Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Halie LeSavage

Taylor Swift Returns to London in a French Girl Shoe Trend—Plus a Skirt Suit Fans Hoped She'd Wear

Taylor Swift in London wearing a plaid vivienne westwood skirt suit with a white ruffled shirt.

Taylor Swift has joked that she sees "everything" her fans predict, monitor, and plead for online. That apparently includes their street style wish lists, as her recent pairing of a French girl shoe trend with a Vivienne Westwood skirt suit for a night out proved.

To host an Eras Tour wrap party at Annabel, a members-only club in London, on an auspicious date for the Swiftie fandom (August 13, a nod to her lucky number), Taylor Swift chose a two-piece plaid skirt suit from Vivienne Westwood's Fall 2024 collection. The set consisted of a cropped blazer with a nipped-in waist and a mini skirt with a wrap effect. Underneath, she wore a white ruffled "Wizard" top by the same label—maybe a cheeky nod to the magic she'll work for her fans during her sold-out second run at Wembley Stadium this weekend.

The suit's sharp tailoring and Cher Horowitz-meets-Austin-Powers energy couldn't be more different from the last outfit Swift wore out in London, consisting of a laid-back crochet dress and Gucci heels. This time, she also added an extra Vivienne Westwood touch in the form of an embossed mini bag.

Taylor Swift returned to London on Tuesday, August 13, hosting a party in a Vivienne Westwood skirt suit and a French girl-approved shoe trend. (Image credit: Backgrid)

Westwood's signature plaid, this time in tones of purple, pistachio green, and orange, coated the entire two-piece. (Photos of the full look became available for Marie Claire on Wednesday, August 14.) Swift and her stylist, Joseph Cassell, played up the '70s punk-prep of it all with a French girl shoe trend: heeled Mary Janes.

Swift's pair hailed from Sézane, a Parisian brand she's worn on several occasions, and came in a dusty green patent leather. (Her exact pair is sold out, but similar options are available in other colors online.) They're also a nod to a shoe trend dominating the streets of the French style capital, as well as New York City and London. Led by brands from Miu Miu to Simone Rocha to Sandy Liang, feminine Mary Janes with heels and platform pump additions are everywhere—and often layered over white ankle socks, just like Swift did. Local labels like Carel and Repetto also have timeless versions to sample.

Sarah Chapelle, author of Taylor Swift Style, has noted in her extensive coverage of the pop star's outfits that mixing luxury pieces (like a Vivienne Westwood skirt suit) and affordable finds (like Sézane's French girl shoes) is a hallmark of the "Down Bad" singer's style. But this look does a little something extra—it potentially winks at a fan-favorite outfit prediction.

The fashion Instagram fan account "You Belong in This" meticulously tracks new runway collections and archival vintage that Swift could maybe, potentially work into her street style. Back in March, account runner Cookie Cohen had photoshopped the exact Vivienne Westwood skirt suit Swift would wear in August onto a paparazzi photo with a line from evermore's piano ballad "champagne problems," casting it as a wintry look the singer should at least consider wearing. Her nearly 20,000 followers "liked" the plaid skirt suit back then; all these months later, they swarmed the comments realizing that a Cohen request had finally made its way to Swift's actual closet.

"She’s literally wearing this today! Insane," one follower wrote. Another asked the question on every follower's mind: "Is Taylor lurking on this page?"

If Taylor Swift was in fact referencing a fan-favorite style account, it's a major vote of confidence in Cohen's taste. Of course, there's another explanation for the look beyond Swift being chronically online. Currently, she's deep in a Vivienne Westwood era.

Swift performs in Vivienne Westwood during her Tortured Poets Department set on the Eras Tour. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Taylor Swift began introducing heavy amounts of Vivienne Westwood looks into her wardrobe in early 2024 to coincide with the moody fashion of The Tortured Poets Department, her latest studio album. The designer's penchant for romantic corsetry and draping reflected the fraught interiority of Swift's new songs, in which she casts herself as a lovelorn writer and heir to a Brontë sister mode. In addition to a custom dress she wears onstage during the Eras set list for Tortured Poets—featuring a white corset top and album lyrics scrawled in calligraphy along the skirt—Swift has worn Westwood's designs on several offstage occasions.

Heading out to dinner with friends around her first set of London shows, Swift wore Vivienne Westwood pants, a coordinating brocade corset, and a watch choker fans interpreted as an Easter egg. (For what, they're still not sure.) On a double date with boyfriend Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and Brittany Mahomes, Swift layered a baby blue drop waist dress over a plaid Vivienne Westwood corset. She also tapped Vivienne Westwood for her Fortnight music video, wearing an extravagantly ruffled top during a pivotal asylum scene.

Taylor Swift wore a full Vivienne Westwood outfit for a previous London dinner. (Image credit: Getty Images)
She also wore Vivienne Westwood for a double date earlier this summer. (Image credit: @brittanylynne)

Swift could have a lot of reasons for suiting up in Vivienne Westwood plaids on the eve of her next five London performances, the last of her European Eras Tour stint. Maybe Swift is nodding to one of the fashion capital's most well-known female designers. Maybe she simply wanted a colorful coordinating set to play hostess for her dancers, band, and crew. Or maybe Taylor Swift is as attuned to her most stylish fans' wishes as they hope—and she decided to oblige an outfit request instead of a song.

Shop the French Girl Shoe Trend Inspired by Taylor Swift

Editor's note: This post was updated on August 14 to include full photos of Taylor Swift's suit set and shoes.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.