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Taylor Swift's Iconic Hairstyles: Ranking The Impact Of Each Era

2025-11-25 20:55
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Taylor Swift's Iconic Hairstyles: Ranking The Impact Of Each Era

Taylor Swift started switching up her hair over a decade ago, and since then, it's become normal for her to start a new era with a new hairstyle.

Every Taylor Swift Hairstyle That Marked A New Era, Ranked By Impact Tay MISS AMERICANA, (aka TAYLOR SWIFT: MISS AMERICANA), Taylor Swift preparing for her appearance on the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards (August 26, 2019, Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey), 2020.© Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection 4 By  Gina Wurtz Published 37 minutes ago Gina is a passionate writer who enjoys covering pop culture topics like music, film, and television. She has a BFA in Screen Studies from The New School and completed a Film & TV Course with Yellowbrick and NYU Tisch School Of The Arts. She is also a diehard Swiftie and an avid fan of all music genres. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

If there's one thing Taylor Swift is known for besides her songwriting skills and pop masterpieces, it's her hair. Swift's signature curls made her America's sweetheart during her country days, but soon her hair would become her token for reinvention. We're taking a break from all the buzz around recent smash success/gossip fodder, Life of A Showgirl, to pay tribute to something almost as important as her music.

After her first three albums, Swift decided to change up her style, and soon her hair evolution would become a cultural phenomenon. From the first time she cut bangs to her current mousy blonde shade, here are all of Swift's hair looks that signified a new era.

7 Midnights (2022)

taylor swift for the album midnights taylor swift for the album midnights

When Swift announced her pop comeback album, Midnights, she left her messy pandemic hair in the magical cottage and relocated her straightening iron. Swift's Midnights hair was much neater than what she'd been sporting for the folklore and evermore eras.

It was also a callback to her Red hairstyle, except less blonde and more mature. Still, it was the perfect fit for the Midnights aesthetic, and her hair has remained mostly the same since.

6 Lover (2019)

Taylor Swift's "Lover" album.

After her vengeful reputation album, Swift wanted to start her new era on a lighter and brighter note. Gone were the blacks, deep reds, and snake skin greens. In their place, Swift donned pastel everything, mainly pink and blue to match the Lover album cover.

Her hair was no exception. Swift made it blonder than it had been since her teen days and often colored the tips pink or blue. It was the perfect way to shed her snake skin, even if it was a short-lived era due to the pandemic.

5 Reputation (2017)

Taylor Swift playing the piano in Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour. Taylor Swift playing the piano in Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour.

When Swift's Kimye drama led her down a dark path, breeding reputation, her hair had to evolve with her. After years of a much shorter hairstyle, Swift grew her hair past her shoulders, and the color was much more of a dirty blonde than it had been in the years before.

Swift also wore it wavy and curly a lot, which she hadn't done since before the Red era. The new hair didn't just mark a new album era but a new era of Swift herself after she'd fallen from the pedestal and had to build herself back up again. It was exciting for Swifties to see the pop star return to the longer style they knew and loved.

4 Folklore & Evermore (2020)

Taylor Swift looking over her shoulder in the folklore photo shoot with the folklore album cover behind Taylor Swift looking over her shoulder in the folklore photo shoot with the folklore album cover behindCustom Image by Kate Bove

Like everyone else, Swift went for a low-maintenance look for her sister albums, folklore and evermore. Whether wearing her hair in buns or a braid, Swift's hair remained unhighlighted with messy bangs, often letting her natural curls run wild.

It was the perfect look for a forest girl and was especially intriguing as it came right after the Lover era. The contrasted colors of the album had faded, and Swift's hair faded with them.

3 Bleachella (2016)

Taylor swift with bleached hair at the 2016 met gala Taylor swift with bleached hair at the 2016 met gala

One of Swift's most memorable hair moments came in 2016 and is not actually linked with an album (that we know of). Swifties still have theories that Swift had a whole other album planned before reputation that was scrapped after the Kimye drama.

In 2016, Swift graced the cover of Vogue with a brand new hairstyle. Her bob was chopped shorter and bleached blonde. She debuted it in person at Coachella, where the style got its name from, and again at the iconic 2016 Met Gala.

Rihanna had also released "This Is What You Came For" at the time, which Swift would later reveal she co-wrote. It seemed Swift may have had an electronic album up her sleeve, but the iconic hair color didn't last very long, and no published album ever came from the Bleachella era.

2 Red (2012)

Taylor Swift's "Red" album.

Since she'd stepped onto the country scene as a teenager, Swift was known for her golden curls. Swift shocked the world when, at the end of 2011, she revealed she'd cut bangs for a Vogue photoshoot and was wearing her hair straight. It was the end of Taylor Swift as we knew it, but it was the beginning of a new legacy.

The mature look fit the evolution of her music as she was beginning to transition into a pop superstar. Swift never looked back from her iconic bangs, and these days she's known better for that than her original curly locks. It was truly the turning point for Swift and her career.

1 1989 (2014)

Taylor Swift performs in a bedazzled skin-color costuem during her 1989 World Tour movie trailer. Taylor Swift performs in a bedazzled skin-color costuem during her 1989 World Tour movie trailer.Custom Image by Molly Brizzell

Through every hairstyle Taylor Swift's tried out, nothing can beat her 1989 chop. In the album booklet, Swift referred to herself as "the girl who said she would never cut her hair." That's how Swifties had seen her all those years until she made the rash decision toward the end of the Red tour. Her career would never be the same.

Cutting her hair became synonymous with leaving her past behind her as she officially cut ties with country music. Swift took the world by storm with her 1989 era, and it remains one of her most beloved albums to this day. It never would have been the same had Taylor Swift not done her iconic hairstyle to kick off her pop superstardom.

Headshot Of Taylor Swift Headshot Of Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Date of Birth December 13, 1989 Active Yes

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