I love Taylor Swift just as much as the next girl, maybe even more, but lately, her merch has just not been hitting. My expectations have been low since the Swiftie Summer collection she released in May.
Taylor recently announced her upcoming article Midnights, which is set to debut on October 21st and features 13 never before heard songs. Any Swiftie worth their salt, of course, knows how iconic the number 13 is for Taylor. A brand new album from Swift comes as quite a surprise to many fans, as the chart-topping artist has notoriously been working on re-recording her entire discography for the past few years. Her promo for the album includes a new series on Tiktok entitled “Midnights Mayhem With Me,” in which she announces the title of one track in each video.
The Midnights’ merch drop was wildly underwhelming to me and yet incredibly expensive. The collection has a retro feel to it, with ringer tees and color block long sleeves and crewnecks. The colors are muted, and I’m especially not a fan of the so-called gold color of the Album Cover Ringer T-Shirt, which in my opinion, is more of a bronze. My overall least favorite has to be a tie between the Album Cover Long Sleeve (not a fan of the weird color block situation) and the Duffle Bag (75 DOLLARS?!?!?! FOR THAT?). Will I still be purchasing from this collection? Yes. Only because it’s been my lifelong goal to collect merchandise from every Taylor era. Honestly, the Brown Hoodie and the Blue Hoodie are not the worst, and I did send a link to my mom if she feels so inclined to get me one of them for Christmas.
Much of the internet seems to share my sentiments. Looking at the comments on Taylor Nation’s Instagram post announcing the Midnights collection, many users expressed their disappointment, some in nicer ways than others. User @ghostlyicequeen wrote, “So expensive and not that cute” and @sabrinamaezing pleaded, “Taylor’s merch team please start making more subtle clothing merch I am begging for.” Others, like user @getouluvr, who simply stated, “no offense but they suck,” were more blunt. One user, @conradrryy, hilariously commented, “capitalism won tn i fear.”
Fashion is subjective, and everyone has their own taste. If you love this collection, great! But if, like me, you are not a fan of the official Midnights merch, don’t fret! There are many small businesses making their own Taylor merch that is, yes, less overt and priced more reasonably. My favorite is Finer Finds, who have only just teased their Midnights merch but are sure to come out with something beautiful! For now, you can view their other Taylor products or other musicians like Harry Styles and Olivia Rodrigo.