Taylor Swift Has a New Look, and It Speaks Volumes about the State of Her Relationship with Travis

On September 11, the Down Bad singer appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet wearing hot pants, a plaid train and a matching plaid bustier that gave her a pronounced waistline and rounded bosom. She paired the look with over-the-knee black leather boots, which have lately become her signature look. As she posed in wide-legged stances, her leather-strapped armpieces accentuated her poise and power. She was giving superhero dominatrix. I mean, had laser beams started coming out of those smoky-glam eyes, I would not have been surprised, and I fully approve of the power top vibe she was giving off.

But what does that have to do with her love life? Pretty much everything, since in my experience, a person can’t radiate sexy power like that unless she feels it. And it’s not just the fact that she’s a billionaire who is selling songs and selling out stadiums worldwide…or at least that’s not all of it. This is the power, poise and heat of a woman who is having, to paraphrase Chappell Roan, “a sexually explicit kind of love affair.”

Now let’s take a step back to September 5, when she wore this denim-on-denim ensemble at the Chiefs-Ravens game. This look is a mashup of iconic sex symbols—the over-the-knee boots of Barbarella ('60s), the hot pants of Kate Moss at Glastonbury ('90s) a Madonna-worthy bustier ('80s). All together, it’s pretty hot on Taylor, and I’m willing to wager much more of a high-voltage rock chick look than Travis Kelce has ever had up under his arm before. Oh and a word about her beauty regimen—the hair is as tousled blond perfection as Brigitte Bardot ever sported in the '70s. What makes me think all this styling reflects Taylor, and not just the mood board of some stylist? The way that she strides backstage, and comfortably hobnobs with her man’s friends and family in the box at the game. This isn’t an act; Swift is integrating girl-next-door niceness and hot-for-the-tight-end-footballer, and good lord, is it working.

Maybe you just started paying attention to Taylor and her outfits, and you’re thinking, well duh, she’s always been this hot. As they say on Monday night football, let’s roll the tape. First up, last summer’s casual denim look, above.

As I’m sure you’ll agree, there’s something a bit…sad about the way she paired a denim mini-skirt with a plain white blouse and fisherman’s sandals on the streets of New York.

Ok, maybe she’s always sizzled at awards shows?

This was last years’ MTV music awards look, again with the denim on denim…. However here, the lack of heat is palpable and there’s no particular point of view to speak of. (She's cuter now wearing a rehearsal skort.) She’s not even wearing her hair down, for heaven’s sake. Contrast all that with, a year later, her date look with Travis Kelce in a little Italian restaurant in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn...Absolutely smoking.

Don’t get me wrong, Taylor is still serving appropriate fashion. This woman knows how to read the room, and she showed us that by wearing a gingham minidress at the US Open, the New York-based tennis championship where the crowd dresses in an elevated preppy style but still stays cool (this year the temps were a muggy 95 degrees at night). She’s demure here, and we’re stanning this look, too (although her PDA with Travis during the event, as well as a spirited lip syncing to The Darkness playing over the PA, is showing what a fun couple these two are).

On September 15, Taylor topped her own big-girl-boots-sexy-fit track record when she wore an oversized vintage Kansas City Chiefs jersey and affordable faux diamond necklace with over-the-knee boots, sans pants. I wasn’t there, so I can’t say for sure, but I bet Taylor wore a pair of boy shorts underneath, because billionaires know better than to let breezes redirect the narrative. I love that even in a skimpy outfit, Taylor still retains her girlish enthusiasm and looks cute-hot. She’s pulled off a neat trick, this way of being sexy without alienating the rest of the squad. I think that’s because, like the sexiest people out there, she’s wearing what she likes, with creativity and spark. And while she once wrote a whole song about how cleverly she can hide in plain sight (I Can Do It With a Broken Heart), I’m going to go out on a limb and say that she’s feeling the heat with Travis. Because sorry Taylor, the thigh-high boots don’t lie.