Rag Report: Country Star Breaks Out of Her Shell

Rag Report dives under the covers of fashion publications to rant or rave about all the glossy goodness.

Taylor Swift, a girl who normally is conservative, shy, and discrete with both her music and style, is shockingly edgy in this month’s cover of Allure magazine. Michael Thompson took the lead in this photo shoot as the main photographer. Shot in a little studio in Berry Hill, Nashville, Swift proves to her fans that she is growing up in a lady-like manner.

In her first photo, Swift looks stunning as her head is titled toward the right. Her usually tamed hair is teased with wild waves. Swift sports a deep v-neck dress designed by Peter Som. Typically, Swift is seen in fairy tale-esque outfits but this floral print expresses deep violets, dark reds, and navy blue. Her arms are placed on her lap; her body language looks as if she is in deep thought.

Another photo featuring Swift captures the singer intensity that the audience has yet to see on the red carpet. Michael Thompson captures Swift’s innocence in this head shot. She engages the audience with her eyes. The simplicity of her makeup and hairstyle allows us to look at her eyes and see the vulnerability. The lighting used on the picture, although black and white, gives Swift a slight glow that can also be considered angelic, and more innocent.

Swift’s body language is different than her previous photos. Her demanding pose has us viewing the early stages of her edginess. She is not smiling but just staring right into the camera, forcing us to look at this never-before-seen Taylor Swift. Her hair is outrageous keeping her head almost hidden. But, her smoky eye makeup as well as her red lipstick really pops out. Swift wears a cotton silk taffeta dress by Lanvin Paris. The sinister colors of the dress as well as her body language, shows the audience a different, riskier side.

The inspiration for Swift’s photo shoot was the Cacharel fragrance advertisements by Sarah Moon during the late 70’s. This scent can be described as sunny but dark—a perfect combination of both Swift’s style within this specific shoot. Taken as a whole, Swift looks stunning with her dark based makeup and out of the ordinary floral print dresses placed in front of a run down or haunted background.

-Stephanie Smith