Hannah, Naomi, Aliza, and Maya came from a combo of Baltimore, Cleveland, and New York and didn't want to dress "super basic," so they came up with the idea of using their outfits to honor some of Swift's guitars from her various eras. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)
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If you’ve been out and about in Philadelphia this weekend, you might have noticed: Taylor Swift-mania has descended on the City of Brotherly Love and Swifterly Sisterly Affection.
The Pennsylvania-born pop-star’s sold-out Eras Tour is making three stops at Lincoln Financial Field — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
It’s Swift’s only East Coast tour stop south of New York City and north of Atlanta, so fans have come from all over the region to see her, and in some cases, even further.
And they didn’t come unprepared. An essential piece of the Swift concert experience is going all-out on an outfit. For some people, they’re straight-up costumes.
Billy Penn went to South Philly on Friday afternoon to observe the glittery phenomenon, scoping out the seemingly unending line for merch, Xfinity Live’s pre-concert “Tay-Gate” event, and the hordes of Swifties lining up to get into the venue hours ahead of the show.
The predominantly female crowd was a sea of pretty much what you’d expect, if you’re at all familiar with Swift’s career or fanbase: sparkles, sequins, cowboy boots and hats, sundresses, bright colors, cutesy costumes riffing off song lyrics, music videos, or Swift’s own tour outfits, past and present.
Plus lots of friendship bracelets, which fans have been trading with each other at tour stops around the country, inspired by a lyric from Swift’s song “You’re On Your Own Kid.”
What does that look like? Here’s a sampling of some cute looks from Swift’s first night in Philly.
A group of Swiftie first cousins with family roots in South Philly — Jackie, Catherine, Maureen, Maura, Brittany, and Kate — tailgated and attended the show dressed as six of Swift’s ten eras. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Scranton residents Riley, Phil, and Sadie express their disapproval of Jake Gyllenhaal, one of Swift’s ex-boyfriends who’s thought to have inspired hits like the gut-wrenching ballad “All Too Well.” (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Swifties and Philly sports fans John and Leah Norton, of Delaware, decided to wear personalized Birds gear — a shoutout to Swift’s song “Gold Rush,” where she sings about her “Eagles T-Shirt hanging from the door.” (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)John and Leah Norton show off the bejeweled backs of their Eagles T-shirts, featuring Swift’s lucky number 13. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Hannah, Naomi, Aliza, and Maya show the fronts of their jackets. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Katelyn and Annie, who live in Washington, DC, dressed up as Katy Perry and Taylor Swift in Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down” music video — what they say is a “super iconic moment in pop culture history for those who know it.” (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Maureen Franko from Shavertown, Pa. decided to dress up as “Miss Americana,” a shoutout to Swift’s song “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” from Lover. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Harrison Eckert and Taylor Van Kooten, who live in the Lehigh Valley, were rocking a Lover-inspired fit and an Evermore/cat-inspired fit, respectively. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Brenna, Sydney, Michelle, and Morgan — from Schuylkill County, the Dominican Republican, and Harrisburg — went to the show dressed as “The Man,” Swift from her “You Belong With Me” music video, a cat, and “Ivy,” from Evermore. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Baltimore Swifties Kaylie Pinto and Pippa Rogers decided to take the name of Swift’s latest album, “Midnights,” literally. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Sydney, Kaylyn, Kim, and Alexis — who live in South Jersey and Georgia — decided to dress up for the Eras Tour as… you guessed it, different eras. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Swifties Kimberly and Colleen show off their eras-themed manicures. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Moms Eileen and Jennifer, who came with their kids, showed up repping sister albums Folklore and Evermore. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Maria, Kelsey, Adam, and Nate, who came up from Virginia for the concert, dressed to rep “Getaway Car,” a song from “Reputation.” (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Bailey and Kaitlyn from Levittown, Pa. went for Red- and Lover-inspired outfits, respectively. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Inspired by an “I’m with stupid” t-shirt with an arrow pointed upward, Claire and Tracey from Union, New Jersey, decided to point to themselves as the problem — a reference to Swift’s recent hit “Anti-Hero.” (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)Friends Ben, Anne Maria, and Christel from Havertown have been longtime Swifties. Ben’s shirt was bought at a Rascal Flatts show in Camden, when Swift was opening for the band early on in her career. (Asha Prihar/Billy Penn)
Asha Prihar is a general assignment reporter at Billy Penn. She has previously written for several daily newspapers across the Midwest, and she covered Pennsylvania state government and politics for The...
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