Sarah Chapelle Taylor Swift Style Product Recommendations
The Expert Edit features interviews with specialists about the products they swear by in their chosen field. For the latest installment, we spoke to Sarah Chapelle of Taylor Swift Styled about her new book that archives the star’s fashion moments, as well as her personal must haves and product recommendations for Swifties.
Writer and author of “Taylor Swift Style” Sarah Chapelle has been a fan of Swift’s since 2006, but started documenting the singer’s clothing details in 2011. “I was a news reporter in a past life and I feel uniquely qualified to be an expert source on her style evolution as a journalist and recorder of her fashion history — and also as a real, true fan,” she tells PS. While Swift’s red carpet appearances were obviously captured far and wide, Chapelle aimed to focus on the in-between street style moments and concert outfits that felt more relatable.
“I feel uniquely qualified to be an expert source on [Taylor Swift’s] style evolution as a journalist and recorder of her fashion history — and also as a real, true fan.
What may surprise some folks is that her blog began simply with photos, without the “critically kind” commentary she’s known for today. Now, her community relies on her to break down not just the designer credits behind Swift’s looks, but the connection between the aesthetic and what that might imply about Swift’s upcoming projects. “[I approach] what I say with a careful degree of intent and critical thinking, while also delivering critique of any kind with kindness, and never malice,” Chapelle explains. “I wanted to create a space where people with shared passions could also share their differing points of view without fear of retribution or cruelty.”
Chapelle has extended that golden rule to her newly-released book, which comes at the perfect time. “Taylor has truly had a meteoric last few years, between the success of her back-to-back pandemic albums, winning her fourth Grammy album of the year for ‘Midnights,’ and the record-breaking success of the Eras Tour underlining her efforts to re-record her back catalogue. Interest in her has never been higher,” Chapelle says. “This book provides opportunity to catch up new fans on her visual legacy and also gives older fans this beautifully, lovingly packaged book that definitively walks through some of our fondest memories of the last two decades of her career. I think there’s something in it for everyone.”
Chapelle hopes the book will make it to a bestsellers list and is optimistic thanks to her passionate and supportive community. “When you put out the energy and the call for people who are inherently good, kind, and passionate about their interests, I think those people find you in return,” she says of her followers.
Ahead, Chapelle shares her personal day-to-day essentials for writing, some of which are naturally connected to Swift. Hilariously, her favorite is the fleece cat onesie Swift was gifted during a 2014 SiriusXM interview. Yes, Chapelle owns one too, though it’s sadly no longer available. “It’s one of my silliest things I love to pull out in the winter when I want to be extra cozy,” she says.