Tortured Poets Department Fashion & Beauty Guide

By: Ashley Joy Parker
April 26, 2024

“You Look Like Taylor Swift…”

Taylor Swift has ushered in a new era.

The superstar dropped her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, at midnight on Friday, April 19, via Republic Records. With a concept fashioned after the five stages of grief, The Tortured Poets Department is Swift’s self-proclaimed “lifeline” album—a product of imperative songwriting. Written with producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, TTPD originally consisted of sixteen songs, featuring collaborations with the American rapper Post Malone and the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine.

At 2 a.m. that day, Swift announced TTPD: The Anthology, revealing the project was in fact a surprise double album with 15 additional songs.

Along with new music, The Torturted Poets Department era comes with its own unique and intoxicating aesthetic. Taylor originally announced the album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards after winning Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights (and later Album of The Year). For the the big night, she teased the TTPD vibe wearing a romanic costume ivory Schiaparelli Haute Couture corseted gown styled with black velvet opera gloves and inky diamonds, including a watch chocker necklace.

And as it turns out, her Grammys look was actually an Easter Egg for the project’s first single: the Post Malone-featuring “Fortnight” music video. In the the black and white cinematic video, Taylor dons a draped dress by Toni Maticevski and a custom-made watch choker by Joseph Saidian & Sons, strikingly similar to the ‘fit she selected for the awards show. She also served up a dramatic beauty look—including thin eyebrows, pale skin, smokey eyes and dark lips—seemingly inspired by the stars of the silent film era, particularly actress Clara Bow, whom Taylor named the album’s 16th track after.

Elsewhere in the video, Taylor types away on an early 1900s typewriter wearing a Victorian-gothic-style outfit designed by artist Elena Velez, paired with lace gloves.

The TTPD album covers also point to a moodier aesthetic. On the standard version, the cover artwork, photographed by Beth Garrabrant, is a black-and-white glamour shot of Taylor lying on a bed wearing a lingerie look of a sheer black top from Yves Saint Laurent and high waist shorts by The Row.

On the cover for TTPD: The Anthology, Taylor is shown standing up tangled up in her own arms and wearing what appears to be a white slip dress.

Want to create some epic looks that embody Taylor’s new signature sense of style? From corset dresses to Victorian blouses, shop romantic fashions and beauty products inspired by The Tortured Poets Department below.