If anything unites the outfits Taylor Swift has been papped in this summer, it’s a certain strain of New England preppiness.
There have been the kind of baseball caps more commonly seen on retired hedgefund managers at The Stanwich Club than popstars, and a collegiate Ralph Lauren polo that said hedgefund managers’ daughters might have worn in their Andover Class of ’06 senior photos. Then there was that faded vintage sweatshirt from Stone Harbor that felt decidedly “So, where does everyone summer?”, while on the footwear front, Taylor has carefully tip-toed around tabloid rumors in GH Bass Mary-Janes, Christian Louboutin loafers, and Malone Souliers brogues worn with frilly white ankle socks.
That’s before mentioning her commitment to the pleated grey skirt, fast becoming as much of a Swiftian staple as lyrics about kissing and fighting in the rain. After road testing a Free People style back in June (which, in my mind, Miss Americana bought in The Westchester Mall before getting an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel), Taylor exited the Electric Lady Studios this week in a miniskirt that could have been lifted from the set of Cruel Intentions. She’s dressing for revenge, yes, but also for chem lab at Manchester Prep. You can see the photo here.
Trailing behind her like the Gretchen and Karen to her Regina: Cara Delevingne and Hayley Williams, which begs the question of what surprises Swift has in store for her 1989 rerecord, due out on October 27. Both the model and Paramore frontwoman made an appearance in Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video back in 2015 (along with every Victoria’s Secret model worth her highly flammable lingerie), blessing/cursing the culture with the concept of #squadgoals in the process.
It’s possible that Swift will bring back a wealth of her 1989-era cohorts and collaborators in various guises to promote the EP, the original version of which remains her highest-selling album. Even Taylor Lautner, who reportedly inspired multiple tracks on Speak Now, resurfaced to appear in the music video for her vault track, “I Can See You”. May we just suggest leaving Hiddleswift in the past?
This article was previously published by British Vogue.
