mixed Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend concept with the plot of the film A Cinderella Story. Fifteen showed her and her best friend dealing with love and life with a storybook look. White House showed a happily ever after crumble. The majority of these music videos featured simple styling that put Taylor’s emotional vulnerability presented in her lyrics. Taylor has described her music as her diary, essentially, often riddling her music, videos and albums with Easter Eggs for the fans to investigate and theorize, making her music not just fun to listen to, but also interactive. The music videos during the Fearless era were almost all story-based, with an understandable plot and arc, making the audience relate to her circumstances, making them more like a short film (hint), rather than a music video. 

The music video for You Belong With Me was her most ambitious and iconic music video to date at the time. This was one of the first times we saw Taylor’s humor and creative freedom in a visual format, which has been another mainstay of her career as she has gained more control over the creative process. This was also the first time Taylor utilized inside jokes and Easter Eggs as a marketing tool and interaction tool for fans, and featured one of the most iconic music video looks of Taylor in the Junior Jewels t-shirt, which is also her most casual and disarrayed. She also showcased her range by wearing looks ranging from geek chic to emo teen to bimbo-esque in the video, once again being reminiscent of a teenager trying to find their personal style. It has also been nicknamed the “Not Like Other Girls” anthem, which is both hilarious and misleading. Debut’s music video’s theme was to epitomize the country genre, meanwhile, the music videos during the Fearless era were an ode to teen media, much like the album’s songs. You Belong To Me was a bonafide hit, earning her multiple nominations at award shows like The Grammys and the VMAs, where she won the Album of the Year at the former and best female music video award at the latter, which was also when Kanye West infamously interrupted her on stage. 

Taylor saw the VMAs that year as her fairytale moment. She wore an edgy, princessy gown and arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, which was the teenage equivalent of Lady Gaga arriving at an award show in an egg (before either of them garnered superstardom). She was nominated for one of her first non-country awards, and she knew it was a big deal because it was a benchmark for her mainstream success. This was one of Kanye’s first infamously unhinged moments. He brought bottle of Hennessy to the show, was called out by everyone from Jimmy Kimmel to then-President Barack Obama (who called him a jackass) to even Beyonce, who he was defending. He had repeatedly said that he doesn’t regret what he did, despite initially apologizing due to the bad publicity (he has since revoked his apology). 

Taylor was only 19 at the time and, as she said in her Miss Americana Netflix documentary, she had built a belief system similar to child stars like Judy Garland. That goodness and praise was the only thing worth living for. The whole crowd boo-ing at the incident, but not at Taylor, at Kanye. However, her 19-year-old mind thought otherwise. She thought they were agreeing with Kanye. This wasn’t just an award show fluke. It was a traumatizing experience that still affects her today. She was reportedly crying into her boyfriend Taylor Lautner’s arms, who presented the award to her, backstage, but picked herself up to perform You Belong With Me in a showstopping performance in subways and streets of New York City, further mirroring Avril Lavigne’s Sk8r Boi music video. Beyonce also let Taylor finish her speech when she won an award late that evening. People thought the moment was staged, but it wasn’t. Luckily, the media took her side, causing Kanye to go into hiding, while Taylor was thriving. Her reputation at the time was squeaky clean, unblemished and drama-free, while Kanye’s wasn’t. Her team was ecstatic about the situation because now everyone knew who Taylor Swift was. She achieved worldwide recognition and capitulated to a new level of fame. However, Taylor didn’t like that was what people were talking about, not her music. However, until her Speak Now album, she never stopped getting asked about the situation. The situation brought a shadow onto the rest of Taylor’s Fearless era.

Speak Now is Taylor’s only album where she is the only writer on the entire album. This was a conscious choice to prove to her critics that he didn’t need anyone’s help to write an amazing and successful record (although, of course, people found other things to criticize her about). This album solidified her as one of the best songwriters in the industry. This album marked the start of Taylor’s experimentation sonically with the cello, banjo and electric guitar all being used on the album. This experimentation became even more present during her Red era with her expansive country pop-rock sound. The album has some of her most fan-favorite tracks and was so successful that a fragrance was created for her called Wonderstruck, in an effort to test her marketability and how dedicated her fanbase really was. The campaign also featured a gorgeous, visually dominant, princess gown by at the time the up-and-coming designer Christian Siriano. He has also designed many dresses for Taylor’s music videos, especially during her 1989, which were also styled by her stylist Joseph Cassel, who also serves as the stylist and costume designer for many, if not all, of her music videos. The Siriano dress for the Wonderstruck campaign looked like every child’s dream princess dress. It was a massive success that proved that Taylor’s fanbase was loyal, which gave Taylor some security during a time when the media turned on her. The songs and lyrics on the album were much more pop-sounding than the past two records and featured a wide range of styles, from rock to country to pop to alternative. The music and imagery perfected her affinity for fairytales with songs like Haunted, Enchanted, The Story Of Us and Long Live reeking of Disney Princess vibes. This fascination and love for fairytales have continued to be a mainstay throughout her career with examples including the recent music video for Bejeweled. However, Speak Now was also a turning point in Taylor’s career, image and music. More accurately Speak Now’s music detailed different aspects of growing up, not just romance, but frustrating, confusing, exciting, complicated, fun and uncomfortable aspects of transitioning from teenagerhood to adulthood. The fairytale aspects of her songs and lyrics were contrasted by the harsh realities the music videos presented. Similar to her music videos for White House and Picture To Burn, her music videos during the Speak Now era often showed awkwardness, confusion, frustration and complexities of being in a romantic relationship. The songs not only had a wide range of genres but also messages. The romantic elements weren’t just for love interests, but fans and supporters as well in songs like Long Live. She also called out people who betrayed her or belittled her in songs like Mean, Innocent and Better Than Revenge, which was the first time Taylor called out the way the media and her feuds, public or private. Innocent, however, was an especially controversial song. 

She performed the song a year after VMAs at the 2010 VMAs, while Kanye was still in hiding and after she spent a year being constantly asked about the situation. People called the song condescending and patronizing and began to think that Taylor herself was similarly calculating and manipulative. She also started appearing in more acting roles such as CSI and the film Valentine’s Day, which caused people to question where her priorities were, with some saying that she was fame-hungry and nothing more than a pretty face. However, this criticism is absurd due to how the media had constantly been questioning her about the Kanye situation since it happened, but now that she responded to it on her terms, and decided to be the bigger person (proven by lyrics in the song like It’s alright, just wait and see, your string of lights is still bright to me” and “Oh, who you are is not where you’ve did, you’re still an innocent”), suddenly that’s not okay? People refused to see Taylor as a mature young woman, but also a young girl discovering her identity. She couldn’t win. Also, in terms of her newfound love of film, with Taylor it makes sense. She’s a storyteller, and many of her music videos are also narratives forcing Taylor to be vulnerable in front of a camera. She even cries onscreen in the music video for White Horse. Honestly, it’s mostly the roles she’s given in these films that are the problem, not giving Taylor much to work with and only using her from her big name. I am not saying she is the best actor ever, but she is capable of far more then people give her credit for. Also, she often references film and story motifs in her lyrics, showing how much she loves the craft. Maybe acting wasn’t her film niche, but thankfully she managed to find her niche presently with her immense success recently as a director.

This was when the media started to turn against Taylor. Critiques were made that she was in a creative rut and boy crazy because she couldn’t stop writing about romance, even though she already had a plethora of songs not about romance and established the signature theme from her first single. This was also the start of Taylor’s experience with sexism in the music industry and the media. This was due to her being linked to many high-status boys like John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, Joe Jonas, and Jake Gyllenhaal. It became very normal to make fun of Taylor and her romantic endeavors. She began to be branded as a slut, in classic misogynistic fashion. She may have been turned on by the media, but professionally she was thriving. Speak Now broke records and became the biggest-selling album from a female country artist. 

Fashion-wise, she mastered the preppy and romantic aspects of her past two eras through tea dresses and romantic prints. We began to see the 50s housewife style that would be her signature during her Red era. She wore many fit and flare silhouettes and took inspiration from the 40s and 50s. You could interpret this as her trying to give the message that she is unassuming with modest silhouettes and outfits, combatting what the media has been saying about her alleged promiscuity. It became conservative and demure. However, her red carpet looks were an ode to old Hollywood (think Maude Apatow’s style today) with sleek gowns and chic updos. The goal now was to make her look innocent and unstrategic. She also became friends with many fashion designers, mainly Christian Siriano, which she wore in the campaign for Wonderstruck, the music videos for Wildest Dreams and on the red carpet. 

Red is what Taylor considers her only true break-up album, due to how the album as a whole articulates the complex feelings bout a dying relationship. It’s named after the red feelings he was feeling at the time; like passion, rage, love and pain. It was also her first album to be deemed more pop than country, despite being marketed as a country. Her Red aesthetic is iconic due to its vintage inspiration and timelessness. She was 22 at the time and finally seemed to have found her personal style; classic, simple and taking inspiration from the past. The Red aesthetic has the preppiness of Fearless, with the vintage appeal of Speak Now and a sophistication that can only come with age, culminating in a look that was equally conservative and playful that she utilized in her street style, performance wear and red carpet style. She jokes now that she dressed like a “1950s housewife for all of 2012” but really it just takes notes from old Hollywood starlets and 50s chicness like Dior’s the New Look. She took a lot of inspiration from Ava Garnder, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth. Tea dresses, peter pan collars, loafers, button down, lace, cigarette pants, high-waisted shorts, peacoat, riding boots, bomber jackets, Breton stripes, nautical-inspired clothing, pearls, sweaters, skater skirts, and Keds sneakers (remember her collaboration with them for this album?) were her staples, making her a style icon within the Twee aesthetic during the time. These are all trends from the 1950s and 1960s, which people saw as equally ironic and creepy when she started dating Connor Kennedy, of THE Kennedys. Her wardrobe also became more colorful than years prior, using yellow, blue, pink and, obviously, red, and making a red lip her signature. Taylor’s style becomes admirable and re-created due to the 50s actually being on-trend through Alex Turner from Arctic Monkey’s Greaser vibe and Lana Del Rey’s National Anthem aesthetic. Due to the 1950s housewife vibes, the goal this time around was to make be noticed, but not for the wrong reasons. This became even harder when fans were trying to dissect which former beau her songs on the album were about and as the pop sensation started dating fellow pop sensation Harry Styles, which made many fangirls burn with rage. 

Near the end of the era, Taylor began wearing sleek pantsuits, trying to show herself as a more business-minded, mature young adult who should be taken seriously and is powerful in her own right. These suits were all sexy, which many saw as she pushes back against the sexist narrative pushed upon her by the media. This coincided with the #Girlboss movement of the 2010s, as well. This could also still be interpreted as her taking more inspiration from Old Hollywood from style icons like Katherine Hepburn and Marleen Dietrich. While these are considered sexy, that’s mostly because of how sleek the styling was, with her straight hair and dark eye makeup, making her look more mature and grown up, as a woman capable of dating without anyone’s opinions. It also showed how confident she has become. She no longer felt the need to project a sweet image. She felt comfort being seen as a grown-up, sexual young woman, on her own terms, telling the media she won’t be silenced or shamed just for existing as a woman. This sexy style switch-up can be linked to her appearance at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, where she befriended many high fashion models who are known for their fashion industry connections and embracing tehri sexuality. She appeared twice around this time. The first in 2013, which was technically during her Red era as she sang “I Knew you Were Trouble” and wore Red’s signature long straight hair with blunt bangs. She also wore a bejeweled body con dress, as sexy are early Taylor would go. She also wore a VS Runway-esque Union Jack look during her guest performance in collaboration with Fall Out Boy during their edition of “My Songs know What you Did in the Dark (Light Em Up).” The second was in 2014, which was officially her 1989 era, or at least the start of it, as she had her iconic 1989 bob. 2014 marked the first time she dressed the part as she wore lingerie during her performance of “Style.” Taylor didn’t just wear suits, he also wore tight silhouettes, including her Herve Leger bandage gown to the 2013 VMAs, which also featured 1989 era short hair. It was a darker and sexier look than any Taylor look prior. Bandage dresses were HUGE in the 2010s, especially for celebrities like Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian who were known for embracing their sexuality. 

One of the biggest differences during the Red era was Taylor’s hair. Instead of her signature bouncy curls, she cut blunt bangs and opted for straight locks instead. This can be interpreted as her trying to distance herself from the sexist narrative that has been made about her as someone people hated. Her hair remained this way through her 1989 era, being straight, banged and blunt. 

1989, named after the year she was born and its distinctly 80s synth-pop sound, was her first album to be marketed as pop. This pop brand is when the public stopped seeing her as a romantic teenager and instead as an empowered, fun young woman. It was her most adult album to date. This transition was shown visually by chopping her hair short and moving from Los Angeles and Nashville to New York. It was far more electric and cinematic than any of her past albums. This album was by far her riskiest yet as she already had a loyal country fanbase and could have easily been her career end, however her poetic lyricism and spunky instrumental remained consistent and were strong enough to not just keep her relevant, as the era gave her 5 top 10 singles, but propel her to superstardom like never before, as she became besties with A-listers like Zendaya, Blake Lively and Gigi Hadid. This was also an album that featured songs about more themes than romance and growth, although those were included. It also featured songs about female camaraderie and empowerment, confidence, renewal, shaking off the hater and satirizing the image the media has created for her. In Wildest Dreams she’s a homewrecker, in Bad Blood she’s out for revenge and in Blank Space, she’s a serial dater. Blank Space was the most impactful with the glamourous and cheeky video being a brilliant satire of the fascinating Elizabeth Taylor-esque (in regards to her Liz Taylor’s perceived reputation and multiple husbands, later referencing Liz Taylor and two-time husband Richard Burton in Reputation’s “…Ready For It?”) character the media has created for her of an unhinged, boy-crazy rich lady. It was also the first album of her’s where she showcased her sexuality through lyrics and music videos. During this era, she was also featured on the soundtrack of Fifty Shades Darker, the sequel in the sexually-fueled, BDSM-focused franchise Fifty Shade of Grey with the song “I Don’t Want To Live Forever” with Zayn Malik, the then-boyfriend of her friend Gigi Hadid and ex-bandmate of her ex-boyfriend Harry Styles. The song was sexy, given the film it was attached too, but it was also a very sensual music video, where Taylor was seen in lingerie, a streak contrast from her earlier years. The song itself was very “Blank Space” meets the Reputation era, which made it the perfect transitional song between albums, as it came out in January 2017, 9 months before Reputation was released in late 2017. The 1989 album also showed a shift in how Taylor’s lyrics depicted romance. Gone were the romanticized images and lyrics and now came the aggressively real themes and angry undertones, similar to past songs like Picture To Burn, Forever & Always, Better Than Revenge, and All Too Well, just with the added confidence that can only come with experience and age.

Going back to Taylor appearing on the Fifty Shades soundtrack, this wasn’t the first time Taylor appeared on the soundtrack of films. As aforementioned, she appeared in the Gary Marshall celebrity composite romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, but that was also because her record label at the time Big Machine Records was working on the soundtrack for the film, which included her Fearless bonus track Jump Than Fall, as well as the songs he wrote for the film “Today Was A Fairytale,” which was included on Taylor’s re-recording of Fearless. The fairytale influence on that original track hinted at her impending Speak Now era which was all about fairy tale imagery. Then Taylor got the MAJOR gig of collaborating with indie folk band The Civil Wars on a track for the Hunger Games movie, arguably the biggest blockbuster franchise of the 2010s with the haunting folk tune “Safe And Sound,” which while it was during her Red era, it foreshadowed her Folklore era sonically. Then she soundtracked another big franchise again with appearing on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. More recently, she soundtracked the Reese Witherspoon-produced Where The Crawdads sing with the Folkloric song Carolina, which seemed to be Safe And Sound’s even more hunting big sister.

Back to 1989, in the Taylor Swift universe, 1989 is basically Jesus Christ. It was her official transitional period from country barbie to a mature pop star. The music from 1989 onward was very different, with synth-pop becoming her signature instead of the country rock undertones we have grown accustomed to. We have seen the pop influence throughout her career, but 1989 marked the time when it became her official brand. This is because of her age, maturity and gaining more creative control over her career and image.

Taylor’s music videos also started to feature the Easter Eggs she’d become known for at this time, due to her gaining more creative control and higher production value. She began using Easter Eggs in her CDs through the lyric centerfolds, where she would randomly place a capital level to spell out a secret message. With iTunes and Spotify dominating consumerism in the music industry, she found new ways to give her fans secret messages, now through meticulous clothing and styling, social media and visual mediums. Her music videos also became a source for Easter Eggs, eventually becoming the main source of them from her Reputation era onwards. While “Look What You Made Do” was deemed as the start of her Easter Egg obsession, “Shake It Off” can also be looked at as an Easter Egg-y video. In the video she wears a shirt with 89 on it in the hip-hop section and jewelry with snakes on it in the twerking section, hinting at her Reputation era. Once we got to the Lover era, it was clear, a Taylor Swift music video isn’t complete without an abundance of Easter Eggs, they were as synonymous with Taylor’s brand as the number 13. You couldn’t find a music video of her’s from that point onward without at least one or two. Her music videos during the 1989 era also featured beautiful clothing with designer looks, specifically from the (at the time) up-and-coming designer Christian Siriano. This only stayed, especially during her Lover and Midnights eras. However, 1989 definitely had some of the best-costumed music videos of Taylor’s career, especially Blank Space and Wildest Dreams.

Her personal style became chicer and more designer, however, she still stuck with her same style sensibilities of vintage inspiration, mainly playing with the 50s and the 80s, which were both on trend in the early 2010s. The newfound affinity for designer brands was probably due to her new friendships with high fashion models and her move to New York City, one of the fashion capitals of the world. She also chopped her hair into a bob and aggressive side-swept bangs, which can be interpreted as her further distancing herself from the person the media villainized. Cutting one’s hair can also be seen as someone trying to start anew, and symbolically 1989 was a reinvention for Taylor, both in her image and in her music, as few artists have successfully managed a genre shift, especially one this drastic (Bon Jovi is really the only one who has come to mind, and they are an all-male band). Unlike Red, where some of her outfits could be seen as maternally or old-fashioned, now there was an emphasis on flirtiness and fun, with her starting to have a pension for matching sets, which carried on into her performance attire, as well as skater skirts, crop tops, high heels and skinny jeans during her street style. There was a sense of sexiness and edginess now, with her tops and skirts being shorter and heels being higher. This confidence shows how Taylor stopped caring what people thought of her, almost as if no one could tear her down. As if she was blocking out the haters. An example is her second appearance at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, where she dressed the part for the first time, wearing a lingerie-inspired look. The look gave off femme fatale vibes, a woman who uses her sexuality to her advantage. Overall, her style sensibilities stayed, but slightly shifted for the time period and the aesthetic of this album. 

Much like how her style became darker during the end of her Red era, her style got much darker and edgier than ever before once the video from Bad Blood came out, which had a futuristic, electronic neo-noir look. She embraced it through black and white looks, cut-outs, monochromatic looks, voluminous hair and smokier eye makeup. The music video was criticized for having an anti-feminist message, even though Taylor has spoken out many times that she is a feminist. This is absurd because it’s unrealistic and ridiculous to tell women that they can’t be tough badasses or have arguments just because of their women. The song made the feud with Katy Perry public which also impacted the criticism, even though male rivalry has been successfully used in hip-hop and teen pop for decades. It also featured many similarly famous, beautiful women like Martha Hunt, Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid and Zendaya in the music video, meant to show them supporting one another and showing how Taylor has people in her corner. They eventually became known as her girl squad (Taylor has continued this trend of having friends in her music videos and doing collaborations with them with her music videos for “Endgame,” “You Need To Calm Down,” “ME!” “I Bet You Think About Me,” “All Too Well,” “Nothing New,” “Snow On The Beach,” “Anti-Hero” and Bejeweled” all being examples). They often hung out, posted photos on Instagram together and posed on the red carpet in somewhat coordinating outfits. It was meant to show female camaraderie, but many interpreted it as vapid and vain, with everyone in the girl squad being beautiful, rich, thin and famous. This proved how at this point, there was almost nothing Taylor could do that wouldn’t garner some sort of criticism. Taylor’s reputation was not one of innocence. She was outspoken and viewed by the media as a boy-crazy young woman. 

Compared to past eras, 1989 was all about experimentation. She didn’t stick to one aesthetic or even one decade of inspiration through her red carpet looks. She was an Old Hollywood starlet at one award show and wore a rebellious romper at the next. One of my favorite looks from this time was her 2015 VMAs look when she first premiered the Bad Blood music video. She wore a unique brown to silver sequin ombre houndstooth making sets that had the look and silhouette of sweat pants. It was undeniably experimental and unlike anything I had ever seen before. While her street style had vintage inspiration, her red carpet style was all about modernity, prompting many to call her a trendsetter, making her a trailblazer for matching sets and monochromatic looks. 

There are many parallels between her 1989 era and her Fearless era. For one, they are both her most sonically cohesive albums, with the imagery of 1989 being more about experimentation then music itself due to its complete shift in the genre being more than enough experimentation (Taylor knows when to not over do it). Fearless had a country pop-rock throughout the entire album, while 1989 had a modernized 80s synth pop sound throughout the whole album. So, since these are her most sonically cohesive albums, at least before Folklore and Evermore, it makes sense that these were her first two Album Of The Year wins at the Grammys, with Folklore being the third. So, the message is clear, when Taylor wants to make a sonically cohesive album, it’s guaranteed to be unmatched by anything else that year. Now, that’s not to say her none-cohesive albums aren’t good. Red is probably one her least sonically cohesive albums and it’s an undeniable fan-favorite with genres ranging from pop to rock to country to alternative. Reputation and Lover are fairly sonically cohesive (with End Game on Reputation and False God on Lover being the most starkly different on those albums, similar to the stark difference of Vilgante Shit on Midnights. All these songs, while matched their albums, sonically stuck out like a sore thumb), with the former also often being a fan-favorite, however while the lyrics were amazing on these albums, Red, 1989 and her albums of the 2020s have better lyrics in the Taylor Swift lyric hierarchy. Those albums were more about the instrumental music, hence the sonic cohesiveness, then her signature lyricism. But the thing about Taylor Swift is that she doesn’t have a bad era, song or album. She has a song for every mood, vibe, season, and situation.

Towards the end of her 1989 era, she debuted her edgiest hairstyle yet in the May 2016 issue of Vogue magazine with a voluminous, bleach-blonde short bob, which many say was a precursor to her Reputation era (and was rumored to be her Karma although Midnights debunked this). This look was much more dramatic, glam, goth and punk the any of her past looks with black being its dominating color and taking notes from 90s grunge. Staples included ripped T-shirts, jeans, flannels, black lace, leather, platforms and combat boots. Her ed caret look was edgy and featured heavy makeup and her street style was casual and had an androgynous feel. She was saying the world needs to stop seeing her a girl who cried on her guitar and instead as a confident young woman who was unafraid to cause a raucous.

During this time, she found herself at the center of another media scrutiny storm because one of the most infamous feuds came back; Kanye West. This was in 2016 when he released his song and music video for Famous, which featured many famous figures that have impacted Kanye’s career, including Taylor Swift, who he made of topless replica of in the music and included the lyrics “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that bitch famous.” Taylor’s commented saying she had no idea about the lyric that referred to her as an itch and would advise against lyrics with such a strong misogynistic message. Kanye said that he called to ask her permission. This provided two conflicting stories until Kanye’s then-wife Kim Kardashian released a (now revealed to be edited) illegal video of Taylor being called Taylor about the lyric (which was first interpreted as her saying yes to the whole lyric, but it was later revealed she only said yes to the “I think me and Taylor might still have sex” lyrics, which she thought was funny and not cruel. She was never made aware of the line that referred to her as a bitch).  The media’s response to this was very different to the original scandal because Taylor’s image was not one of innocence, she was someone who was outspoken and bold. So, when Kim released the video and called her snake, it caused the #TaylorSwiftIsOverparty to trend on Twitter worldwide and had her comments on Instagram tart to be flooded with the snake emoji, which prompted Instagram to create the function to delete comments. This caused Taylor to isolate herself and disappear from the public eye for a year. She became intensely private. However, during that time, she was working on her epic next project. 

Taylor didn’t realize a new album until 2017’s Reputation, which is widely considered one of the best comeback albums of the 21st century and Taylor’s most polarizing album to date, with die-hard Swifties either thinking it’s one of her best or one of her worst albums. This is also one of Taylor’s best-marketed albums. In the days leading up to the first single’s release, she cleared out her Instagram and only left captionless snake videos, reclaiming the symbol Kim K. used against her. Snakes were a common motif during this era. The album was about calling out the public’s perception of her and finding love during a turbulent time.

Widely considered one of the best comebacks of the 21st century, Taylor’s music video for “Look What You Made Me Do” was another music video, similar to “Blank Space” that openly satirized her public image. In the video, she was a destructive cat lady, the leader of a model army, the queen of men wearing “I heart TS” shirts and a beautiful jailbird in a cage, directly pointing out the rumors that have come up against her in recent years. This music video brought her love for Easter Eggs to its most extreme, and she certainly hasn’t calmed down since. The music video had a plethora of references to the rumors about her, the Kanye incident, her reputation, and her image, which also made it a brilliant form of marketing for an album that was all about directly addressing those ideas. There was countless article dissecting each and every detail of the music video (the most recent ones to even try and compare or beat “Look What You Made Me You” are “Bejeweled” or the “All Too Well” short film).

In the past, she has written songs about the frustration felt about the media twisting her character (see “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood”), but in Reputation, she went about it differently, instead of deciding to be the bigger person (“Shake It Off” and “Mean”), but she finally allowed herself to be angry for the first time, and not just about a break up (‘Should’ve Said No,” “Picture To Burn” and “Better Than Revenge”). She finally pointed out how truly absurd these rumors were and how loud something like that can be. Now, she was vengeful, witty and confrontational, unabashedly calling out her enemies with references to tilted stages and other very Kanye things. 

Specifically, “Look What You Made Me Do,” allowed us to see how far Taylor has come in her career, with her dressing up in her Junior Jewels shirt from “You Belong With Me” to the ringleader look from her performance of ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together” from her Red tour. The video opened with a zombified version of her blue dress from “Out Of The Woods, her last music video of the 1989 era. The zombie Taylor was burying her 2014 Met Gala self, an event Kimye frequents, subtlety hinting at how if they are invited, she probably won’t be (she didn’t even go in 2022 when her close friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds co-chaired). The video closed with an outro scene of past Taylors standing in front of a private jet graffitied with “Reputation” on it (which is ironic now due to the recent criticism of the jet emitting the most CO2 out of any celebrity). They all make fun of each other, from Taylor’s iconic award show faces to her saying “I’d like to be excluded from this narrative.” the idea of having her past selves from past eras make fun of her shows how she’s evolved and her fall from grace in the media’s eyes. 

In music videos and performances, Taylor’s clothing got drastically darker and edgier theme ever before, often wearing dark lip colors, dark bodysuits and dark matching sets, leaning into that bad bitch, villain vibe she was going for on this album. However, this was the only time the public saw her. Later we found out it was because she coined the phrase “there will be no explanation, there will just be Reputation,” but at the time it could be interpreted that it was her learning her lesson about being too public. This, due to already A-list status, worked as a great piece of marketing for the bad girl, mysterious, femme fatale vibe of the album and an artist who is known for writing cryptic, Machiavellian lyrics (hint, hint). That also made the album much more alluring and seductive. Royalty was also a motif during this time, through songs like “King Of My Heart,” showing how the world didn’t need to think of Taylor as Queen, she just needed to think of herself as one, and the person she’s with too. She was rarely seen out and about or at ed carpets, and when she was spotted on the street, we saw glimpses into her personal style regardless of the album era. It was relaxed, classic, simple, feminine and autumnal. However, there was a distinctive 90s vibe again this era that reminded us that Taylor never did anything without thought behind it. One of her best red carpet looks was her ‘mirrorball’ look, which was symbolic of how she turned the mirror onto the media, forcing them to take a cold hard look at how they painted her, and how untrue it was.

Her performance attire still had her past performance attire sensibilities with bodysuits, sequins and mini dresses, just with darker colors of black, purple, olive green and gold. It was also her biggest tour to date, making it a strict stadium tour. The stage was also designed very specifically as an X, symbolic of who she’s crossing out the haters and moving on with her life (it could also be inspired by Jennifer Check’s signature ‘crossing you out’ bit from Jennifer’s Body, which just like Reputation, dealt with themes of female rage). Their performance attire took inspiration from the 20s, which made sense with the song “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” referencing The Great Gatsby.

In stark contrast, her next album, 2019’s Lover was candy-colored, dreamy, fun & bright. Instead of snakes, butterflies, flowers, clouds, hearts, ice cream, unicorns, rainbows and glitter were all motifs used during the Lover era, with the music video for the first single “ME!” opening with a pastel pink snake turning into a butterfly. While snakes and butterflies both are symbolic of rebirth, snakes also symbolize more villainous ideals with it being the symbol of the Slytherin house in Harry Potter (the house the majority of the villains belong to). Butterflies are much more positive overall in their symbolism, representing how Taylor is finally free from seeing herself and how the media twisted her. She went through Reputation’s rageful, unapologetic and badass tunnel and came out the other side refreshed, clean and self-assured, truly at peace with her past and wanting to help others feel the same way. This was represented in the “You Need Calm Down” music video when she resolved her feud with Katy Perry and used it to show her support for the LGBTQ+ community and their fight for equality (she featured queer celebrities and drag queens of iconic pop stars in the music video), which occurred simultaneously with Taylor’s end of being Apolitical and the first time she went public with her (surprising, but also not surprising) liberal political beliefs, even bringing drag queens on stage as she won her VMA award. This wasn’t the only political statement Taylor made during this era. While Taylor has self-described herself as a feminist and repeatedly called out the patriarchy, her track “The Man” was the first time she directly called out the patriarchy. She described the double standard between men and women throughout the song and music video. 

This is also the first album she owned, so the happy vibes of the album could also be symbolic of this achievement she has wanted for so long. It’s also not a coincidence that she collaborated with the Dixie Chicks (renamed “The Chicks”) on this album, a band she has admired since before her career started. The Chicks are a country girl group that caused a massive backlash in the 2000s for being outspoken about their dislike for George W. Bush. Taylor talked about how she was often told “don’t be like The Dixie Chicks” in her Mrs. Americana documentary in reference to how country artists are very Apolitical due to their prominent mix of conservative and liberal fanbases.  Taylor admired The Chicks because of their unapologetic femininity in the male-dominated country world and their big spectacle pop shows, along with Dolly Parton and Shania Twain. So, this being the era where she stopped being Apolitical in the public eye featuring a collaboration with The Chicks (plus, knowing much much of a ~mastermind~ Taylor is), this is anything but coincidental. 

The album dissected all different types of love from contentment to lust to infatuation to moving on. The image had whimsical, summery and fantasy elements, looking like a children’s storybook or Candyland. It was an incredibly playful album, with Taylor’s joy being infectious. Taylor’s fun while work has always been seen, but it was never more apparent than Lover. It’s honestly a relief to see that after all the negativity she’s been through. She was so content with who she was and no longer cared what people thought of her that she even returned to the silver screen in the movie musical Cats, which was a colossal failure. However, she didn’t care. She cared more about her experience working on the project, which she speaks of with a sparkle in her eye, rather than the public’s opinion of it. 

Taylor also returned to doing press appearances, and red carpets and was seen out and about a lot more. Much of her outfits took modern inspiration with cold shoulder details and 90s iridescent sequins, but most of her outfits have her signature vintage flare, with her music videos, red carpet and press look taking notes from trends of the 1960s, the era of love. She wore rainbow colors, fringe, psychedelic patterns, mini dresses, paisley, pastels and high-waisted shorts. There was also a mid-century, psychedelic revival around this time, showing how Taylor’s era always purposefully or coincidentally coincides with current fashion trends, making her a trendsetter once again. She even dip-dyed her hair pink and blue. Her street style took inspiration from a different era. She was almost Cassie Howard-esque with her 80s inspiration with pastel colors, excessive use of denim, acid wash, crop tops and tie-dye, making it a more casual version of the overall chipperness of the era.

Like many of us, Taylor spent 2020 stuck indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, but by the year’s end, she had not just one, but two albums to show for it. Folklore and Evermore were Taylor’s most mellow albums to date, with no upbeat songs, mirroring how melancholy living in a pandemic world is. It was also symbolic because of the album’s use of escapism. For a long time, Taylor used her lyrics as a diary of sorts. Now, she was telling fictional stories or stories that had distance from like Folklore’s teenage love triangle through tracks “August,” “Betty” and “Cardigan,” and the story of Rebecca Harkness on the track “The Last Great American Dynasty.” This idea of Taylor using narratives she wasn’t directly a part of rather than her usual autobiographical style wasn’t new. She used it in songs like “Starlight,” which was about Bobby Kennedy and his wife Ethel. This gave Taylor the ability to have a new sense of creative freedom, allowing her to write lyrics more specifically, visual, and poetic than ever before, making it some of her best-written work to date.

This also marked about Jesus Christ-esque transition in her music, where the songstress went full throttle into her brilliant lyricism, putting more emphasis than ever on the words she sings rather than the instrumentals. Now, Taylor has always been known for her amazing lyrics, this was just her tour de force.

The album’s imagery also matched this melancholy feel with Taylor utilizing Earth tones and a woodsy vibe to match. This rustic, whimsical, ethereal nature-focused vibe also allowed it to have an element of hope for the future, which was much needed in a pandemic world. The visuals sued for this album included cozy sweaters, flannels, loose braids, peasant dresses, white linen, plaid, messy buns, celestial symbols, wool coats, scarves, caddy hats and shades of brown. The fashion during this era drew comparisons to the Cottagecore aesthetic, which was beginning to gain popularity around this time, and the coziest season, autumn. Taylor’s affinity for autumn has always been apparent, with her tour de force song “All Too Well” referencing the season and her past music videos for “Safe and Sound,” “Tim McGraw” “The Story Of Us” and the “All Too Well” short film also utilizing this autumnal aesthetic. While some may say that era is entirely new, it’s not. Folklore just has it perfected, which showed how much reflection and growth she has gone through, making the timing of her re-recording that much more perfect. This era took inspiration from the 70s and the 1800s, which makes these albums her first majority Quill albums (along with Speak Now I think. Lover, 1989 and Fearless are probably majority Glitter gel pen and Red, Reputation and Taylor Swift are majority fountain pen).

In 2019, Taylor wrote a lengthy Tumblr post (she is truly a 2010s icon, isn’t she?) about how she discovered Scooter Braun (who launched Justin Bieber), someone in the music industry who she never liked (he has bullied her for years), was buying her music catalog after making a deal with her former record label Big Machine Records and it’s owner Scott Borchetta, who is responsible for launching Taylor’s career (she is now with Republic Records and the Universal Music Group and made sure that she can owner her masters on her new records with the company and that all artists under the label can get equity from their Spotify shares). She tried to buy her catalog back, but Barun instead sold it to Shamrock Capital and asked her to sign an “ironclad” NDA. So, Taylor decided to take matters into her own hands and re-record her life’s work on her own terms, calling the songs, the newly released vault tracks and the albums “Taylor’s Verison.” 

Taylor’s first Taylor’s Version release was for her breakthrough album and the first album of her’s to win Album Of The Year at the Grammys; Fearless. She worked very hard on going line by line through the lyrics improving them where she felt like she could, while still being true to the originals (plus technology has improved since 2009). The second Taylor’s Version release was her fan-favorite album Red, which included the highly-anticipated release of the 10-minute version of All Too Well, which also coincided with Taylor’s short film directorial debut through the visual for the song All Too Well. It went on to be viewed at Tribeca Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. It also gave one of Taylor’s closest friends, Blake Lively, the opportunity for her directorial debut for the music video for “I Bet You Think About Me,” starring actor Miles Teller. 

During the Fearless era, Taylor was still a fresh face. She was the Olivia Rodrigo of the late 2000s. She was naive and wide-eyed. Now, Taylor has grown up. She’s developed a thick skin and learned many lessons. During the Red era, Taylor was very sad. She said during press for Red (Taylor’s Version) that she would cry between press junkets during the original Red era, so the Taylor’s Version of album finally gave her a chance to enjoy the Red era. 

This is only part 1 of the re-recording era. She still has Debut, Speak Now, 1989 & Reputation to release (1989 has been rumored to be the next one for years, but due to the “Shake It Off” lawsuit, the “Bejeweled” music video and Taylor’s interesting word choice during her Era tour announcement, it seems to Speak Now is gonna be the next one). Since Taylor didn’t want to repeat eras, she got the opportunity or the first time in her career to show off her personal style, without it being attached to her current album. She wore sleek, classic, chic, timeless and sophisticated pieces in neutral colors. She also wore matching sets, menswear and mini dresses, which we have seen in many of her past eras, showing how these are part of her own personal style and how her eras are just different facets of her personal style. She still took a lot of inspiration from the 50s and 60s through her high-wasted bottoms and mini skirts, proving them to be her favorite decades for fashion, but she has also worn looks that were 80s and 90s-esque, including one she wore on Late Night With Seth Meyers that people though look similar to Princess Diana’s iconic Revenge dress (coincidence that this was during press for Red (Taylor’s Version)?). This sophisticated, class look may also give us a hint into what her performance wear will look like for her upcoming Era tour, one that will no doubt be all about nostalgia. 

Taylor’s newest album Midnights, is a culmination of Taylor’s most publicly known way of writing songs, late at night at the piano or guitar. Taylor tells us more especially than ever before what keeps her up at night; fantasizing about revenge, self-loathing, what could have been, and falling in love. This era has been one of her most successful yet, with her being the first artist ever to occupy all top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with songs all from Midnights. Taylor’s newest era also introduced us to her newest aesthetic for the next two years, which seems to perfect for its October release date. One decade Taylor hasn’t taken much inspiration from is the 70s, which this era encapsulates, through her using a 70s bingo ball turner in her Midnights Mayhem With Me TikTok series and Studio 54-inspired red carpet looks. It seems Taylor is mixing the celestial and ethereal vibes of Folklore, the vintage inspiration of her personal style and the fun of 1989 and Lover into a unique and playful aesthetic that has many directions to play with. 

This albums’ music is a match made in heaven for the best qualities of all Taylor’s past albums rolled into one. The songs on this album seamlessly mix the synth-pop instrumentals she became known for during her 1989 (one song on the album even samples 1989’s “Out of the Woods,” something only Taylor would do), Lover and Reputation albums (with Maroon eerily sounding like the 1989 era single “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” and Anti-Hero’s opening reminding me of her Ms. Americana closing song “Only The Young”) with the poetic, photographic lyrics she aced from her Folklore and Evermore eras. Some songs even thematically mirror past songs with Anti-Hero mirroring “Mirrorball,” Mastermind mirroring Long Live, Lavender Haze and Karma mirroring the Lover album (the former more so lyrically and the latter more so sonically) and Vigilante Shit and Midnight Rain mirroring the Reputation album. Because of this, this album can be interpreted as everything Taylor has been building toward in her music. “Mastermind” also references at her affinity for Easter Eggs during the song’s bridge.

Specifically, with the song Karma, which was originally theorized by fans to be a hidden album with its glittery Midnights-esque Easter Egg in “The Man” music video (similar to Woodvale theory of that being the sister album to Folklore, which ended up being partially true. It just wasn’t Woodvale, it was Evermore). The song/album was rumored to be about the Kanye West controversy and the video. The song was originally thought of to have a Reputation vibe of vengeance and snark, but instead was surprisingly positive. It predicted Kanye’s downfall, which happened coincidentally around Midnights‘ release (due to his admiration for Hitler and Anti-Semitic comments) and referenced how Taylor’s accomplishments are only growing, symbolic of how Kanye is attracting bad karma due to his past mistakes and Taylor is attracting good karma due to how much she has overcome and how she still thriving despite all she’s been through; with lyrics like “Ask what I have learned from all these years, Ask me what I have earned from all these tears, Ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here” and “Karma’s gonna track you down, step by step, from town to town.”

Her music videos for Lavender Haze, Anti Hero, and Bejeweled also played into that sequin, 70s-influenced, late night aesthetic. However, the music video for Bejeweled did it best. The costumes were all glittery and eye-catching. They were also far more expansive, not just taking inspiration from the 70s, but also Old Hollywood, the late 1700s and the 80s, unlike the other two music videos were the costume strictly took inspiration from the 70s. There were also fairytale motives reminiscent of her Speak Now era, which made fans begin to theorize that is the next re-recording to be released. The iconic bejeweled leotard is definitely the most iconic from the video, and will no doubt be recreated for the upcoming eras tour.

The first true outfit of her Midnights era was jewel-dripping Oscar De La Renta (one of her favorite designers, she also wore a daring ODLR mini dress when Folklore won Album of The Year at the Grammys in 2021) she wore to 2022 VMAs when she announced the album during her speech. She hinted at her song “Bejeweled” through that look, and also the glittering, sophisticated aesthetic of the album. During the afterparty, she wore a look that seemed to be quintessential the album’s vibe, a satin navy romper with star details, glittering Alexander McQueen (she loves British designers too) shoes and a luxurious white fur coat, which many have attributed to her also hinting at the “Vigilante Shit” line “lately I’ve been dressing for revenge” in reference to how the look seemingly mirror two looks worn by Scooter Braun’s wife. During her TikTok series announcing the track titles, she wore more casual 70s looks with Earth tones, sunshine colors, 70s prints like floral and plaid and darker eye makeup than she wore in her Folklore era. At her TIFF panel, she wore a now iconic gold sequin Louis Vuitton gown, really honing in on the Studio 54 disco vibes. When she got her award for Songwriter-Artists of the Decade at the Nashville Songwriter Awards, she wore a Reputation-esque black sequin dress with interesting cutouts. Between this dress and her VMA afterparty look, it’s clear she was dressing for revenge, hinting at the hook to her song “Vigilante Shit.” However, she has been hinting at the shimmery 70s vibe Midnights would employ for months, with her wearing a shimmery gold off-the-shoulder loose-fitting mini dress to her 32nd star-studded birthday party back in December 2021.

Once the album came out, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in a geometric, optical illusion-like suit that reeked of 70s vibes. This being her first press appearance for the album, it confirmed both how specific and broad this era’s clothing is. In Midnights Mayhem With Me and her music video for “Anti-Hero,” Taylor wore many Earth-toned and 70s-inspired patterns like plaid and stripes, however, Problem Taylor wore the same 70s pattern, just in brighter, more saturated tones, showing how they may be the same person, but one is significantly more energetic than the other. In her music video for Bejeweled, we got to elements of the Midnights aesthetic that she has hinted at on the red carpet, though, well, jewels and inspirations that we know Taylor loves like Old Hollywood, the 1920s, ethereal and celestial vibes, fairytales and Marie Antionette because we have seen that elements in her past work and looks. (“Mean,” “Willow,” “Enchanted,” the lyric video for “The Lucky One” and “Blank Space” just to name a few). We also saw her pay homage to her performance attire, through wear multiple leotards. 

At the MTV EMAs, Taylor wore two David Koma looks, a London-based design known for his glittery, sleek, edgy and sexy designs that often include rhinestone and black. Due to the dark hues and bejeweled details of his designs, it’s no surprise Taylor is leaning toward the British designer during her Midnights era, especially with all the time she spend in the U.K. with her London Boy. Her first look was quite possibly her sexiest and most daring look to date, showcasing just how far she has come from being that teenage girl crying on her guitar. The bejeweled dress has a low-cut black bodysuit underneath a light emerald gemstone netting ankle-length see-through overlay. Her second look combined her style sensibilities from both her Reputation and Red eras, mirroring how Midnights combines all the best elements form her past work, proving how this album is something her whole career has worked towards. The look was a black collared mini dress with silver gemstones. 

At the AMAs, she was a 70s-style sequin jumpsuit from The Blonds NY, further honing in that 70 disco vibe for her Midnights era red carpet looks. However, the way he styled her hair was the biggest and most talked about element of the outfit. While the waves match the 70s time period, the side parts bang and bouncy ringlets, combined with the golden hue of the jumpsuit reeked of Fearless vibes. However, since that album’s re-recordings are already released, fans think it yet another hint of Speak Now being the next re-recorded album.

When she appeared at the 1975 concert, surprising unsuspecting fans by playing “Anti-Hero” live for the first time, she wore a quintessentially Paco Rabanne silver glittering chainmail mini dress. They drew comparisons to her iconic silver sequin fringe mini dress from her Fearless tour. Because of how synonymous sparkle is with Midnights era already and the silver color and mini silhouette mirror Fearless, the sequin dress could be an homage to both eras, making it a perfect segue into getting fans ready for the highly-anticipated Era tour.

Now, the Midnights era isn’t over yet, but it seems we expect more 70s glam with dashes of sexiness and her now signature sophistication and Old Hollywood inspiration. This just might be her most authentically Taylor era yet because of all the elements apart of it and how many similarities there are to her past eras; Speak Now’s romanticness, Red’s preppiness, 1989’s experimentation, Reputation’s darkness, Lover’s fun and Folklore’s celestial vibes. This might be because of how much Taylor as used the night as a theme and creative catalyst in her past. The music video for Bejeweled also returns to her love for fairytales, and with the music video also hinting at Speak Now being the next re-recording, an era where she perfected the fairytale aesthetic, I highly doubt this is a coincidence, after all, Taylor’s pension for Easter Eggs has taught fans that everything Taylor does is intentional. Fans often joke that Taylor never sleeps due to her known tendency to work on songs at night and lyrics that reference 2am and 3am. She also has continuously referenced sleepless nights, astronomical subjects and being up in the middle of the night. So, it makes sense how Taylor has finally succumbed to her nocturnal-like behavior and made it into an album. Hence, this album is totally Taylor.  

Taylor’s eras have an almost symbiotic arc, with her eras feeling natural for Taylor’s overall growth as an artist and a person. Her music often hints at what the next era would be. For example, Debut’s Picture To Burn and Should’ve Said No hinted at the rock undertones of Fearless with tracks like Forever & Always and The Way I Love You, then Fearless’ “Love Story” and “Fifteen” hinted at the fairytale and coming-of-age vibes of Speak Now, shown in songs like “Enchanted,” “Today Was a Fairytale” and “Never Grow Up.” The songs “Better than Revenge,” “Haunted,” “The Story of Us” and “Back To December” hinted at the rock, autumnal, heartbreak vibes that epitomized Red, through songs like “All Too Well,” “Red,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “State of Grace” and “Sad Beautiful Tragic.” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “22,” “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” “Holy Ground,” among others had a distinctively pop sound, which hinted at her genre shift in 1989, specifically with songs like “New Romantics,” “Blank Space,” and ‘Wildest Dreams.” The songs “Bad Blood” and “Style” had the aggressive and sexual undertones that were featured on Reputation through songs like “…Ready For It?”, “End Game,” “I Did Something Bad,” “Dress” and “Don’t Blame Me.” The themes of love in songs like “Call It What You Want,” “Delicate,” “Gorgeous” and “New Year’s day” obviously foreshadowed at the Lover era with songs like “Lover,” “Paper Rings” and “London Boy.” The more mellow, emotional, imaginative, juvenile, topical and whimsy vibes of “Soon You’ll Get Better,” “The Man,” “You Need To Calm Down,” “Daylight,” “False God,” “Cruel Summer,” and “The Archer” hinted, quite coincidentally since these albums weren’t planned, at Folklore and Evermore through songs like “august,” “betty,” “willow,” “gold rush,” “long story short” and “ivy.” On the sister albums, songs like “mad woman,” “the 1,” “mirorrball,” “no body, no crime,” and “champagne problems,” which each dealt with themes of nostalgia, regret, insecurity, revenge, rage and love, hinted at the four themes of Midnight through songs like “Midnight Rain,” “Vigilante Shit,” “Snow On The Beach,” “Anti-Hero” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” You also argue that since Folklore wasn’t planned, that lover songs like “Daylight” and “Afterglow” hinted at songs like “Lavender Haze” and ‘Maroon” on Midnights with the theme of emotions washing over you. Karma is also theorized to have been written during the Reputation era, which can be hinted at by songs like “Getaway Car,” “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” and “Look What You Made Me Do” on the Reputation album. She also hinted at the vibe of the next album through clothing. The best examples of this are her wearing sleek pantsuits towards the end of her Red era, hinting at the more mature sound and subject matter of 1989, her bleach-haired “bleachella” era, which took place in between 1989 and Reputation, was the edgiest hair she ever had, therefore it was hinting at her edgiest era yet, Reputation, and when she wore the now iconic bejeweled Oscar de la Renta dress she wore when she announced her album Midnights at the VMAs. This is such a part of the fabric of her image that she even did it unintentionally, by wearing a mirrorball-inspired look to the AMAs during her Lover era, before she even wrote the song “Mirrorball” for her quarantine-written album Folklore. This natural evolution of eras shows growth in Taylor visually, musically and personally. It is also part of what makes her one of the best storytellers of the 21st century. This growth helps her age with her fans. The continuation of universally relatable music and image tells a cohesive arc, however, it also shows her own personal story involving both her life and her career. It’s so sincere and effortless (like she says herself in the Midnights song “Mastermind”) which makes its appeal and reliability all the more palpable.

Taylor probably knows this too. Not only is she one of the most successful singers and praised songwriters of the 21st century, but she is also a huge role model of a savvy businesswoman in the entertainment industry. She is a business and marketing genius, especially since becoming intensely private during her Reputation era, giving her a newfound mystique and allure that she has fully used to her advantage. Sure, she has her tried-and-true playbook of social media posts, press junkets and tours, but she had used this differently depending on current trends during the time, which is why she is using TikTok, today’s It-social media platform, so heavily during her Midnights era. At this point, CEOs everywhere should be taking notes of their marketing strategies.

Taylor has undoubtedly made a permanent place for herself within pop culture. People either love her or hate her. She also constantly reinvents herself, making her a chameleon and able to convert more people to her side and then have them run for the hills. 

One of the best and smartest parts of her marketing strategies is her affinity for Easter Eggs. She makes listening to her music more of an adventure than the average artist, making fans go on a quest for answers and come up with fan theories, similar to TV shows like Pretty Little Liars and films like Harry Potter. Making it more of an experience makes anything she does from press appearances to music videos to social media posts act as a brilliant form of advertising with hints at what she’s planning to release next. 

She’s unique as a star because she grew up with her fans, and with the rise of social media. She learned how to curate an image online just like we have, and she’s done always remaining true to herself and showcasing different facets of her personality to suit whatever era she’s in whether it’s the dark Reputation era or the happy-go-lucky Lover era. Being an interesting person is a valuable asset of being a successful person with a large online presence. Taylor does this expertly.

Taylor’s merchandise has also been praised for its variety, quality and how much it coincides with her music. For example, fans can really buy the scarf and keychain for All Too Well. Recently, she has released four special editions of her Midnights record on vinyl, so when you put the four editions together it forms a clock, driving up sales of the physical album. Her merchandise, ranging from thing you wouldn’t expect like dish towels to earrings also sell out very quickly. She also makes business partnerships with brands such as Keds, Coca-Cola, Apple, Capital One, Apple Music, Spotify and Elizabeth Arden. She and her public work overtime on her genius brand partnerships and market strategy that, at this point, is at the same level, if not better, than most corporations, proving how she’s an expert on showing young people how to market themselves in a very competitive industry. Frankly, she’s a trailblazer on how entertainers should market themselves. 

Being hardworking and overachieving doesn’t mean you don’t get burnout, and Taylor is good at pacing herself. She releases a new album every two years like clockwork (with Folklore and her re-recordings being the exception). This causes her to create very distinctive eras throughout her career (hence, her upcoming Eras tour), where you can literally chart her career and personal growth. It’s quite extraordinary, extremely impressive and incredibly rare. She hasn’t just created a business, but she has created a powerful (and considerate) corporation.

As aforementioned, one of Taylor’s most signature ways of using her marketing is through Easter Eggs. They are hidden self-renewal messages that fans are meant to decode, analyze and share. Her skills at this point are better than the rich and vivid cinematic universes of Harry Potter or Marvel, making her music an interactive experience completely under her control. She frequently calls back to her past eras, especially her re-recording era, reminding her fans and critiques that she is not a newbie. She has earned her place and she’s here to stay. 

This, frankly, is genius. Fans get a sense of accomplishment when they solve the puzzle, making their anticipation for the result that much more thrilling. It also increases the streams of her past music, making her whole discography relevant. Easter Eggs have been at an all-time high during her re-recording era, constantly referencing the latest albums and songs.

Taylor has many strategies to do this. While she isn’t her own stylist or costumed designer, she does have a mind similar to one, often hinting at her next era’s vibe through the clothes she wears or her appearance through hair, nails and makeup. Her best friend being Blake Lively, who is her own stylist and has a spirit day approach to fashion, she has only perfected this art since becoming friends with the Gossip Girl alum. She also uses emojis. She assigns one or two to each album; Midnights has a clock, Red has a scarf and Folklore has a leaf. Even her word choice in Instagram captions and tweets hints at songs and albums. It’s at the point where her friends are trained to dissect the hidden meaning of her red-carpet looks or social media posts. This also works well because Taylor has always appealed to the same demographic, young women, and young women are excellent at social media. 

Her music videos are one of her best marketing strategies, with her motion picture format being chalked full of Easter Eggs, with “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Bejeweled” being her most Easter Egg-y videos to date. Watch them and be mesmerized by her brilliant attention to detail. This newfound creative control (which sparked through her determination to our her own songs) has inspired her to start directing her own music videos as well, and even films too. 

Not many people know what it really takes to be a successful director. The first is having the vision, the second is having the drive to execute, the third is so find people to help you execute who believe in you and your vision, and the fourth and hardest step, having the answers to all the many unpredictable questions that are guaranteed to arise as you attempt to pull it off. Taylor’s career has prepared for all of this. She has always been a creative genius with admirable determination and a work ethic. She has cultivated strong friendships with talented people. She has also been bombarded with questions, rumors, misconceptions, assumptions, and hardships, and she has overcome it all. She has already been starting to be seen as a promising new director by participating in Variety’s Directors on Directors with Banshees of Inshirien’s Martin McDonagh. It has also become crystal clear that she is well on her way to becoming a full-fledged director since it was announced by Variety that her original script was picked up by Searchlight Pictures, which will also be her feature film directorial debut, the same production company that produced The Shape of Water and The Menu.

The first music video Taylor directed was during her Lover era when she co-directed them with Dave Meyers for the album’s first single “ME!”. She went on to co-direct her music videos for “You Need To Calm Down” and “Lover” with Drew Kirsch. Her first solo directorial endeavor was for “The Man,” in which she played herself as a director in the music video (as a commentary on how actresses are often given the direction to be sexier, similar to what Megan Fox was told by Michael Bay while filming Transformers). Since then she has directed all of her music videos except for Blake Lively’s directorial debut for “I Bet You Think About Me.” 

Taylor is also no stranger to writing and producing, collaborating on her videos for years. When she was 12, she wrote a 350-page novel that has yet to be published. She has also written all her own songs. So, all of this experience led her to try her hand at writing, producing and directing a short film. That led to her gifting us with the “All Too Well” short film, after years of being pestered by fans to release the 10-minute version of the song. During her panels promoting the short film at Tribeca Film Festival and TIFF, she said that she would be interested in directing a feature film on the same indie, visceral, and intimate scale due to how fulfilling she found the directorial process. She also has acting experience through her music videos, her appearances on CSI, Valentine’s Day, The Giver, Cats, and most recently David O. Russell’s Amsterdam. Those who have been directed by her have praised her directing style saying how much freedom she gives the actors. She has a script, of course, but always does a take where she lets the actors do their own thinking and improvise. When she described her process recently on The Graham Norton show, Eddie Redmayne complimented her directorial style and willingness to have her actors ad-lib, calling it “any actor’s dream.”

Taylor Swift is a trailblazer. A genius. A brilliant talent. A creative acrobat. A progressive. A poet. A storyteller. A role model. A remarkable, unprecedented, revolutionary success. She’s a strategic, innocently Machiavellian and whip-smart mastermind (puns intended). Her artistry has inspired college courses completely dedicated to her lyrics and impact and her songwriting has been compared to that of Shakespeare and classic literature. She has basically created her own mythology by now; which can be called “Taylorlore,” if you so desire. The Atlantic even says she is steps away from forming her own powerful Metaverse, although she has already created her own cinematic universe (coined the TSCU or “Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe”). She is one of the most influential pop artists for new, young musicians including Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, GAYLE, Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, MUNA, and Adele with her interactiveness and specific lyrics, with her influence probably going to be coined as “Swiftian” in the near future. The singer, songwriter, writer, director, award-winner, actress and producer has proven time and time again just how adaptable her music, personal style and marketing strategy is without it feeling insincere or forced, which is incredibly rare for musicians, especially women. Sure, many talents are smart, detail-oriented and expansive, but not many have cultivated such an empire.

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