The summer of 2012 when Taylor Swift paraded around with the Kennedys continues to live rent free in my mind. I was obsessed with the outfits she wore then and I’m still obsessed with them now. Last year during lockdown, I started making these series of Taylor Swift Street Style recreations. It is always like a scavenger hunt to try to find pieces close to what Taylor wore during these specific eras. Taylor does such an excellent job of distinguishing eras with her style (although lately I have literally no idea what era we’re currently in). And while I’m trying to create a street style series for each album era, I wanted to do this series of Taylor’s outfits during the summer of 2012 when she was in Cape Cod. This was right before the release of RED. These outfits also reflect my personal style pretty well, (probably because Taylor has influenced my style since I was a teenager) so I had a lot of fun recreating them. I took all of these pictures last summer at my parents’ house, even though I wish I was in Cape Cod.
Full transparency: I really wish I could have posted this sooner in the summer because it looks like everyone is already ready for fall. But I’m getting this out before September even if I have to stay up all night! Even if your brain is jumping right into fall, I hope you find some last minute summer outfit inspo from this post.
Check out my posts for Fearless and reputation posts!
Just about everything I’m wearing in this post was thrifted or something I already owned. I will be linking similar options to these outfits below, but I totally recommend you try thrifting some of these pieces on online stores like Poshmark and thredUP like I did. Better for your wallet and environment! (and I am a #thredUPambassador).
I want to add a small “disclaimer” (if you can even call it that) that I am a size US 10-12. I have a pretty strong guess that Taylor was not that size when she wore all of these outfits. This is not meant to be a “Taylor Swift’s style shown on midsize girl” case study. I’m a firm believer you can wear whatever you want, whenever you want. But I wanted to add this because I know I look nothing like Taylor Swift and I think it’s pretty bold of myself to put a side by side comparison of the two of us on the internet. But I loved putting these outfits together and taking a stroll down memory lane in order to put everything together.
The style in this blog post can be classified as preppy, retro, vintage and classic.
Outfit #1:
I wish I had an HQ picture of Taylor in this Club Monaco sweater. She wore this outfit while boating with Conor Kennedy. I found this #tssexact sweater on Poshmark- what a find! These shorts are from thredUP and I actually cropped them to make them a little shorter. These sunglasses I’m wearing were actually free from my college (go Saferide!) and my aunt gave me this bag for Christmas. Honestly Taylor, does it get more nautical than an anchor sweater? How on the nose is that?
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Outfit #2:
This outfit was probably the very first look I saw of Taylor from this summer of all of these outfits. And I knew in that moment- she was about to give us some LEWKS. I got this top from Forever 21 ages ago, and the skirt is from J.Crew, but I thrifted it on thredUP. These flats are from DSW and I used to wear them to work all the time. I love this look so much that I actually ended up wearing it at the beach with my family a few weeks ago. So thanks for the inspo Taylor!
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Outfit #3:
Polka dots with stripes? That pretty much sums up my entire wardrobe in high school. And also Taylor’s style as she transitioned into the RED era. She wore this outfit playing volleyball and I still think its a great look for the beach. Here is a post about her shorts on TaylorSwiftStyle. My shorts and headband are from J.Crew Factory and the bikini top is like 10 years old from Target (I probably bought it because it reminded me of Taylor). I struggled to find similar pieces to what I’m wearing, so I absolutely recommend searching “Modcloth Red Polka Dot Bikini” and “J.Crew Factory Striped High Waisted shorts” on Poshmark or thredUP.
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Outfit #4:
This has to be one of my favorite looks in this series! I found this dress on thredUP after doing some major hunting. I was searching things like “peach sleeveless shirt dress” and “orange collared dress”. I’m sad because the top bottom popped off, but ~sigh~ sometimes that happens with secondhand clothing. I’m actively still trying to find the exact dress Taylor wore, but even TaylorSwiftStyle didn’t post about it, so it may be a lost cause. I would actually wear this dress on a date-IF I HAD ONE.
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Outfit #5
I’m sorry for the low quality picture of Taylor in this outfit, but I cannot find a better picture! Fun fact: I wasn’t originally planning on recreating this outfit, but then I found this skirt in my mom’s closet. According TaylorSwiftStyle, the skirt Taylor is wearing is vintage so I wasn’t confident in finding it online. But my mom did buy this one in the early 2000s, so maybe that’s on the verge of being vintage? This outfit reminds of a picture you would see of your grandmother at the beach in 1954. Very classy, elegant and retro. Definitely one of my favorite looks of Taylor’s during that summer and she looks like a supermodel in this photo.
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Outfit #6:
It was actually kind of hard to thrift a dress that looked similar to the one Taylor is wearing, so I opted for renting! I also didn’t have a Kennedy to hold my hand and twirl me around, but I hope this picture is close enough. This Rebecca Taylor dress is from Rent the Runway and I actually wore it a lot while I was working from home.
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Outfit #7:
This is probably the most iconic look in the whole series. When I think of Taylor Swift in Cape Cod, I think of this outfit. She just looks so cute and retro! I loved putting this outfit together. Here is a post about her shorts on TaylorSwiftStyle. My top was a high school graduation gift (so its hella old). My shorts are from Madewell and were thrifted from Poshmark. I also thrifted this headwrap from Poshmark. I don’t think I would wear this outfit out in public myself, but it is so on the nose for the vibe Taylor was going for that summer. And I think we can all appreciate that.
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Outfit #8:
I remember seeing these photos of Taylor in this outfit and just being absolutely obsessed with her hair. Those natural curls! This look is a bonus outfit for this series because we don’t have many pictures of Taylor in this outfit (mainly just with fans) but I already had this maroon striped top and white shorts. So I threw it together last minute. Here is a post on TaylorSwiftStyle that features what shorts Taylor is actually wearing.
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Which look is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading! xx