Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Has Become the Met Gala for Her Fans

Jasmine and Karla Ramirez are not real ballerinas, but they showed up to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last weekend wearing full tutus, tights, and crowns.

“We wanted to go all out,” the sisters explained after detailing how they diligently recreated the look from Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” music video. “We just want to show Taylor how much we appreciate her after all these years. We want to show up for her the way she’s always shown up for us.”

Swift’s Eras Tour kicked off just three weeks ago, but many Swifties have spent months designing and coordinating their outfits for these shows—long before the Ticketmaster disaster threw them into both the emotional and financial trenches. A longtime Swift fan myself, I’ve spent most of my waking hours these past few weeks on TikTok admiring other fans’ outfit reveals (in clips often set to AI-generated audio of Swift exclaiming, “Oh my God, your Eras Tour outfit looks SO fucking good!”), and I’ve spent [redacted] dollars on hauls on my own ensembles.

The conditions that led up to this tour were ripe for spawning this newfound craze among Swifties to prioritize and painstakingly plan their Eras Tour fashion. There was the pandemic that kept us home and left us largely resigned to a wardrobe of loungewear; five years and the release of four new albums since Swift’s last tour; and the rise of TikTok in documenting the concert-going experience (and, for some, stirring up competition and anxiety among fans who want to one-up others).

And then there’s the entire concept of the tour itself: Eras takes the crowd on a non-chronological tour through Swift’s career, from her country roots to pop idol stardom to folk storyteller, and everything in between. That’s reflected onstage, too—Swift’s own outfits change with the passing of each era over the course of the three-plus-hour show. It begs the question: If she’s going to commit to multiple costume changes every night, why shouldn’t fans put as much thought into their own looks?

Many Swifties on TikTok have referred to the tour as their personal Met Gala, Vogue’s annual themed, high-fashion soiree (where, fittingly, Swift is rumored to have met her longtime partner Joe Alywn back in 2016). Some have used the opportunity to cosplay as Swift herself, recreating everything from her previous tour costumes to more hilariously niche looks, like Swift recovering from LASIK surgery in post-op goggles or receiving her honorary NYU doctorate degree in a cap and gown—the kinds of outfits only true fans would even be able to appreciate. One fan and her mom went to a Las Vegas show dressed as literal Easter eggs to celebrate Swift’s longtime practice of embedding secret messages into her performances, social media posts, and outfits.

Others have chosen ensembles inspired by different albums rather than recreating specific looks, like wearing snake imagery to represent Reputation, or pink frilly tulle for Lover. Even Selena Gomez and her younger sister played dress-up at one of Swift’s Arlington stops, with Gomez styling her hair into two loose buns and wearing an oversized cardigan, in tribute to Swift’s Folklore era, and her sister wearing a dress identical to one Swift wore on her Speak Now World Tour more than 10 years ago.

“When you think about what to wear to celebrate 10 albums, you have so many options,” says DaNae Couch, who wore a pink glittery blazer covered in champagne bottle patches alongside a cowboy hat and boots. “Everyone might have a different album, song, or era, but Taylor is the invisible string who ties us together.”

Fans who aren’t recreating specific looks or channeling certain eras are otherwise leaning into what has developed into an unspoken rule: If you’re at the Eras Tour, you’re wearing sequins or fringe in some shape, way, or form. It’s a phenomenon similar to what was seen at Harry Styles concerts over the past year. Droves of fans showed up to his Love on Tour dates channeling a retro ’70s vibe and donning feather boas that often left venues looking like Big Bird had been viciously murdered there.

While concert fashion was once distinguished mainly by artist merchandise, the trend has shifted to the kind of curated concert looks long associated with festivals like Coachella. Part of that may be attributed to COVID-induced weariness, as fans now have a newfound appreciation for concerts and want to dress accordingly. Goodbye, jeans and tees; hello, extravagant, eye-catching ensembles that celebrate the thrill of being out of the house and seeing your favorite artist live.

Fans of both Swift and Styles, like McKinley Anderson, have seen the fashion evolution of marquee pop tours firsthand.

“Everyone was cramped in their house for so long that Harry’s tour was finally something to look forward to,” she says. “There was so much time for planning and creating, which led to some really fun and unique outfits throughout that tour. And since the Taylor fandom and Harry fandom are so interconnected, this mindset bled over to Eras.”

McKinley, who wore a white flowy dress and blue butterflies in her hair as an ode to Swift’s debut album, also recognizes the role that social media has played in the trend.

“You want to prove to everyone that you were there, you had fun, and you looked good while doing it—there’s a bigger emphasis on getting the perfect shot to capture the night,” she said. “Maybe it’s a subconscious attitude because the pandemic took away over two years of everyone’s lives and we’re scared it could happen again.”

And even the fans who opt for comfort over extravagance aren’t immune to the apparent prerequisite that Eras Tour looks must be attention-grabbing in some way. At night two of the Arlington shows, among the sea of sequins and glitter, I ran into a fan wearing a tie-dye T-shirt that I can only describe as cursed. The back of the shirt featured an image of Swift in the critically destroyed movie adaptation of Cats, while the front had a long block of text defending the corny Lover single “ME!,” a song that many fans were endlessly relieved to see Swift had left off this tour’s setlist.

“I support her in everything she does,” the tie-dye wearing fan explained to me. “I hope to God she plays ‘ME!’ tonight.”

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