by Allison Seidel
As Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour makes its way to the mid-Atlantic Region and Northeast, University of Maryland students attending the concerts have outfit plans on their minds. They have many choices because Swift is performing music from all of her albums, giving fans the chance to experience every aspect of her musical career.
“I plan on wearing either a white flowy dress or a gold-ish sparkly flowy dress” to match the vibe of Swift’s 2008 “Fearless” album, said Shannon Wilcox, a sophomore psychology major from Columbia, Md. “I then plan on wearing my white cowgirl boots with it.”
She said she got her inspiration from a Pinterest post but has seen a lot of ideas on other social media platforms, where everyone seems to have “amazing, well-thought out outfits, so it makes it really hard to pick out a good outfit,” she said.
Wilcox is trekking across state lines from Maryland to attend Swift’s New Jersey concert at the end of May. She’s far from the only one — many UMD students are traveling long distances to see Swift’s long-awaited show.
Getting hands on tickets, though, was not simple for a lot of fans.
“I’d do anything for these tickets,” said Noelle Solis, a sophomore psychology major from Madison, Ct.
And she did. Solis set multiple alarms the day the tickets went on sale to make sure she was on time, and wrote down all the information she would need to have on standby when she added tickets to her cart. She was on ticket duty for Swift’s New Jersey show at the MetLife Stadium, for herself and her four friends.
“It was so exciting and worth it in the end,” Solis said of the demanding ticket process.
May 27 will be her first time seeing Swift live and she’s thinking about planning an outfit that connects to New York City.
“Since MetLife is right outside of New York City, me and my friends could do cropped white t-shirts that, instead of saying ‘I heart NYC,’ say ‘I heart Taylor Swift’, because it’s cute and simple,” she said. Her friends found the idea from a creator on TikTok.
She considered dressing based on the theme of one of Swift’s 10 albums, she said, but decided against it because she wants to be comfortable.
“I love when people do that,” Solis said. “But I need to be comfortable throughout the day, because it’s going to be a long day.”
Samantha Johnson, a senior psychology major from Frederick, Md, is attending the show in Pittsburgh, Pa. on June 16. She said that it took around six hours for her to purchase tickets, but she’s excited to have the chance to go see Swift. She’s planning an outfit based on “August,” which is on the singer’s 2020 “Folklore” album. Johnson said that’s her favorite “era.”
“That song to me is so summery, feminine and flowy, so I wanted an outfit to embody that energy,” she said. “Since it’s June, I’m wearing a flowy lilac, lace dress,”
Johnson is pairing her dress with a cardigan, based on the song with the same name on the album and will wear comfortable shoes because she knows it’s going to be a long night and she’s going to stand for most of the concert.
She’s seen outfit inspiration all over social media, and she checks Twitter and TikTok each time there’s another show to get a look at some outfits.
“I live streamed the full first two nights of the Eras tour,” she said.
And on June 16, she’ll have the chance to see Taylor Swift live in concert, so she’s willing to put in the work.
“I waited so long for those tickets, so I’m going to show that in my outfit,” she said.
Featured image: Taylor Swift stands on stage during her tour for her “Red” album in St. Louis, Tuesday, March 19, 2023. Photo by Jana Beamer via Wikimedia Commons.