Taylor Swift is dating a new dude, apparently, and they seem like a real odd couple. Sure, Swift and Travis Kelce, her football-playin' guy in question, probably have plenty to talk about and perhaps even loads in common but, in terms of clothes alone, they're total opposites.
Dare to compare the outfits they wore during their first semi-public outing on the evening of September 24, when Swift watched Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs clobber the Chicago Bears.
Post-game, Kelce was unmissable, layering big sunglasses and chunky jewelry over a hyper-graphic Kidsuper suit laden with doodles. Meanwhile, Swift wore a tank top and hoodie in KC Chiefs colors, paired with general release New Balance 550 sneakers, a shoe so ordinary that it's actually kinda perfect for her.
This is not a Taylor takedown, Swifties...
It's just that Taylor Swift's style is best described as.... normal? It's not that she ever looks bad, but that she typically dresses pretty plainly.
There's nothing wrong with that, per se. It's just not very adventurous and thus not very interesting. You typically see outfits of the same quality worn every day in a metropolis like New York.
Like, when Swift steps out in something even slightly more interesting, like a big shirt and loafers, it's comparably exciting. That says a lot about her typical outfits and, really, her brand. She is idealized normality — not a diss.
Part of Swifts' mass appeal is that she's imminently approachable; she seems like a person you could ostensibly meet and be friends with in real life. Her wardrobe reflects that.
Travis Kelce is a fashionista by comparison.
He's a trendy fella, dipping into mohair cardigans and baggy suits as the occasion calls for it. Even back in 2017, paparazzi lensed Kelce carrying armfuls of shopping bags out of Barneys (RIP). Dude loves to put it on.
Kelce is as drip-obsessed as Taylor Swift is fashion agnostic.
That doesn't necessarily mean his taste is better, per se — his Instagram handle is "Killa Trav," for crying out loud — but it does mean that he's more likely to turn out an interesting outfit than his paramour.
If someone was to say that Kelce outdresses Swift, I'd say they have a case to be made, if only because his clothes tend to be more distinctive than hers. And I'll take an interesting mess over a safe play any day.
Remember that we're only comparing the looks that Swift and Kelce wore on their sole public outing together but, still, Kidsuper vs. NB 550? Apples and basic oranges.
If you were so inclined, you might say that she wears short skirts, he wears T-shirts, she's cheer captain and he's... out on the field, I guess, don't have a good rhyme there. But pretty good reference, if I do say so myself.
Either way, the surprise pairing of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce proved remarkably viral, dominating the site once known as Twitter once Swifties and normal observers drank it in.
From late September up through early October, it was all anyone could talk about. Chiefs ticket sales boomed, naturally.
Everything was there: Swift watched the game from the skybox with Kelce's mom, of all people; the ridiculously photogenic pair were captured holding hands in the locker room; they left the stadium in a top-down convertible; Kelce apparently rented out a whole restaurant to dine in style.
This is the stuff tabloid dreams are made of.
Anyways, as different as Swift and Kelce's approach to fashion may be, that doesn't mean trouble for the newly-minted couple.
In fact, maybe it's a positive sign for the long term: after all, opposites attract.
This article was published on September 25, 2023, and updated on October 2.
