I could not fully enjoy the Taylor Swift concert until I was assured that my sister would get to sit with me. I bought our tickets on February 22, the first day tickets were released, but I could not get two tickets at one time. I had to resort to desperate measures and buy each ticket individually. I got them, but of course, our seats wouldn’t be together. This led my mom and sister to call me stupid, but how else was I going to get tickets? This situation was also exacerbated because my parents feared my sister and I would get trampled at John Paul Jones arena. We obviously got trampled because Taylor Swift fans are so vicious. Anyways, I was wrong about the tickets being sold out immediately because my friends bought tickets after me and got seats together. Their seats were also in section 108 as opposed to ours in 305 Q and 311 BB (the last row in the whole arena), which is super unfair. At the concert, we chose to sit at my seat obviously because it was closer, and hoped that the people who were supposed to sit next to me wouldn’t come so my sister could stay. Every time someone walked up the stairs, I would get anxious and would not relax until they went past our row. Alas, the people who were to sit next to me finally showed up and my sister had to leave. This ended up being not so bad because we found each other easily at the end thanks to the invention of the cell phone. I just couldn’t make comments to her throughout the night. Anyways, on to the actual concert!
So, what does the Taylor Swift concert have anything to do with my fashion journey? Well, her tour is called the “Red Tour,” and she uses this color with only two other colors, black and white, to create a whole wardrobe. Three simple colors came together and made one gorgeous outfit after the other: from the high-waisted pants that fit her tall figure perfectly to the glamorous gowns that fit in with the fantasy world within each song and even the grunge black jumpsuit worn during “I Knew You Trouble.”
Thousands of fans further showed the power of this tour name by showing up with red inspired outfits themselves and red lipstick, another Swift trademark. I was one of them. I remembered Taylor said in 17 magazine, that one way she feels confident is by wearing red lipstick, and that is why I bought red lipstick. I also wore a new necklace set that included a flower, a feather, and the word “love.” I chose to wear these necklaces because of the shirt’s neckline and because of the girlish quality of the pendants that can also been seen in the performances and sets. Moreover, I felt the word “love” was perfect for the concert because of Taylor’s and my obsession about love.
Taylor started off the concert with “State of Grace” and “Holy Ground.” After going through the emotions of love in “Red, ” a new girlish, yet grown up version of “You Belong With Me” followed. The glamor was amplified with the fake movie reel similar to Britney Spear’s “Lucky” video before “The Lucky One.” Britney had been spotted on the Corner the day before, which prompted my sister to theorize that she would be the special guest on this night. To our great disappointment, Britney did not appear, which was just too mean.
“Mean” was the next song, and I felt bad for singing along because I had some not so nice comments that I wanted to say regarding her concert. Before “Red,” she gave the audience a story that many fans had already known: the reason why she chose the name “Red” for the album. These stories reminded us that Taylor is a far better songwriter than public speaker. Furthermore, her voice sounded different when she spoke; it didn’t sound like her normal speaking voice. Nonetheless, she sounded amazing when singing and looked amazing while dancing.
And dancing is what she endorses in her next song. I hope my life at “22” will be as fun and entertaining as her performance of the popular single, as she moved across the stage to the opposite side, high-fiving all her fans. Next, Taylor broke down all barriers and performed “Last Kiss” for the first time on her tour. Afterwards, Ed Sheeran rejoined the stage to perform “Everything Has Changed.” This performance was way better than his opening act, in my opinion. Maybe, I’m just not a big Ed Sheeran fan. I wasn’t also a big fan of Casey James, the cute opening act’s music, but he got the crowd excited. “Begin Again” and “Sparks Fly” followed as Taylor moved back to the central stage to prepare for her transformation.
While there was a girlish quality seen in the performances, the show was also powerful. After her first song, “State of Grace,” she was silent for an extended period of time as the fans continued to scream-to have the power to just be silent and still have people scream for you. The power followed up with the drumming during “Holy Ground.” Taylor’s transition from girlish innocence to womanly power was paralleled with her performance of “I Knew You Were Trouble.” A strong violin solo preluded the song. Taylor emerged wearing a white poufy ball gown, but was later ripped off to reveal the black jumpsuit as the electric rendition of the song began.
Afterwards, she let down her barriers once again for “All Too Well” but life and hopes for love was rejuvenated with the idyllic performance of “Love Story.” She would continue to test this love in “Treacherous” by pretending to tightrope walk down a wide strip of platform. She ended the concert with the catchy “We Are Never Ever Getting Back together,” with her seemingly being the circus ringleader controlling the show and the world.
Fashion doesn't necessarily have to be complicated. Taylor Swift and the Red Tour show us that all we need is one idea to start something big.
