Taylor Swift’s romantic life is a source of endless scrutiny, as her intensely personal song lyrics have led to plenty of theories about how they apply to her own relationships. Now, she and her long-term partner, the British actor Joe Alwyn, have (allegedly) gone their separate ways and are doing it in the most dignified way possible, with an “insider” telling Entertainment Tonight that the couple had parted amicably and without any drama.
Underscoring that fact? Swift was photographed out for dinner in New York this week in an unusually casual look for the singer: a pair of grey-wash Agolde jeans with a criss-cross waistband and a black T-shirt with a buttoned V-neckline. Instead of her usual heels, she finished the outfit with a pair of chunky combat boots by The Row, the zip-front style that has become a hero shoe for the brand with an impressive list of celebrity fans, including the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Hailey Bieber and Zoë Kravitz. All – unlike Swift – fans of minimalist luxury.
And while investing in every cool girl’s go-to quiet luxury label represents something of a vibe shift for Swift (famously a fan of a sequin), overall, her outfit was as low-key as it gets, and certainly not in the tradition of revenge dressing – the flashier, flesh-baring approach exemplified by Princess Diana and others in the wake of high-profile break-ups.
Swift does talk about using fashion to send a signal after a split on her most recent album Midnights – the track “Vigilante Shit” features the lyric: “Lately I’ve been dressing for revenge.” But her girl next door attire and fresh-faced make-up couldn’t be further from the (literally) killer eyeliner she references on the track.
Neither Swift nor Alwyn has commented on reports of their split and are unlikely to do so, as this “say nothing” approach is in line with how they handled their relationship since they first began dating in 2016. “I’m aware people want to know about that side of things,” Joe told British Vogue in a 2018 interview. “I think we have been successfully very private, and that has now sunk in for people.” This is as revealing as he has been about the relationship, so it’s unlikely we will see any gossip-fuelling slogan T-shirts on either party any time soon. Fans will just have to wait for a new album for clues as to what actually went down.