Being a Swiftie is, IMHO, one of the most chaotic fandoms to be a part of, from the endless Easter eggs to the clowning over new re-record release dates — aka me with reputation (TV) — and obsessing over everything Taylor Swift wears or how she styles her signature bangs. And lately, fans have been fed with Swift’s endless appearances going out with friends, attending her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s football games, and her iconic photo shoot and exclusive interview for being TIME’s 2023 person of the year.
But on Dec. 13 — mother’s birthday — she sent Swifties into a whole new spiral. Dec. 13 is obviously the biggest holiday for Swift fans, because Swift loves to give the fans a little present each year, whether it’s a gracious Instagram post or, in this year’s case, releasing The Eras Tour (Extended Version) movie for Swifties to rent and watch at home. But even bigger than that, this year, we Swifties fixated on what Swift was wearing for her birthday festivities, and all I can day is Taylor Swift’s birthday dress delivered (and devoured).
Swift has been wearing lots of all-black ensembles lately, causing Swifites to continue speculating that reputation (Taylor’s Version) is on the horizon — but the dress she wore on her birthday seems to follow a separate, consistent theme Swift has been hinting at. Swift rocked a Clio Peppiatt Lucina Embellished Stretch-Mesh Mini Dress, which retails for $2,335. The black dress is covered with Swarovski beads and crystals, and embellished with star and moon motifs that made Swift shimmer. She paired the mini dress with black pumps, a black Annie Bing faux fur jacket, and a jeweled-encrusted mini bucket bag that matched the silver embellishments on her dress.
This mini dress covered with a moon and stars is very reminiscent of her previous Midnights album era. TikToker @alexantonides pointed out that the dress is sort of the opposite of the first-ever Midnights era outfit Swift wore at the VMAs afterparty on Aug. 28, 2022, after announcing the arrival of her newest record. Swift had worn a dark blue (or midnight blue) romper covered in silver stars, much like her birthday dress. This black mini dress could signify the ending of the Midnights era, hinting at Swift’s possibly-upcoming 11th studio album.
Other theories about this outfit point more to the stars and constellations Swift has been wearing. TikTok creator @eurosweetheart noticed that Swift has been leaning into her star sign, Sagittarius, this past year, with the Sagittarius constellation being in both the “Lavender Haze” and “Karma” music videos. Swift also had carried around a Gold Armory Clutch bag embellished with the Sagittarius constellation on Dec. 8 while attending friend Emma Stone’s new movie premiere for Poor Things. All the way back in September at the VMAs, Swift randomly mentioned on stage that Nicki Minaj was her favorite Sagittarius while accepting an award that Minaj presented to her.
All these theories about Swift’s birthday dress point to the possibility that Midnights could have a sister album coming, or just point to the overall vibe of TS11 that Swift wants fans to keep on speculating about. And even if none of these theories are true and it’s just fans spiraling, we can still all agree that Taylor Swift is, and always will be, a mastermind.