Hats Off to Taylor Swift: A New Encore for Swifties

Just when Swifties thought they knew every word, every era and every reason to hit replay, Taylor gave us an Encore.

Four new songs. Four more stories. And four more reasons for the rest of us to talk about Taylor Swift. Love her or hate her!

So naturally, we went looking for a hat.

Actually, we found quite a few.

Taylor’s story began on December 13, 1989, which makes the EST. 1989 stitched across our SWIFTIE hats especially perfect.

Long before the stadiums, friendship bracelets, glittering costumes and millions of fans singing every word back to her, there was a girl with a guitar, a notebook full of songs and a very big idea about what she wanted to do.

She started writing songs as a kid, headed to Nashville while she was still young, and released her first album as a teenager. Those early songs about growing up, falling in love and figuring out where you belonged found an audience that seemed to grow right along with her.

Then came bigger albums, bigger stages and entirely new sounds. Country gave way to pop, intimate songs became stadium anthems, and eventually the year she was born became the name of one of the defining albums of her career: 1989.

Nearly two decades after that first album, the girl with the guitar has become one of the biggest music stars in the world. Which means when you see SWIFTIE • EST. 1989 embroidered across one of our hats, that little date carries quite a story. And, we have to admit, it looks pretty darn good on a hat.

Then came the eras.

Country Taylor. Red-lipstick Taylor. Pop Taylor. 1989 Taylor. Reputation Taylor. Folklore Taylor. Eras Tour Taylor. And now, Showgirl Taylor.

That is a lot of wardrobe changes.

Fortunately, we have hats.

For the Swiftie who likes things a little simpler, there are embroidered SWIFTIE EST. 1989 beanies in enough colors to coordinate with just about any era, mood or outfit. Pink, purple, red, blue, green, black, white, gray and more. Pick the color that belongs to your favorite era, match it to your winter coat, or ignore all sensible reasoning and collect a few. We certainly won’t judge.

They’re warm, easy to wear and just Swiftie enough that another fan will spot the EST. 1989 across the room and immediately know they’ve found one of their people. No explanation necessary.

And for the Swiftie who isn’t quite ready for winter, there are SWIFTIE EST. 1989 caps. A little more casual, a little more year-round, and considerably easier to wear than a sequined bodysuit to the grocery store. Throw one on with jeans and a T-shirt, add sunglasses, and suddenly a bad hair day looks completely intentional. Wear it to the concert, on a road trip, running errands, meeting another Swiftie for coffee, or simply on one of those days when deciding what to do with your hair seems like an unreasonable request.

Sometimes you want the feathers and the sparkle.

Sometimes you just want a really good hat.

Fortunately, we have both.

But then came The Life of a Showgirl.

And suddenly a regular baseball cap seemed a little...understated.

Because if you’re going to have a Showgirl era, subtlety really has no business being invited.

Enter the feathers.

Big feathers.

Purple feathers.

Hot pink feathers.

Orange feathers.

Feathers that announce your arrival several seconds before the rest of you actually enters the room.

Add sequins, jewels, sparkle and enough drama to make walking through a doorway something that requires a little advance planning, and you have our idea of proper Showgirl headwear. These are not hats for blending in. They are not hats for quietly slipping into the back row. And they are probably not the hat you grab when you realize you're out of milk.

These are SHOWGIRL hats. The kind you wear when a regular outfit simply isn't doing enough. The kind that can turn jeans and a simple top into an event. The kind that says you did not spend all this time getting ready just to disappear into the crowd. Concert? Absolutely. Taylor party? Obviously. Halloween? You've just solved half the costume. Girls' night? Depends entirely on how much attention you're prepared to receive. Tuesday afternoon at Target? We aren't saying you should. We're just saying nobody is going to forget you. Are they practical? Absolutely not. Do we care? Also absolutely not. Practical has had plenty of time in the spotlight. This is the Showgirl era. Sometimes you need a beanie. Sometimes you need a baseball cap. And sometimes you need a ridiculous number of feathers, a handful of rhinestones and the confidence to walk through the door like the evening has been waiting for you to arrive. We have a hat for that too. If you're going to have a Showgirl era, you might as well commit.

And then there is the Eldest Daughter.

Taylor gave the eldest daughters a song of their own, and we happen to have a hat for them too.

You know who you are.

You're the one who remembers everything. The one who makes the plans. The one who reads the directions. The one everybody calls because apparently you were appointed family management sometime around kindergarten and nobody ever bothered to tell you.

Wear the hat. You've earned it.

And now Taylor has given the Showgirl story an Encore, with four more songs for Swifties to dissect, debate, memorize and play approximately 47 times before breakfast.

Patient Zero. Cleveland! Pink Clouding. Babylon.

Twenty years after her first album, Taylor is still giving people something new to talk about.

And we're still finding hats for it.

So hats off to Taylor.

Hats off to the Swifties who have followed along through every era.

Hats off to the EST. 1989 crowd.

Hats off to every Eldest Daughter who immediately understood.

And a particularly enthusiastic hats off to anyone willing to leave the house wearing a tower of purple feathers.

Now we want to hear from the Swifties:

Of the four new songs, which one is YOUR favorite so far?

Patient Zero, Cleveland!, Pink Clouding or Babylon?

Pick one. Defend your choice. We have a feeling this could get interesting.

FAQ

What does “Swiftie” mean?

A Swiftie is a Taylor Swift fan, but after all these years, the word has come to mean considerably more than simply liking her music. Swifties follow the eras, hunt for Easter eggs, trade friendship bracelets, know which songs belong to which album and can turn the meaning of a single lyric into a discussion that lasts for days.

Some have been there since the country days. Others arrived during 1989, Folklore, the Eras Tour or The Life of a Showgirl. There really isn't a required starting point. If Taylor's music pulled you in somewhere along the way, welcome to the club.

Why is 1989 so important to Taylor Swift?

Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989, so the number has been part of her story from the very beginning.

Years later, she made her birth year the title of 1989, the album that marked her full leap into pop and gave us songs including “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space” and “Style.”

That is also why SWIFTIE EST. 1989 works so perfectly. It isn't just a random date on a hat. It's a little nod to where the entire Taylor story began.

What is The Life of a Showgirl?

The Life of a Showgirl is Taylor Swift's 12th studio album, released in October 2025. The album brought us another Taylor era, this time filled with the imagery, color, glamour and theatricality of a showgirl.

The original album includes songs such as “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor,” “Eldest Daughter” and the title track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” featuring Sabrina Carpenter.

And, of course, a Showgirl era gave us an excellent excuse to bring out the feathers.

What is Taylor Swift’s “Eldest Daughter” about?

“Eldest Daughter” explores the difference between the version of ourselves that the outside world sees and the more vulnerable person known by the people closest to us.

The title also struck a chord with plenty of eldest daughters who recognized something familiar in the expectations, responsibilities and complicated feelings that can come with being the oldest girl in a family. Apparently an entire generation of women heard the title and thought, Well, this ought to be interesting.

Is Taylor Swift actually an eldest daughter?

Yes. Taylor really is an eldest daughter.

She is the older of two children. Her younger brother, Austin Swift, was born in 1992.

So while “Eldest Daughter” reaches well beyond Taylor's own family and experiences, the title has a very literal connection to her life too.

And yes, that makes our ELDEST DAUGHTER hat even more fun.

Why is Track 5 important to Swifties?

Longtime Swifties know there is something special about Track 5.

Over the course of Taylor's albums, the fifth song has developed a reputation for being one of the more personal, emotional or vulnerable tracks on the record. It wasn't originally announced as some grand tradition. Fans noticed the pattern, Taylor acknowledged it, and Track 5 became part of Swiftie lore. On The Life of a Showgirl, that fifth spot belongs to “Eldest Daughter.”

So when a new Taylor album arrives, Swifties don't just ask what the first single is.

They also want to know: What's Track 5?