ARE YOU READY FOR IT?
Taylor Swift takes to London (again!). The capital is preparing for Taylor-mania as she returns to Wembley for the second part of her residency from 15 – 20 August.
If you have managed to bag yourself tickets to see Taylor Swift, first of all, congratulations and second, what are you going to wear? Hopefully by the end of this article you might have a few ideas if you’re not sorted yet.
I found it stressful before I attended the show back in May. I’m not married but I think deciding on a wedding dress might be easier than choosing an outfit to wear to the tour of the year. I went to the Stockholm concert as my friend Kelly wanted to celebrate her 40th birthday in style, and it was one of the best nights of my life. There are no spoilers in this story about the show (well, I hope not anyway), but believe me, you’ll have an incredible time.
© Getty ImagesSo, back to the outfit dilemma I knew two things; I needed to take friendship bracelets, and I knew I needed to choose my favourite ‘Taylor era’ and dress accordingly. I went for Lover because I love all things sparkle! I regret parts of my outfit, keep reading to find out why.
© Leanne Bayley13 top tips for what to to wear to the Taylor Swift concert
- Dress up: I think you’ll feel like you’ve missed out on part of the fun if you go dressed in your regular clothes. Kind of like going to a Halloween party without a costume, or a Christmas party without sparkle – you’ll feel like such a party pooper. I filmed a TikTok video of some of the outfits I saw.
- Don’t think dressing up is for the kids: Nearly everyone dressed to impress!
- Choose your era and run with it: Lover was definitely the most popular for the concert I went to. Silver, pink and iridescent sequins were everywhere. Red and Reputation also were favourites with the crowd. I also saw a lot of song lyrics on T-shirts and customised jackets. There were a lot of pretty white dresses, too! Scroll down for all the info on the different eras.
- Comfortable shoes: I need to stress this one, and trust me on this, if you’re thinking of wearing high heel cowboy boots like I planned to do, don’t. It’s a long concert and you’re on a concrete floor – you WILL regret your decision. I’m so glad I decided on a pair of Adidas Spezials instead. Perhaps take photos in your boots before you leave and then switch! You’ll be so happy you did. You want to be thinking about how amazing the show is, not the joyous moment you get to take the boots off. I did see lots of people in small heeled sparkly cowboy boots – maybe put some anti-fatigue insoles in them to make them super comfy and make sure you’ve road tested them for a few hours so you know they won’t hurt when you’re wearing them for a long period of time.
- Ditch the cowboy hat: I sound like a real kill joy, I’m sorry, but I would think twice about wearing one. I did buy one for the show but decided I didn’t want to be carrying it all night. I just think it will annoy you. If you have one where it sits on your back with string (like this feathered one on Amazon) that might be ok (only if you have seated tickets), but anything that gets in the way of enjoying the concert is just a distraction.
- Sparkles up top: Ok, so I failed in this department! I wore a sparkly sequin skirt and while I loved it, I do regret not wearing something sparkly from the waist up. I would do a sparkly short sleeved sequin dress if I went again (manifesting winning all the competitions I’ve entered). I just think selfies would have been 10x better with a little bit of sparkle around the face.
- Use merch for your outfit: If getting all dressed up isn’t for you, I get it. Head to the merch stall, buy your Taylor T-Shirt, put it on, and voila, you’re ready for action. It’s not quite in the spirit of the concert but also saves you carrying it!
- Face makeup: I think face glitter is a really good idea, ditto with fun (fake) tattoos. I saw lots of snake transfer tattoos and number 13 tattoos.
- Jewels in the hair: I saw a girl with a slicked back bun with diamonds scattered all over. It looked so good. I also saw sparkly tinsel through the hair and lots of sparkly butterfly hair grips. I would be buying this hair bedlazzer kit from Amazon.
- It’s hot: Trust me on this one, it gets so warm. If you don’t need to take a jacket, don’t bother. I wore a hot-pink lightweight blazer and I had to take it off about 2 hours in. I also recommend taking a hair bobble… it gets very warm and your future self will thank you for following this advice.
- Guys, get involved: I saw so many amazing costumes from the boys! If you’re dragging your BF give him a couple of jewels on his face.
- Crossbody phone bags for the win: You want to have as little on you as possible. My friends took crossbody phone bags, and they were so genius. If your venue allows, a crossbody bag is the best bag choice, or even a bumbag. You want your hands to be free for waving in the air like you just don’t care. There are bag restrictions in place across all shows, be sure to check out the size restraints. For example, unlike some event venues, Wembley isn’t banning all bags. But handbags count as the one small bag you’re allowed to bring in to the stadium. So, as long as it’s smaller than A4 and meets the rest of Wembley’s bag policy then you can take a handbag. I wish I’d worn a detachable cord strap in hindsight (I wasn’t allowed a bag).
- Friendship bracelets: Duh! Don’t forget them. You’ll be given a Taylor wrist band that lights up, be sure to put it on your hand you don’t hold your phone with. Amazon has lots of Taylor-made friendship bracelets right now – these get my vote.
How I chose the best Eras Tour outfit ideas
- Personal experience: I went to the Stockholm show on Friday 17 May and researched what everyone wore to the show. I also had my own drama trying to figure out an outfit.
- Price: Concert tickets are expensive, I wanted to add some affordable dresses into the mix.
- Options: I opted for Lovers era but I wanted to include all the Eras in this roundup for you.
My pick of the best dresses for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour
-
Fearless Eras Dress
How fun is this dress? Especially for the price. If it’s a bit too daring for you, any kind of sequin dress will work. This dress is just giving such Taylor vibes.
-
Speak Now Eras Dres
Look up Speak Now Era on Pinterest and we’re all in cahoots, it has to be lilac. Go for any purple-hued dress and feel like a princess. Don’t forget cute butterfly clips and tousled hair.
-
Red Eras Dress
No words needed for this one, but I think this dress would be on the money for the Red Eras tour look. At the concert I went to, Red was popular but it was mainly with white Tshirts with black lettering – similar to the Taylor look in the show. This might be a fabulous alternative to that.
-
1989 Era Dress
You could opt for a cute sparkly mini skirt and crop top, or you could opt for a fabulous sequin mini dress. This one you can wear time and time again.
-
Reputation Eras Dress
Reputation is a popular era with the crowd, with lots of snake prints and black mini dresses. This is a fierce look, and you’ll need plenty of kohl eyeliner.
-
Lover Eras Dress
Karen Millen wins with this sparkly little number. You can’t go wrong with any sparkly dress, but make sure you can dance in it. This is definitely one of the easiest eras to go with. If it’s pink and sparkly, you’ve nailed it.
I also love this ASOS sparkly number could be a great option. Boohoo also has a lot of pink embellished dresses available, all at reasonable prices.
-
Folklore Eras Dress
This Free People dress is SO Taylor Swift. I’m kind of obsessed – especially with the Vans trainers, so perfect for the show.
-
Evermore Eras Dress
I’m doubting myself with this one as I didn’t really see all too much Evermore at the show – definitely one of the least popular eras on the night I attended. But regardless, this definitely fits with the vibe of the album so I’m sticking with it.
-
Midnights Eras Dress
Midnights was a popular choice with fans. Silver, blue and navy sparkles are perfect for this outfit. If I went again I’d possibly choose this era but go for a fringed sparkly jacket, because why not?!
-
The Tortured Poets Department Eras Dress
The newest of the eras, and Taylor rocked an amazing Vivienne Westwood white dress during the show I attended – I kept with the white theme for this look. I have to say, I saw a lot of white dresses at the show. I think this could be one of the more popular eras after the launch of the album.
Taylor Era Outfits – a breakdown of what it all means
- Taylor Swift (2006): Her debut to the world. Think cute dresses, cowboy boots and of course the corkscrew curly hair.
- Fearless (2008): The ‘Fearless’ era was a fun one, with sparkly fringe dresses, her lucky number 13 and Grammy award winning dresses.
- Speak Now (2010): Finding her power within the music industry. Think purple, butterflies and cute ditsy florals.
- Red (2012): This one’s an obvious one. If you opt for this era don’t forget your red lipstick. High-waisted shorts played a big part in this era also.
- 1989 (2014): The anthem Shake It Off came at this time and Taylor really started to have fun with her on-stage outfits.
- Reputation (2017): This was a moody era with dark lipstick, black bodysuits, and snake motifs. Who can forget the infamous snake motif?!
- Lover (2019): After the moodiness of Reputation, Lover was very different. Think pastel pinks, blues, and purples as well as rainbow sparkles.
- Folklore (2020): No surprises here! Folklore is earthy, it’s muted and it’s zen. The definition of cottage-core.
- Evermore (2020): Not too different to Folklore. Go for cosy vibes.
- Midnights (2022): This is a fun one! Dark midnight shades, lots of silver, sequin and star quality.
- The Tortured Poets Department (2024): Romantic dresses, a black and white theme with vintage vibes.
