Grown-Up Glamour: Is Taylor Swift's Style Sending the Wrong Message?
- Editorial Team

- Aug 28, 2024
- 3 min read
Taylor Swift. America's sweetheart. She burst onto the scene, a teenager with a guitar and a head full of curls, singing about the trials and tribulations of high school hallways. We watched her evolve, album after album, from country darling to pop princess. And with each transformation, her style, too, has undergone a metamorphosis. Gone are the sundresses and cowboy boots, replaced by a carefully curated image of sophisticated gowns, bold lipstick, and a healthy dose of leg.
Now, I'm all for a woman embracing her power, her sensuality. But there's something about Swift's recent sartorial choices that leaves me feeling… uneasy. Perhaps it's the stark contrast to her earlier, more relatable persona. Or maybe it's the sheer ubiquity of her image, plastered across billboards and magazine covers, influencing a generation growing up in the age of Instagram filters and impossible beauty standards.
Take, for instance, her appearance at the latest awards show. A shimmering, curve-hugging gown, slit dangerously high. Her signature red lip, a touch more crimson than usual. Her hair, perfectly coiffed in a style better suited for a woman twice her age. Don't get me wrong, she looked stunning. But the overall effect was… calculated. Like a carefully constructed armor designed to project an image of impenetrable womanhood.
And that's where I struggle. Because beneath the sequins and the stilettos, Swift is still that young woman who wrote songs about heartbreak and friendship. Songs that resonated with millions because of their raw honesty, their vulnerability. But that vulnerability seems to be fading, replaced by a polished facade that feels, dare I say, a little too grown-up.
I remember a time when pop stars dressed their age. When Britney Spears was all pigtails and midriff-baring tops, it felt somehow appropriate. Provocative, yes, but also playful. There was a sense of freedom, of experimentation. Today, it feels different. The pressure to project an image of hyper-sexuality, of unattainable perfection, starts younger and younger.
And Swift, with her massive platform and devoted fanbase, is not immune to this pressure. In fact, she perpetuates it. Every perfectly posed Instagram photo, every red carpet appearance in a dress better suited for a black-tie gala than a young woman in her twenties, sends a message to her young fans: This is what it means to be a woman. This is what it means to be beautiful. This is what it means to be successful.
But where is the room for awkwardness? For experimentation? For the messy, imperfect journey of self-discovery that is being a young woman? When I see Swift in these overly styled ensembles, I can't help but wonder if she's lost sight of that journey. If she's traded in her authenticity for a carefully curated image of what she thinks a woman "should" be.
Now, I'm not naive. I understand the power of image, the importance of evolving your look as you grow older and your career progresses. But there's a difference between evolving and conforming. Between embracing your sexuality and exploiting it. And I worry that Swift, in her quest for mature sophistication, has veered too far into the latter.
Ultimately, what Swift chooses to wear is her own prerogative. But as someone who has witnessed the evolution of her career, who remembers the days of cowboy boots and curly hair, I can't help but feel a sense of disappointment. A longing for the days when her style felt more organic, more reflective of the young woman behind the microphone. Because true style, the kind that resonates and inspires, comes not from a stylist's rack, but from within.
Shop the must-have Taylor Swift outfits- https://www.cusuti.com/category/taylor-swift

























Comments