NME Awards in London, England

Worn On: 2/12/20 // London, England

the commentary

Of the many things I find fascinating and intriguing about the Lover era, you know of course one of the primary things is the (seemingly) inconsistent execution of Lover’s fashion. 

In the past, Taylor has been epically stringent when it comes to her image and aesthetic and how she has segmented it by era. She has commented herself in recent years (and during the Lover era) how fashion continues to be one of her favourite ways to convey a message. It’s part of what makes running TSS so endlessly fascinating and fun. Not just the trends and the brands, but the messaging inherent in what she’s wearing. 

Taylor has always been the brains behind her career. The navigator behind her ship. But the Lover era has been the point in her career where she has wanted this business mentality to be at the forefront of people’s understanding of who she is as an artist. While she may have held the reins even as a precocious teenager, as a fully actualized woman of 30, her desire to make this ownership more known within the public sphere has been a huge driving narrative of Lover. In marrying those two points (fashion conveying a message and Taylor Swift Is A Fucking Businesswoman), we have the dissonance of Lover fashion. 

Lover fashion has been a mixed bag of silhouettes — unlike the heavily regimented eras of the past that could be easily placed into neat little buckets (self-titled, dresses and cowgirl boots. RED, vintage. 1989, crop tops). We have Pastel!Taylor, Business!Taylor, and a Making Up For A Lack Of Rep Promo!Taylor. And it’s absolutely fascinating to watch this interplay. 

Was this more commentary than you were expecting on a post about a Jimmy Choo bag? Most likely. But to FULL CIRCLE drive that point home — check the crystal snake embellishment winding around the buckle clasp on her bag. 

Fashion = details = image, friends. 

I knew this was Monse before my desktop could even fully load the image. 

This is an edgier look from Taylor than we’re used to but is entirely appropriate for the NME Awards. While I love the snake detail of the bag, as expounded upon at length in the below linked post, the decision to wear it cross-body here like many fashion influencers and their obsessions with fanny packs is an odd choice for me and does detract a bit from the overall look. 

Otherwise, I genuinely think she’s pulling this off. I love a pinstripe and nothing says “I mean business” quite like it. Coupled with the deconstruction and asymmetry of the shirt plus the pairing of it with shorts instead of full-length pants is a fun twist that I enjoy. 

The obvious similarity to her Each Other dress worn on Jimmy Fallon back in October has me wondering if that was an intended mental connection to previous style. The similarity in hair styling too (a bun-like updo with bangs) is also a noteworthy repeat. 

While my love for a strappy sandal is unparalleled, I do love a sassy pointed toe and a crisp white pair of lace up heeled ankle boots was a quick way to edge up this look. The aforementioned strappy sandal (black = standard, but a neon green pair = unexpected fun!) would have leaned this more into classy but sassy businesswoman whereas this closed toe boot is a bit more punk chick. 

the clothes

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Feature Photo by David Eulitt via Getty Images