The Taylor Swift Look Book

The megastar’s most memorable looks from her country-music days, Met Gala red carpets, twee beanie-wearing era, concert tours, and more.

Taylor Swift is the master of “Easter eggs,” subtle clues she’ll drop here and there that provide hints to her work and life. And one of her favorite ways to do so is through her clothing. It’s her unique way of communicating with her fans, and she’s become notorious for it. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Well, our fashion critic, Cathy Horyn, thinks it’s a bit of both. 

Since her early, sideswept-bang, natural-curl, cowboy-boot-wearing days, the singer has had a distinct approach to dressing that, for all intents and purposes, mimics something a regular-degular person might do: be inconsistent. Depending on her phase of life or whatever might be in trend at the time, Swift has been unafraid to make a gradual (okay, sometimes abrupt) shift in whatever she’s wearing. For example, anything and everything twee (think beanies, plaid skirts, high socks, oxfords) was Swift’s bread and butter for years, so much so that it felt like she practically owned the aesthetic. That is, until she traded in her knit stockings for a blunt bob, bright two-piece sets, and a much edgier, bolder way of dressing at the 2016 Grammys and Met Gala. C’est la vie! Trends change! People change! And Swift is no different. Here, we take a look at her style evolution throughout the years. I mean, she’s now a billionaire, after all, and sometimes she dresses like it.