Taylor Swift covers the new issue of ASOS. I have to hand it to Swifty, actually. I’ve just written up yet another Benedict Cumberbatch post and it struck me that Swifty has also been making the media rounds quite heavily in the past month, but she’s managed to space out her major interviews like a pro, something that some actors can’t even manage. Like, we can go days without writing about Swift and that gossip pause is useful. It makes her interviews more noteworthy, and we pay closer attention to her quotes. Anyway, here are some highlights from her ASOS interview:
She dresses for girls, not boys: “When I’m getting dressed, it’s always based on what my friends will think. They are my number one priority and the opinions of girls are more important to me at this point in my life.”
Her girlfriends: “My friends are the kind of people that have their own lives, and their own busy schedules, and that’s why we get along so well. A lot of ‘celebrities’ surround themselves with these very chic cling-ons who don’t really have much of a job or a passion, they follow around their celebrity BFF and provide constant affirmation for them and I’m really not interested in that kind of deal.”
She doesn’t follow style fads: “I think that as much as you should be creative and experiment, there are certain things I know are fads and so I try to steer clear of most of the obvious ones. I play the tape of my life forward and don’t wear the things that my kids or grandkids will make fun of me for wearing, [like] ‘Wow, cool, mom, cool cowboy boots that you were wearing constantly in 2006!’ For me, it’s important to be comfortable in what I’m wearing. Being comfortable means that no one’s going to be able to pull a fast one and take a picture of me that they’ll deem to be embarrassing. I don’t want to wear something so short that I’m scared there will be a wardrobe malfunction, or have a picture of me falling out of my shorts or skirt.”
Aiming for a no-drama life? “If my life had been turbulence free, no bumps in the road at all, maybe my music would be more beige, maybe the stadiums wouldn’t be so full and the mantle would be a little more empty. As much as I would really like to have saved myself heartache, embarrassment or gossip, I also know that my biggest mistakes have turned into my best lessons and sometimes my greatest career triumphs.”
Even though I know this is just a silly transition phase for Swifty, I can’t help but feel sorry for her a little bit. She’s currently building a life around the idea that if she insulates herself enough and she stays home and never makes a mistake, then she’ll never be criticized. Like “not being criticized” is the goal now. I think she’s missing out on a lot of fun and yes, a lot of mistakes that she should be making in her early/mid-20s. These are the years when she should date weirdos and hipsters (and NOT high school boys) and figure out what she really wants. The goal shouldn’t be “not being criticized,” the goal should be “owning her mistakes and not caring if she’s criticized.”
Also – remember, several years ago, when there were a lot of rumors that Taylor was going to be cast in a potential Joni Mitchell/Carole King/Carly Simon bio-pic? Taylor was going to be Joni. Well, The Real Joni just told The Sunday Times that she “squelched” Taylor’s casting. Joni said: “I squelched that! I said to the producer, ‘All you’ve got is a girl with high cheekbones’. It’s just a lot of gossip, you don’t have the great scenes.” Thank God.
Cover & photos courtesy of ASOS, Taylor’s Instagram.
I think she wore a short one-sie (was that a trend?) that was kind of embarrassing to look at, but I understand her general point.
I do think women tend to dress more for other women (or women friends, not women in general) more than for men (contrary to what magazines think) so I was kind of nodding my head to her observation on that one.
If women dressed for men we’d all be trying to dress like Sofia Vergera (and end up looking like Kardashians in ill fitting sausage casings while attempting to do so)
*ahem* Jonathan Cheban I’m thinking of you.
That’s exactly who I thought of too!!
The original original human dingle-berry! A true cling-on!
LOL Human Dingleberry!!!! PRICELESS!!!! Personally I was thinking of ALL of Beiber’s ‘entourage’ as he like to call them when they are all human dingleberries as well. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE TS!!!!
Co-sign. Then I was mad that I even knew his name.
Ha! I thought of him right away too. As for Taylor, she’s doing great. Her new album is selling incredibly well and she’s going on a world tour that will make her millions. I saw her on Kelly and Michael today and she’s obviously happy. She doesn’t need a man in her life to make her life complete. She has a group of girlfriends that she adores and has fun with. Sounds fabulous.
Doesn’t he have a PR company or something?
Rihanna has one, too, Melissa somebody. I think that when you surround yourself with yes people whose only purpose (and means of support) is YOU, you lose sense of reality really quickly. Good for her. All in all, I think she’s transitioning into an adult fairly well.
I’ve said it before but I don’t dress for men or women, I dress for me.
I liked what she has to say here. I can’t help it–I like Swifty.
Yeah I like her too. She seems to be very clever and business savvy. She’s very young but she has already mastered some of the most important pr moves. Kudos to her. Plus she is VERY nice to her fans. She looks after them as if she was their mama.
I agree. I like her too and I think people are way too hard on her. She’s very young and yet she’s accomplished a LOT and works really hard, is great to her fans, and is a good singer/songwriting (heck, half the pop singers out there can’t sing without auto-tune and don’t write their own songs). People get on her about writing about her relationships, well…90% of the songs out there are people writing about their relationships, you just don’t focus on it because they are in bands or are guys. Songwriters write songs about their lives. And her music is fun and totally appropriate for her age. She just seems like a lovely person and I’m sick of everyone on her case about that, looking for ways to bring her down. Let her be, she’s doing great and she’s doing it right! Kudos to her!
She has legit been sending her fans care packages full of gifts, complete with handwritten notes. It’s all over Tumblr (the latest social media site she’s mastered). The fans post their reaction videos and photos of everything she sends them, and then Taylor likes their posts – it’s pretty admirable. I don’t know where she finds the time!
suzy, but none of those guys (except for Ed Sheeran) wrote songs about famous exes playing blind item gossip. no one in any industry has had so many showmances like Taylor and then wrote songs about them.
Sara, but the factvtaht oeople in other songs aren’t famous doesn’t make it less awkward for them. Adele wrote a whole album bout a guy. Maybe the public didn’t know who he was, but I’m sure all his friends did. It’s equally painful.
I dress for me too. I always have ,even when I was a kid. I never really followed any fads either, except I did get into plaid during the “grunge” years.
I like her as well, even if I don’t agree with everything she says. She seems smart and knows how to run her career without getting too ridiculous (à la Miley Cyrus, maybe?). Plus I can’t help but like a fellow crazy cat lady, lol.
She’s growing on me.. I will say though that style choices I made when I was younger give me unbelievable chuckles now. I don’t care if they’re embarrassing or not, they bring back fun memories of what I did when I was wearing them.
I dress for myself too. I actually don’t think there was a time in my life, even in my early 20s, where I dressed for other people. I LOVE fashion, and I wish Taylor would realize that fashion is about having fun, and even sometimes embracing the trends! Who cares if she looks back 30 years from now and thinks “ugh what the hell was I wearing” — fashion changes so much, that’ll happen regardless!
I like her too.
Be careful Taylor, you could also be an unemployed cling-on someday. Just sayin’ what I’ve learned … be careful what you say, it has a tendency to come back and bite your ass.
For some reason, Leo Dicaprio’s friends (i.e Lukas Haas) came to mind when I read that comment.
She strikes me as a very focused and driven business woman. I doubt she’ll ever be unemployed unlike other celebrities like Katy Perry or Lady Gaga.
The girl is worth over 200 million dollars. She is set for life. She is refering to the leeches that surround the celebrities that tell them all the time how awesome they are, how cool they are, how beautiful they are, etc etc It’s calle the “yes” people.
wish someone would tell her to eat.she is way too skinny..
Yep…the “kiss @ss” people.
Hear, hear! Unpopular opinion but i don’t know why she’s coming across as such a “I don’t make any mistakes any more, I’m perfect, I look down on anyone who isn’t perfect. The only friends I make are successful, up and coming stars.” She knows just how to manipulate her public image so well, it seems almost disingenuous, I dunno. It’s like she’s so aware that people all eyes are on her now so she’s grabbing every opportunity to show herself off. In the AMA’s I noticed when Jessie J went up to her, she looked like she was hungry for the cameras to be on her, she really lapped up every opportunity the camera was on her, and when Jessie J moved over to Lorde’s, Taylor looked at the camera and moved in the frame to make sure she was still in frame of the camera! It was too much!
What did Klingons ever do to you, T?
Reminds me of my nephews fav joke of the moment.
What do toilet paper and the Star Trek Enterprise have in common?
They both travel around Uranus looking for klingons.
Some days I am a very proud auntie.
Stealing that! Thank you! That’s going on my Trekkie dad’s birthday card.
I think they designed her outfit on the cover, for starters.
Totally agree with dressing for other women. I like to look put together and know I hit the mark when my female coworkers and friends remark on style. My SO def does like my style but he def prefers more boobs and legs than what would be tasteful.
Love that metallic leather skirt in last photo! Swoon.
LOL. I remember back in HS a guy friend made a comment saying that he doesn’t understand why women fuss over fashion, and that if he were a girl he would wear mini shirts and just a bra all the time and wouldn’t even bother with anything else and look hot for all the boys. I still LOL and face palm till this day when I think about it.
Yes, but because Karma is who she is, this guy probably has a daughter now, and will have to deal with her thinking that way…
She’s made the most of what she has.
I like that Joni Mitchell put the kibosh on it but I thought that Taylor was supposed to be playing Carly Simon??? She would be miscast to depict either of these women; she’s too self-involved and does not have enough gravitas.
Nevertheless, she should crossover into acting at some point in the future.
Ugh, thank God I’m not the only one who thinks this. I’ll never forget her “special place in hell” comment. Everyone seems to have bought her act. I heard she is one of the most unapproachable and stiff celebs in the music industry but really hams it up for the cams, I’m not trying to smear her name but it’s just something one of my friends told me when she worked on a few gigs for her and now that she’s ben manipulating her image so well, she thinks it’s ridiculous.
Her song ‘Blank space’ is incredibly apt. That’s all I see when I look at her.
She’s savvy very savvy is Swifty. She has my grudging respect for that but I don’t think I’ll ever fully be Team Swifty because I think she’s still the same judgy, insecure, person underneath. If this new Taylor hangs around for a couple more years then I’ll buy that she’s grown up and changed.
If Taylor started dating tomorrow all of her progress would be out the window. For a moment there, she was criticized for just hanging around male friends like the late Cory Monteith. I don’t blame her for doing anything. She got mocked for doing typical late teens/early 20s things like dating casually.
Am I supposed to dislike her for this? Frankly, I think she’s wise to conscientiously avoid being a magnet for losers and leeches. I keep feeling like the media wants me to dislike this woman but aside from her sometimes tiring “twee-ness,” I really don’t think there’s much negative there to latch on to. She’s savvy, tries to maintain a positive attitude and dedicates loads of her time to visiting and supporting sick children. I’m not buying the hate for her.
I really like this interview. I understand that a lot of people think that this is the time in her life where she should be making mistakes and dating crazy guys, but what if that’s honestly not what she wants? Some people don’t like partying and drinking every night.
Also, should I note that up until a few months ago the main complaint was that she was an immature serial dater and now I’m reading here that she is being criticized for not dating and letting loose. Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me.
Yeah, I agree.
She’s been making smart PR moves lately. I actually think she was aiming her kingers comment at Beiber since he has his “boys” that seem to do nothing but tell him how great he is.
Yup- Bieber is a perfect example, since EVERYONE in that guy’s life is totally living off of his money and thus not about to tell him that’s he wrong about anything. Which is how you create a monster, by letting a teenage grow up in that environment (and I blame his parents, who seem to be a huge part of that problem).
Yeah well after after dating John Mayer anybody would becomr a PR pro. She no doubt learned the essence of “damage control”. But on the upside, i can appreciate her wholesomeness amongst a sea of slag. It comes off as original. Even though its just another pitch at an image that will no doubt change at some point when she decides to change it up and be more controversial by showing a new riqu”er” image to reinvigorate her career mid 30s. But kudos to her if she keeps to her convictions that convey integrity.
I have never dressed for my friends men/women but for my self! She sounds like a teenager conforming to what her ‘female’ friends wear! Just have to look at her and Karlie Kloss and I need not say anymore.
My theory is they’re secretly dating, and have just started “twinning” like a lot of same-sex couples tend to do.
I saw them at the Jimmy Kimmel show, Guillermo was doing the “mirror” interview and Taylor was sitting on Karlie’s lap. For some reason It looks like they are a couple, looked kind of intimate.
We know she only likes friends that are highly famous and of the moment popular. She posts pictures every time she hangs with another celebrity. Also seems like if someone is newly very famous it’s only a matter of time before Taylor is spotted with them or comments on having hung out with them. She thinks people don’t see this?!
I think only a handful see it, everyone else has bought her new PR stint. Whatever happened to Hayley Williams, Jessica Szhor, Dianna Agron, etc? She says she never felt like the popular girl and was always the outcast or whatever but hanging out with Lorde, Karlie and becoming relevant because she’s milking Bieber again, Selena Gomez, says otherwise. Shoot. What if Katy Perry said IS true and she really is like a Regina George in sheeps clothing?
Whether she intended it or not, I read some very subtle shade thrown at a certain has been former country star. Jobless? Wearing the same boots all year? Not hanging out one’s a$$ or wonky boobs? Having real friends (and not Lizyred cling-ons)? Hope LeAnn is reading from Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
Maybe if she didn’t have bitchy women whining and judging her every move, it would be easier to live life making mistakes and not worrying about being critiqued. I wish she would adopt the “I don’t give a fu@k” attitude because she may not know it yet, but these types will find anything to bitch about.
And, I love her anti-clinger on stance. This seems to be so rare with celebs. Justin bieber, drake, rihanna, fist brown, etc. all have a bunch of clinging, no lives having “friends.” Their main purpose in life is following someone around kissing ass 24/7.
You are so right. I am so sad that people, mostly other women, have been so mean to her and hyper-focused on her dating choices. Why is that? She has high standards and low tolerance for BS, so its not surprising that some of the relationships don’t last long. I hope she doesn’t let these jerks continue to stop her from finding someone she will be happy with.
Awwww. I ADORE Taylor and have adored her since that very first song came out on country radio. But I agree with the article in that she needs to forget about the haters and LIVE HER LIFE the way she wants. She should be DATING and HAVING FUN. I know she has a better head on her shoulders than most celebrities her age, but she shouldn’t let the people who have nothing better to do than make fun of her stifle her actions. Who cares if she has dated a lot. So because she is picky and doesn’t put up with BS, she deserves to be made fun of? The people who really love you Tay don’t think that way about you. They know you are looking for a mature MAN and a GENTLEMAN and that is really, really hard to find these days. Don’t let these fools stop you from finding love Tay. Its out there and I know you will find your guy.
I really like her for saying she doesn’t want to have fake friends, people who live off of her and work as professional BFF. But then I’m wondering… how DO you get good friends at that level of fame and schedule? I have a hard time getting together with some of my good friends because we are all busy, so how would a famous person managed to pull it off? Must be a lonely existence without professional BFFs?
I think that’s why all her friends are famous at this point. Who else is going to understand what her life is like? She’s still friends with her non-famous HS bff– I see them together on Instagram occassionally.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from celebrity gossip watching is this: If a celeb goes on about how they are not like other celebs in x y or z, then they are very much like them and are probably worse in some ways. Yes people don’t just exist as “friends.” I bet her management team hasn’t told her no on anything in a long time.
Dressing to please women, be it your friends or the whole female population, is just as pathetic. Why don’t you wear whatever you want?
I agree.
The goal shouldn’t be “not being criticized,” the goal should be “owning her mistakes and not caring if she’s criticized.”
I hope all women have that goal, I used to be like this myself-so afraid of being criticized by epopel who were insecure themselves so I didn’t express a personality. I must have been so boring to be around so then i became so bored with other girls like that. I think age and maturity helps you to better shrug off the criticisms. Part of the difficulty is when you’re young you don’t know who you are so when you’re judged you think well i wasn’t sure about this myself so maybe it is stupid.
I don’t see her goal as “not being criticized.” She talks about turbulence being a good thing. She’s doing awesome right now with album sales, etc. I liked what she had to say, definitely a fan.
I think her comments about “avoiding criticism” are really indicative of her age. I used to think that way too when I was younger, and I have no doubt it’s exacerbated in her mind by being aware of what it means to be a high profile female celebrity. Now that I’m at the stage where I actually feel like an “adult,” I know it is more about accepting the fact that you will make mistakes and then owning them. You have to turn that narcissistic energy you waste in worrying about what others think about you into something that’s externally productive. The more you think about how your actions affect others, the less mistakes you make in the long run, anyway.
Rock on, Taylor. Just ignore the haters.
Gimme a break. I see through the self-involved, self-righteous veneer. Nobody that self-obsessed is humble. Blech.
Swiftly is kicking a–and taking names-I like it!