At the beginning of January I polled this audience in two directions. The first, a look back at the fashion of 2025 and the favorites that came of it. The second, a glance forward into the future editorial content of this newsletter and the topics you’d most like to see explored. One request surfaced again and again: Taylor’s accessible fashion.
The interest was phrased a few different ways. “Items Taylor wears under a certain price point.” “Budget-friendly brands Taylor gravitates toward.” “How does Taylor mix designers within a single outfit.” Different wording, same idea.
At the root of this request, I think, is a desire to replicate Taylor’s fashion - or at least to borrow from it in a way that feels approachable. Taylor Swift Style has always been driven by an interest in analyzing the visuals of a given moment to provide context and commentary. But it also speaks to something more personal. Which seems apt given the storyteller at the center of it all, wouldn’t you agree? It serves an inclination to parlay interest in Taylor’s music into another facet of our lives that’s equally as expressive as a favorite lyric or song: The way we present ourselves to the world through our outfits. In that shift, from inspiration to embodiment, Taylor’s fashion reveals itself as one of the most meaningful throughlines of her cultural impact.
I was happy to dip into the Taylor Swift Style archives to spotlight the accessible brands Taylor has returned to time and again. Below, you’ll find some of my favorite pieces she’s worn from these retailers. These are the brands that have proven themselves reliable staples across eras. Not exhaustive, by any means, but the ones that immediately came to me with accessibility in mind. Were there any I missed? Would love to hear from you on that!
A note that many of the exact items are no longer available new. Such is the reality of high-street turnover. I’ve done my best to track down links to what you can still shop. But mostly, I hope this post serves both as a stylish walk down memory lane and a useful guide for tracking down items secondhand.
🛍️ Under $100: Did you know there’s a section on Taylor Swift Style dedicated to budget-friendly exacts? Linking you to it HERE.
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Fashion, like music, is a storytelling tool. Taylor’s songs create a shared emotional vocabulary; her style becomes a visual extension of that bond. Replicating her outfits allows fans to signal recognition outside of official merchandise. Clothes, then, become an insiders-only shorthand. I can’t tell you the number of Popflex “Piroutte” skirts, VRG GRL crochet dresses, and Little Lies velvet minis I saw while on the Taylor Swift Style book tour in Fall 2024. Fashion, in its own way, represents the physical proof of a bond. Music is the connective tissue in a fandom that you can hear and that you can feel. But fashion is what you can see.
Taylor’s signature style has always been inherently imitable. Regardless of brand, her outfits rely on familiar wardrobe building blocks: a sweater, jeans, boots, a shoulder bag; a bodysuit paired with a plaid mini, and heeled oxfords. Since faithfully documenting Taylor’s fashion since 2011, I’ve seen clear throughlines emerge. Certain brands recur. Specific silhouettes return. There’s a consistent aesthetic that underpins her style, making her instantly recognizable no matter the Eras-centric window dressing layered on top.
For me, there’s equal pleasure in tracking her designer pieces — what accessories she repeats, which collections her stylist Joseph Cassell pulls from to expand her repertoire — and in spotting the accessible high-street items she weaves in alongside them. Most often, Taylor comfortably occupies the space between the two, favoring what I’ve dubbed a “high/low” approach that blends luxury with accessibility. For fans hoping to recreate her outfits, it’s no surprise which pieces resonate most. Looks anchored by high-street items, like the ones we’ll get into below, are simply more likely to be purchased than their designer counterparts. My backend data supports this!
🍂 Outfits Like Pieces Into Place: Want more inspiration from the archives? I had the best time going through the TSS “vault” to pull my favorite fall ‘fits of Taylor’s to replicate for this newsletter.
A brief editor’s note: Throughout this piece, I use the word “accessible” rather than “affordable.” Affordability is subjective; accessibility is relative. What constitutes affordability is in the eye of the budget beholder. I find the term “accessible” better captures what these brands represent: The pieces that are more likely to fall within reach of an everyday consumer compared to luxury labels. (I gave an exception to the subject line. SEO is, unfortunately, a language of its own.) These are brands with wares some of us might still consider “investments.” Much in the way Taylor loves to rewear pieces (CPW, ftw!) a piece from these retailers could be approached as a rare splurge - a piece you come back to again and again that feels particularly special because of its Swiftian backstory.
All of this feeds into the well-documented Swift Effect, the financial shockwaves that occur when Taylor wears, or does, anything. It’s an economic impact rivaled only, perhaps, by Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex whose fashion likewise inspires leagues of royal watchers who are eager to replicate their outfits. Taylor’s visibility casts a halo effect on the brands she chooses, one that becomes especially pronounced when those pieces are attainable to her audience. Taylor appears to dress instinctively, guided by personal taste rather than price point. Sometimes that results in a fabulous head-to-toe designer outfit. But when those instincts land on accessible items, the downstream effects are impossible to ignore. For fans, it’s an invitation to step into her visual world. For brands, particularly the small businesses she so often supports, it can be transformative - often overnight.
In 2023, I spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the business side of Taylor’s fashion. Lane Florsheim reported the dramatic traffic and sales spikes that followed the identification of Taylor’s outfits: items selling out within hours, waitlists swelling into the thousands, some brands reporting sales increases of nearly 10,000%. “Nobody has the power that Taylor Swift does,” said Beckett Fogg, CEO and co-founder of Area, whose “Rebirth” jeans sold out almost immediately after Taylor wore them in April 2023. Lena Baranovsky of Hunting Season, a leather goods brand whose social followings swelled when Taylor carried one of their bags in October 2023, echoed the sentiment: “Taylor is relatable. You want to emulate her look because it feels like something you can actually do.” The same effect helped propel Fazit CEO Aliett Buttelman’s glitter freckles into a multi-million-dollar business after Taylor wore them to a Chiefs game. As Buttelman told Glossy, Taylor understands the power of visibility — and uses it.
Taylor’s accessible fashion matters because it makes style feel participatory rather than aspirational. It invites fans not just to admire, but to engage. In many ways, it mirrors the effect of her music. Her greatest talent, after all, has always been making the personal feel communal. And that is where her influence, fashion included, proves most enduring.
First appearance: March 2008, Country Weekly magazine in “Campo De Fiori Dress”
Most recent appearance: April 2024, #ForAFortnight Challenge in “Aimee Hair Clips”
Who: A boho-chic retailer that carries a mix of in-house brands in addition to designer assortments under their umbrella that span home decor, beauty, and even bridal. Anthropologie’s style is defined by romantic and whimsical details. Think flutter sleeves, distinctive prints, and vintage silhouettes. Anthropologie is also a brand under the URBN label which also comprises other Taylor favorites below Urban Outfitters and Free People.
What: Taylor has worn many items across the Anthro catalogue in street style outings, fan meet and greets, and even on film! She wears one of their dresses and a plaid tunic in the movie and promotional appearances for her role in Valentine’s Day (2010). Most often, Taylor will reach for their sweet and feminine dresses in a myriad of prints. But she’s also carried a few of their leather bags, clipped some fanciful barettes of theirs into her hair, and even worn their vintage-inspired one-piece swimsuits.
One of my personal favorite Anthro moments? Taylor wore their “Scalloped Stripes” dress during the live webchat to announce RED in August 2012.
First appearance: August 2014, “Shake It Off” music video in “Adachi Sweater”
Most recent appearance: September 2023, out and about in New York in “Trix Dress”
Who: A brand that hits close to home for me - literally. The Canadian retailer is one I’m deeply familiar with for their in-house brands offering trendy, elevated staples that run the gamut of sleek office-ready pieces like trousers and blouses to athleisure (don’t sleep on this fabrication for workout gear! I’m a believer). They also carry a few curated third-party labels, particularly to fill in their denim catalogue.
What: Taylor typically pulls from Aritzia’s casual and cozy lines, including many of their plaid mini skirts and cropped knits. She’s also been known to style their sleeker pieces for dinners out in New York like bodysuits, LBDs, or thin base layers. The most visible Aritzia appearances might just be in the folklore album imagery where checked pieces offered a more modern, graphic foil to the softer cottagecore styles associated with the era. But Taylor’s very first brush with Artizia was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment embedded in different album’s visuals: A scene in the “Shake It Off” music video featuring a cropped graphic cat sweater.
First appearance: October 2014, 1989 album polaroids in “Daisy Skirt”
Most recent appearance: March 2023, leaving State Farm Stadium in “Veena Sweater”
Who: An Italian-owned brand that hit its stride when it tapped into a relaxed, California-cool aesthetic catered towards the younger, preppy set. Picture baby tees, tank tops, zipped hoodies, and plaid mini skirts. They are perhaps known for their “one size fits most” approach to sizing which has been met with criticism as it limits who feels represented by - and is able to shop from - their catalogue.
What: Taylor dabbled in many of Brandy Melville’s varsity pieces, wearing sweaters and cardigans of all different colors slashed with a preppy double stripe on the arm. Their easy basics also made a great layer en route to the gym while their dressier pieces like corduroy or plaid mini skirts suited her girlish style for dinners out. While you might be distracted - understandably - by the five holes clearly in the fence of this Instagram post from February 2019 (if you know you know), Taylor also wears a Brandy Melville “Forget Me Not” tee here too.
First appearance: July 2020, folklore Instagram Stories in “Mandarin Dress”
Most recent appearance: December 2025, The End of an Era docuseries in “Dana Sweater”
Who: A slightly newer retailer in Taylor’s more accessible style brand rolodex - and priced at the higher end of the acceptably accessible spectrum, I’m aware! The California-based brand often evokes the warm hues, natural elements, and carefree, laidback attitude of SoCal. They’re another brand known for their feminine and romantic style often translated into weightless summer dresses dotted with delicate prints.
What: Taylor has near-exclusively worn pieces of the frillier variety from this brand. Though we have seen her dip into the evening bag and knit categories, most of her Dôen pieces are of the frothy persuasion. A ruffle-edged dress, a lace eyelet tunic with cascading frills at the front and sleeve hems. Indeed, one of her floral dresses by Dôen was named by Taylor Swift Style readers as a favorite outfit of 2025. If I were to pick mine, it would be the button tie front tank she wore to her inaugural Chiefs game back in September 2023. Memories!
First appearance: August 2009, out about in NYC in “Missing You Back Lace Top”
Most recent appearance: December 2025, The End of an Era docuseries in “Would U Rather Tee”
Who: As the name implies, Free People is driven by a free-spirited, bohemian-chic aesthetic. Their pieces are flowy, layered, and relaxed. They are the flower crowned royalty of the 2010s boho festival circuit. Pieces like lace shorts, embroidered tunics, and bell sleeved dresses rendered in paisley reigned due to FP’s influence.
What: From offstage slouchy loungewear to ruffled tunics that support album-era visuals, and even her most memorable boho-leaning street style moments, Free People has been one of the most enduring brands in Taylor’s wardrobe. For all the time I’ve been documenting Taylor’s fashion, I’ve been familiarized with FP’s catalogue by extension. Its presence is so ingrained that beyond her street style and home loungewear moments, Free People appears across much of Taylor’s filmed and visual work. From her documentaries Miss Americana and The End of an Era to folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, as well as in music videos (“Highway Don’t Care”), advertising (her Taylor by Taylor Swift fragrance for Elizabeth Arden), and editorial shoots (Entertainment Weekly for evermore).
First appearance: October 2010, Parade magazine in “Gig Harbor Dress”
Most recent appearance: February 2015, “Style” music video in “Staple of Your Style Dress” (This name! I squealed!)
Who: A byproduct of the popularization of “twee” in the early 2010s. ModCloth tapped into a customer desire for vintage-inspired, whimsical aesthetics rooted in mid-century fashion. Their designs skew playful and feminine, with retro silhouettes, bright colors, and quirky prints. The types of fit-and-flare dresses, high-waisted skirts, cardigans, and tailored blouses accented by polka dots, gingham, bows, and Peter Pan collars that Zooey Deschanel would have fawned over. The brand also emphasized inclusive sizing up to 4X.
What: ModCloth’s peak in Taylor’s wardrobe was neatly packaged in the RED years when Taylor leaned into her self-described “1950s housewife” aesthetic. That clarity was part of the charm and, indeed, was a formative period for Taylor when it felt like she was more aware of creating distinct guardrails to define an era. It made the fashion ecosystem around her refreshingly easy to map, with ModCloth emerging as one of those instantly recognizable brands that understood the assignment and executed it with cheerful precision. You couldn’t mistake one of their looks for anything else.
One moment that will always stand out for me, courtesy of ModCloth? An outing in November 2011. On this idyllic fall day, Taylor wore an ensemble featuring an unexpected color combination of navy, goldenrod, and red. It was my first-ever full outfit identification I’d made on my own in the fledgling moments of running a fashion blog. I still recall finding those Marc Jacob heels and scouring the Fendi runway for that bag, shakily establishing contacts at the house to confirm if Taylor’s was an unsold style from the brand (it was!). This look also earned its own spread in my book Taylor Swift Style - rightfully so!
First appearance: September 2013, out and about Los Angeles in “Fig Dress”
Most recent appearance: December 2025, The End of an Era docuseries in “Jadey Sweater”
AD: Thank you to Reformation for sponsoring this mention.
Who: The California-based brand got its start upcycling vintage pieces and focusing on deadstock or sustainably-sourced materials. Their clothes are effortless, cool, feminine, and often have a vintage twist. Taylor’s style in a nutshell, basically! It’s why they’re one of her longest standing accessible brands she continues to turn to today. Imagine polka dot wrap dresses, patterned mini skirts, cable knits, and matching sets as defining style points. In cadence with their increasing popularity, Reformation has accelerated its production cycle with frequent drops and, at times, more cost-conscious materials. It’s prompted reflection on how closely this aligns with its founding values, though the brand touts they’ll be integrated into the circular fashion cycle by 2030. One thing that must be said? The subject lines on their marketing emails should not be missed.
What: A street style mainstay for Taylor. Her earliest string of candid outings with them from fall 2013 through winter 2014 remain some of my all time favorites to this day. From their catalogue she’s predominantly favored their light swingy dresses, matching two-pieces (a trend she helped popularize circa the 1989 era), and as of late their cozy knits. One I’ve had my particular eye on for myself is her v neck sweater spotted in The End of an Era docuseries. That color looks like the most sumptuous warm neutral.
First appearance: November 2023, out and about in New York in “Jessie Loafers”
Most recent appearance: December 2025, The End of an Era docuseries in “Lilou Tank”
Who: Sézane, for those who yearn for that je ne sais quoi essence in their looks. The Parisian retailer trades in a studied kind of ease. Outfits that appear effortless, but are actually the result of careful curation. Rooted in vintage references and elevated by natural fabrics, its wardrobe staples - slouchy knits, ruffled silk blouses, unfussy denim, quietly excellent leather goods - are designed to live long, not loudly. There’s a femininity that feels considered rather than precious. They do a thoughtful job in balancing clean, modern lines with a softened, bohemian inflection.
What: In the same vein as Dôen, this is a newer brand in Taylor’s rotation - but its one that shows promise to become a reliable source for adding a bit of undone polish to Taylor’s street / off-duty style. Her picks from Sézane haven’t yet been consistent in type or category, shifting between her favored platform heeled loafers in one appearance to a barely-there buttoned tank top the next. With time, I’m hopeful we see more of this French brand in her street style rotation.
First appearance: September 2008, out and about New York City in Topshop “Lumberjack Check Bomber Jacket”
Most recent appearance: November 2018, rep Room in “Camouflage Mom Shorts”
Who: The Beatles. One Direction. Topshop. Just a handful of some of the U.K.’s greatest exports. I kid! Though it is true that Topshop was once tops at fast fashion in London, excelling at diluting runway edge into something wearable for British teens at prices they could afford to leap at. Their collaborations with supermodel Kate Moss was the stuff of legend. Indeed, in their prime, Topshop functioned as a cultural seismograph for youth style that every “it” girl wanted to wear. Eventually, the fast fashion brick and mortar brand got sick of running as fast as it could. Failing to keep up with digitally native brands, it was acquired by the mega online retailer ASOS in 2021.
What: Taylor’s Topshop selects are as eclectic as the brand itself as their catalogue shfited to meet the trends of the moment. One moment a look might be Brit rocker chic with pointed heeled boots. The next, a sweet eyelet fit-and-flare dress for summer. In cooler temps, she’s pulled on their charming toggle coats and knit accessories. Perhaps her most beloved Topshop piece? A “Genius” sweater that I recall many messages in my inbox about. This happens to be one of my most precious Taylor exacts that I own.
First appearance: April 2009, out and about D.C. in “Fairytales Are True Ballet Flat”
Most recent appearance: December 2025, The End of an Era docuseries in “Urban Renewal Recycled Cropped Flannel Shirt”
Who: Rounding out this list is Urban Outfitters, a brand that originally started out life as Free People. As the brand grew, it bifected to create two distinct retailers, the formerly known Free People refreshed into Urban Outfitters. The URBN parent company also has Taylor-favored brand Anthropologie as part of its brand portfolio. Urban’s fashion offerings feel a bit more rugged and irreverent in contrast to the gaze of FP’s softened bohemian outlook. At UO, trend-forward silhouettes and slouchy basics coexist alongside band tees, throwback graphics, and reworked vintage under the Urban Renewal in-house label.
What: In a similar vein to Taylor’s pulls from other brands in the URBN umbrella, Taylor’s picks from UO are of the girlish staples one would expect. Skater skirts and high-waisted shorts appeared frequently, particularly through the Speak Now to 1989 eras. As did basic tees in neutrals, stripes, or polka dots or patterned dresses in the summer. I was particularly charmed by her cable knit beanies (“toques” as I would say) she wore from them, picked up in a myriad of colors. One particularly memorable piece for me are the teal ballet flats pictured above from April 2009. Written inside the shoes, in scrawling letters, the hidden message “fairytales are true.” Both the phrase, and its concealed location, feel utterly on-brand for an Easter Egg-loving hopeless romantic.
I hope this roundup felt like both a refresher and a reminder of Taylor’s style that exists somewhere between runway pulls and red carpet appearances. The beloved items that are worn, reworn, and refreshingly personal.
I loved revisiting these moments and delighted in sharing them with you here. Any brands or shining moments I missed? Do you own any “Taylor exacts” yourself? Would love to hear!
And if you’ve ever craved an expanded, comprehensive look at Taylor’s fashion evolution over the years, might I recommend my book Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras which is only $10 here!
Hi Sarah!
Gab from TaytoZ here!! The red anthro scalloped stripes dress is one of the most important in my history with Taylor! It was August 2012, I had just been dumped by my first love and was not okay. Hoping for some retail therapy, my mother took me shopping to Anthropologie where I ended up buying a very out of character red dress (I almost never wore red then). That very same week, Taylor went on that live webchat to announce Red and premiered her first single of the era. Tuning in, not only do I see that Taylor is wearing my new dress but the first single was “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” To this day I think of that moment as divine intervention, Lolol. But seriously it was the biggest sign I could have ever received. That moment and the subsequent release of Red helped me through an incredibly hard time and made me a life long Swiftie.
What a great collection of Taylor's street style. Thanks for sharing a little background info on the brands. They’re all here for a reason, but I think the Reformation pieces are the definition of Taylor’s style!🩷