Breaking News;How to Decode Taylor Swift’s Style, From Backward Outfits to Reputation Red Herrings

For fans in the know, decoding a Taylor Swift outfit is nearly as thrilling as parsing her lyrics or Instagram captions for clues. The cryptic queen leaves subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages everywhere (remember five holes in the fence?)—so why not her clothes too? With stage-managed pap shoots and unmarked sponcon more prevalent than ever among celebrities, Swift clearly knows that people will pay attention to what she’s wearing.

Fashion has become its own vertical in Swift’s universe, with The Cut asking “why Taylor Swift Dresses Like That” while The Independent chalks up interest in Swift’s style to sexism. By any measure, Swift is gorgeous and stylish. But in the hypercompetitive and appearance-obsessed strata she inhabits, there is no room for error…and Swift apparently errs so much that a certain corner of the internet has branded her Allergic To Serving. There is even an Instagram account dedicated to Photoshopping her into more fashion-forward looks, and you can find accounts like the self-described Swiftologist “brutally reviewing” both her street style and red-carpet looks on YouTube. (For my money, the most objective overview of her fashion journey is from the always excellent account ModernGurlz.)

To gain a deeper understanding of both Swift’s fashion sense and how she positions herself within the broader style discourse, I spoke with the only woman who may know Taylor’s style better than Taylor herself: Sarah Chapelle, the creator and operator of @TaylorSwiftStyled and author of Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras, which hits shelves this October. Tl;dr she’s the one who found all the Tortured Poets Department clothing Easter eggs.