In my world, when Taylor Swift goes on tour, it’s not a big deal; it’s not even a major deal. It’s only like Christmas, my birthday, and the best first date all rolled into one. This is my Super Bowl, my Joker, and all I will be able to think and talk about for the next several months (sorry to all those around me). I may be ticketless (for now) but I will not be unprepared; I’m already planning my Eras tour outfits if only so I can stream the full concert live from the stadium — where she’s performing a staggering 44 songs from 10 albums — thanks to a fellow fan’s shaky iPhone.
Inspired by every single album and era in Taylor Swift’s arsenal, ahead are 127 pieces recommended by a longtime Swiftie for what to wear for the Eras tour, from Debut-ready cowboy boots to reputation snakes, plus all the sequins, sparkles, and fringing that we’ve come to expect from a TS tour. I’ve followed the set list of the tour as it currently stands, throwing in fan-favorite outfit DIYs, some lyric- and Easter egg-inspired looks, and color themes that define each era. Make sure to check back as we’ll be updating this piece as Taylor switches up the tour.
After the darkness of the reputation era, 2019’s Lover was an explosion of color, sparkle, and bubblegum pop. This was when Taylor “found herself” again after symbolically killing off her past self during “Look What You Made Me Do.” Lover is also the first album owned by Taylor following her departure from Big Machine Records.
Like the literal transition in the “Me!” music video, when the reputation snake bursts into pastel butterflies, this album was all about everything that makes Taylor, Taylor. It’s also an era cut short by the pandemic (RIP LoverFest), so it’s meaningful to fans that Taylor kicks off the Eras tour with lyrics from “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince”: “I counted days, I counted miles […] It’s been a long time coming.”
The colors most closely associated with Lover are pastel pink, baby blue, and lilac. In this segment of the tour, Taylor wears a custom, bedazzled Versace bodysuit, a sequinned Versace blazer (for “The Man”), and sparkly Louboutin boots.
If you’re a Lover stan, this is also your time to shine in popstar-ready sequins, blazer dresses, and butterfly and flower motifs. For an easy nod to the era, draw a heart around your eye à la Taylor in the album photoshoot. Other whimsical and romantic themes are winners here too — just think about the “Me!” music video, which featured cats, a unicorn, princess dresses, candy-colored cowboy boots, and rainbows.
Feeling crafty? I love how this fan replicated Taylor’s rainbow fringed jacket moment using just paint. If you really want to make a statement, DIY your own 2019 AMAs shirtdress.
To replicate an actual Lover era look, the “Me!” and “You Need To Calm Down” music videos provide a wealth of inspiration, from Taylor’s pastel suit and ’60s babydoll look to her hot pink fur coat and cat eye sunglasses.
The Fearless era was when Taylor went from being the underground face of country pop to worldwide recognition and mainstream chart success. It’s the album that gave us career-defining songs like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me,” so it was perhaps unsurprising that Taylor chose Fearless as her first Taylor’s Version rerecord.
On the Eras tour, Fearless is second on the set list, with Taylor opting for glittering gold, fringed mini dresses, just like her 20-year-old self on the 2009 Fearless tour (gold is the official color of this era). This time around, she swapped out her black, knee-high riding boots for a custom pair of cowboy-style Louboutins.
The easiest way to honor the era is with a similarly sparkling gold dress, cowboy boots, Taylor’s signature curls, and ’13’ drawn on the back of your hand. If you want to go all out, you could DIY a sparkly ’13’ guitar like Taylor’s.
Fun nods to the Fearless discography come from the era’s music videos. The hand-drawn band Junior Jewels tee is an easy arts and crafts project (wear with plaid pajama pants). If you’re going with your best friend, a great duo idea is band geek Taylor and cheerleader Taylor. Alternatively, channel Princess Taylor from “Love Story” with a white and gold corset top and flowing skirt.
At the first show of the Eras tour, Taylor dispelled a popular fan joke that evermore, the second surprise album she dropped during the lockdown in 2020, is her least favorite. Not that she needed to — the five evermore songs on the set list and full-on theatrical productions for “willow” and “tolerate it” did the trick.
For this era, a continuation into the “folklorian woods,” Taylor marries the cottagecore sensibility with something more mystical. Think the witchy vibes of “willow” (a green velvet cloak, vintage-style slip dress, and flower crown are a must), the lead and only single from the album. The key colors of this album riff off the album cover, on which Taylor wears a cozy-looking plaid coat: rust orange, copper, beige and earthy browns.
With less obvious music video prompts, you can have some fun here. Maybe you could dress as the golden thread? The willow tree itself? An ivy-covered house from “ivy”? A glass of champagne from “champagne problems”? A Wild West-style bandit from “cowboy like me”? You could even take inspiration from the album cover.
If you’re a rep stan, it’s time to throw out the candy-colored sparkles and cowboy boots in honor of Taylor’s (aesthetically) darkest album. Taylor adopted the snake as the motif of the era, tapping into the imagery of a snake shedding its skin to symbolize regeneration.
If you’re dressing for a “big reputation,” then your safest bet is a lot of black, green, sparkles, and snake motifs. Head to Netflix and watch the reputation stadium tour for inspiration — you’ll spot Taylor wearing hoods, bodysuits, knee-high boots, sharp-shoulder jackets, cut-out features, and a black manicure to match the mood.
If you want something a little more subtle, then a newspaper print, inspired by the album cover, is a strong bet. Or try a cheeky nod to a lyric: old-timey “Getaway Car” Bonnie and Clyde, the maps where you buried the hatchet (“End Game”), or a magician and illusionist from “So It Goes…”. Anyone brave enough to go as zombie Taylor from the “Look What You Made Me Do” video gets my vote though.
Speak Now currently has just one song on the Eras tour set list, which I’m hoping will change when the Taylor’s Version rerecord is released. This is arguably Taylor’s most romantic and magical era — “Enchanting,” you could say. If you’ve seen the OG Speak Now tour footage, you’ll know that it’s one of her most theatrical shows to date, with elaborate sets for each song including an entire wedding setup for the titular track, a spooky forest for “Haunted” and Taylor’s first floating stages.
To capture the nostalgia of the Speak Now era, sequinned babydoll dresses and princess ballgowns like those originally worn by Taylor are your best bet (preferably in purple, the color of the album). Also a must for this era: a red lip and a carefully chosen arm lyric — something Taylor used to do as a kind of ‘mood ring’ for how she felt each night of the tour.
For a music video look, you have either the old-school flapper vibes of “Mean” or the preppy school-girl vibes of ‘The Story Of Us” (DIY your own storybook poster to carry with you just in case locals don’t get it).
So far, my favorite DIY Speak Now costume idea has come from this thrifty duo, who dressed as bottles of Wonderstruck and Wonderstruck Enchanted, the two perfumes Taylor released during this era (and which I hope she brings back for Speak Now Taylor’s Version!).
RED is one of Taylor’s favorites and, as a longtime RED stan, I’m very happy about that. It was her first real shift into pop, spawning mega-hits like “22,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and her second rerecord in 2021, giving us the fan-favorite masterpiece that is the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” and accompanying short film, directed by Taylor.
The RED era has a very distinct aesthetic, and not just because of the color. During the OG RED era, Taylor’s personal style was perhaps best described as twee. She was well known for tea dresses, high-waisted shorts, brogues and Mary Janes, Breton stripes, bowler hats, and cat eye sunglasses. The RED tour also saw one of her most iconic performance outfits: a top hat-wearing circus ringleader. She pays homage to the look on the Eras tour with a sparkling red jacket (a custom design by Ashish).
The easiest way to channel RED energy is with a red dress, a twee-inspired shorts-and-brogue moment, or a look from the “WANEGBT” or “22” videos: squirrel pajamas/glasses Taylor and “not a lot going on at the moment” T-shirt Taylor spring to mind. Personally, I’ll be recreating my favorite RED-era photo shoot in Rolling Stone with a similar bomber varsity jacket from Superdry and a string of pearls.
Folklore is Taylor’s first pandemic-era album — a total surprise drop that was announced less than 24 hours before its release, and the first project that she released not on her usual two-year schedule (freed from the restrictions of writing for single-release and stadium shows). It’s also her first true alternative album, co-produced partly with The National’s Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, who each collaborated remotely. In fact, the very first time they got to perform the songs together was in the Disney+ concert film folklore: the long pond studio sessions. Together, they created a lush, folky, rustic world where Taylor could tell other people’s stories, make up characters, and dip into history and local myth.
Folklore’s key aesthetic can be described as “cottagecore grandma picnics in the woods,” so think floral prairie dresses and cozy knitwear (referencing “cardigan,” of course). A plaid shirtdress is a great nod to the folklore: the long pond studio sessions.
For the folklore segment of the Eras tour, Taylor turns it up a notch with a rotation of ethereal, floaty dresses that give Stevie Nicks and Florence & The Machine a run for their money. One of the easiest ways to capture some folklore energy is with a woodland-nymph look in a palette of whites, creams, greys, and silver, and with light floral patterns. Think evermore vibes but for spring and summer.
If you would rather take on a look inspired by your favorite song, you’re not alone. We’ve already seen silver, sparkling “mirrorball”-inspired outfits and moon/Saturn duos (for “seven”) become fan favorites.
For Taylor’s pop magnum opus, you have a full range of iconic music video looks to choose from: “Shake It Off” (ballet or cheerleader Taylor), “Blank Space” (Taylor stabbing the cake in black lingerie and lace sleep mask), “Bad Blood” (one of The Squad), and “Wildest Dreams” (old Hollywood Taylor in the yellow dress). Alternatively, Taylor favored matching two-piece sets, Wayfarers, sequinned jackets, and skater skirts for the OG 1989 tour, which she continues to reference today. If you want a monochromatic look, the color here is the light baby blue used on the album cover.
It’s also easy to reference the 1989 tracklist with your outfit. This album and era are most closely associated with New York City (she opened the original tour with “Welcome To New York”), so NYC-inspired prints are a winner. Likewise, I can’t wait to see “Style” fans nod to Old Hollywood with James Dean and “red lip classic” inspired looks.
For an inside joke look, you can’t beat Taylor’s 2014 “no, it’s Becky” T-shirt, which has a special place in Swiftie history.
Let’s hear it for the self-titled fans! Perhaps Taylor Swift’s most under-appreciated album among the fandom, I’m ready for teenage Taylor’s country twang to have its well-deserved moment when Taylor’s Version drops. Right now, there are no Taylor Swift songs on the set list — apart from the occasional acoustic surprise — but again, I hope this changes once we have the rerelease.
The staples of any good self-titled look are simple: boho summer dresses (preferably white, like the album cover art), cowboy boots (shoutout to baby Taylor’s personalized pair), blue jeans, hoop earrings, and an armful of bracelets. For a color-first look, it’s all about lush summer green, baby blue, and white.
There are some great music video looks to recreate for this era too, from “Picture To Burn’s” black mini dress, gloves, and headband to “Our Song’s” baby blue prom dress.
Taylor’s most recent album is already generating a host of great costume ideas. Fan favorites include her “Bejewelled” video bodysuit (you can DIY your own), midnight blue star dress red carpet look, “Anti-Hero” orange hot pants, and “Lavender Haze” faux fur and slip moment. You could also run with the nighttime concept of the album, from astrological prints to star chain belts. I love this “he was sunshine, I was midnight rain” BFF idea and this simple nod to the koi swimming through space in “Lavender Haze.”
Inspired by the album cover shoot, Midnights is also the perfect opportunity to pull out your best Daisy Jones ’70s looks. Here’s hoping that someone recreates Taylor’s Miss Bejewelled/Marie Antoinette look, too.
If you don’t want to buy anything new, I understand — tour tickets are expensive! Thankfully, the colors and vibes of each era are really strong, so all you need to do is pull a monochromatic outfit in the album color of your choice, draw a lucky “13” on your hand, cover your face/hair/body in glitter, and you’re ready. For a quick guide, here are the colors most commonly associated with each era/album:
Taylor Swift: mainly light green, but also white and light blue
Fearless: gold
Speak Now: purple
RED: red
1989: light blue
reputation: black and dark green
Lover: pastel pink, blue and purple (if you’re opting for one, then pink)
folklore: white and grey
evermore: amber, beige, and brown
Midnights: midnight blue
I’ve changed my mind about which era I want to dress for about 13 times while writing this article. When in doubt, I think a sequin dress in your favorite color plus cowboy boots is always a winning option, and both are pieces you’re likely to wear again and again.
If you happen own Taylor Swift merch, then go for that. There’s something very self-titled-era Taylor about a tour T-shirt worn with a denim miniskirt or your favorite blue jeans.
Inspired by a lyric from “You’re On Your Own Kid,” Swifties have started making and swapping friendship bracelets at the tour. This is a great way to strike up a conversation and make new friends if you’re attending a show alone.
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