Swift showed up to the MTV Video Music Awards in September wearing a plaid, yellow, zip-up bustier top with an attached skirt that showed off a pair of black velvet shorts underneath. She accessorized with knee-high black Stuart Weitzman boots and fingerless black gloves with cutouts.
Some fans thought the edgy look proved the pop star was preparing to announce the release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) during the awards ceremony, but the evening came and went with no such declaration. Swift’s plaid looks didn’t end there, though. Later that month, the singer wore a pleated plaid miniskirt and a cropped black long-sleeve top while getting dinner with pal Gigi Hadid in New York City.
In October, Swift donned a plaid, off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood dress — along with glittery temporary freckles on her nose and cheeks — to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce during a Kansas City Chiefs vs. New Orleans Saints game.
Swift has also been rocking a lot of checkers, a close cousin of plaid. On Tuesday, November 19, she stepped out in NYC with friends Este Haim and Ashley Avignone wearing a black and white checkered mini skirt and a matching calf-length coat. She also wore a red and black Versace houndstooth skirt and blazer during a Chiefs game earlier this month.
Checkers and plaid for fall isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but Swift is the queen of Easter eggs, which means her fans are often convinced that her every move means something.
Keep scrolling for the wildest fan theories about why Swift keeps wearing plaid:
A ‘So High School’ Music Video Is Coming
One TikTok user pointed out another trend when analyzing the plaid streak: the string of Instagram posts that Swift has recently shared in which she is wearing yellow. The fan questioned whether the yellow and the plaid — and specifically the yellow plaid dress that Swift wore to the VMAs — could be a nod to Cher Horowitz’s iconic ensemble in the 1995 film Clueless.
“When I see yellow plaid, I’m gonna think of Cher from Clueless, which was a high school movie. So, does that mean it’s a ‘So High School’ music video coming?” the TikTok user theorized.
“So High School,” which is a track from Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department, is believed to be about Kelce.
Swift’s Rumored Lost Album Is Coming
Swifties have long speculated that there’s a lost album called Karma that Swift worked on and scrapped between 2014’s 1989 and 2017’s Reputation. Fans believe it was supposed to be released in 2016 before Swift’s feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian caused her to temporarily retreat from public life.
In the spring of 2016, Swift debuted a brand new look, cutting her hair short and dying it bleach blonde. Some fans think that transformation was supposed to signify a new musical era — one that never saw the light of day.
The music video for “The Man,” a single from Swift’s 2019 album, Lover, seemed to point to the existence of Karma. In one frame, Swift, dressed up as a dude, pees on the wall of a subway station. The titles of all Swift’s albums are written in graffiti on the wall, along with the word “karma.” Directly next to the word “karma” is a sign that reads, “Missing. If found, return to Taylor Swift,” which led some fans to conclude that Karma is the name of a missing album.
One TikTok user theorized that since Swift’s plaid patterns are “two colors crossing each other,” the singer could be gearing up to release two albums from two different eras.
“She’s wearing two colors crossing over. Are we crossing over eras?” the fan wondered. “Reputation [Taylor’s Version] and Karma absolutely could be dropped together.”
Swift’s Next Album Will Be a Rock Album
Many of Swift’s recent looks are either Vivienne Westwood brand or look very similar to the designer’s work from the 1990s. One TikTok user speculated that the outfits could mean Swift is heading into her ‘90s era and plans to release a grunge rock album. The fan also theorized that Swift’s rumored lost album could be a ‘90s rock album that was meant to follow 1989’s nod to ‘80s pop.
A New ‘Evermore’ Music Video Is Coming
Even though it’s been almost four years since Swift dropped Evermore in December 2020, one fan guessed that the copious amounts of plaid are a nod to the album. In a TikTok video, the fan pointed out that Swift wore a plaid jacket on the album’s cover and sang mashups that included Evermore songs at all three Eras Tour Toronto shows in November.
“What if we’re getting another Evermore music video?” the TikTok user guessed. “Would that be random? Or would it make sense?”
Swift Is Gearing Up to Release ‘Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)’
While fans have been itching for Reputation (Taylor’s Version) for years at this point, some fans think that Swift’s fashion choices indicate that she’s releasing the rerecording of her titular debut album first.
As one TikTok user pointed out, plaid makes an appearance in two music videos from the Taylor Swift era. In the “Our Song” video, Swift’s pillowcase is a yellow plaid that looks very similar to the dress she wore to the VMAs. In “Tim McGraw,” Swift’s love interest wears a plaid button down shirt.
“Plaid is obviously very, like, synonymous with country [and] flannel,” the TikTok user said, concluding that it would make sense for plaid to represent Swift’s “most country album.”
