Taylor Swift kicked off her long-awaited Eras Tour on Friday, March 17. As soon as the openers hit the stage, my TikTok page was full of people going live at the concert. In the following days, I began seeing hundreds more videos, including advice and insider tips.

So, here is my ultimate guide to Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.

Timing

At least in Glendale, Arizona, the stadium doors opened at 4:30 p.m. for guests. I’m assuming this will be the same for most locations since that is two hours before the show starts. The first opener (which varies by location) goes on at 6:30 p.m. and the second thirty minutes later. There is half an hour between the second opener and Swift being on stage. Once Swift goes on at 8, she goes through 44 songs, plus one spoken song, in the next three hours and thirteen minutes.

Setlist

If you want absolutely no spoilers before your Eras show and don’t want to know which songs will be playing, I suggest you quickly skip through this part. From the two Glendale shows, it is to be assumed that the set lists are staying pretty much the same and only a couple of songs will switch. Swift made it through all of her ten eras, or albums, on the first night of the show but unfortunately for her debut album lovers, her first album made no appearance on the second Glendale night. Every other era makes an appearance in this order: Lover, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), evermore, reputation, Speak Now, Red (Taylor’s Version), folklore, 1989, and Midnights.

The full setlist, according to @swiftieriot on TikTok:

1. “Miss Americana & the Heart Break Prince”
2. “Cruel Summer”
3. “The Man”
4. “You Need to Calm Down”
5. “Lover” (acoustic)
6. “The Archer”
7. “Fearless”
8. “You Belong with Me”
9. “Love Story”
10. “‘tis the d*** season”
11. “willow”
12. “marjorie”
13. “champagne problems”
14. “tolerate it”
15. “…Ready For It?”
16. “Delicate”
17. “Don’t Blame Me”
18. “Look What You Made Me Do”
19. “Enchanted”
20. “22”
21. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
22. “I Knew You Were Trouble”
23. “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)”
24. “seven” (spoken)
25. “invisible string”
26. “betty”
27. “the last great american dynasty”
28. “august”
29. “illicit affairs”
30. “my tears ricochet”
31. “cardigan”
32. “Style”
33. “Blank Space”
34. “Shake It Off”
35. “Wildest Dreams”
36. “Bad Blood”
37. Suprise Song
38. Suprise Song
39. “Lavender Haze”
40. “Anti-Hero”
41. “Midnight Rain”
42. “Vigilante S***”
43. “Bejeweled”
44. “Mastermind”
45. “Karma”

Since Swift never wants to repeat her surprise songs, so far “Mirrorball,” “Tim McGraw,” “This is Me Trying,” and “State of Grace” are out of the running for future shows. 

Merch

My best advice is that if the tour merch you want is available online, buy it. While there is tour-exclusive merch, the lines are hours long. The best time to get the tour-exclusive merch is right when the stadium opens, but even then expect to wait in lines for at least one hour long. Unless you’ve seen specific tour-exclusive merch you want, order online. In all honesty, the t-shirts that are available online are better—there’s one for each era. The sweatshirts are very similar to what is online. Unfortunately for me, I am a sucker for quarter-zips and there is a tour-exclusive one. I will likely be standing in those hours-long lines for that quarter-zip.

Clothing

The Eras Tour has so many different options for outfits. Pretty much anything can be worn, from a ball gown-style dress to a Taylor Swift shirt and jeans. However, any light-up outfits will not fly at these shows. But if you want to embrace the “eras” idea, here are some ideas on what to wear based on your favorite album.

For Swift’s debut album, Taylor Swift, opt for a more “cowboy” look. This album was a country album, so keep that in mind. When I think of outfits for her debut album, I think white with western accents. Personally, I will be wearing a white dress with a cowboy hat. Another color option to tie in is light blue. Light blue is the associated color with the album, so if you pair it with some boots or a cowboy hat, it’ll be clear what you’re dressing as. I always think of outfits for this album being more delicate and young and frilly because of Swift’s young age and style when it was released. Denim is definitely a good option for bottoms, whether shorts, skirts, or jeans, with a light and airy tank. If you want to dress as a recreation of one of Swift’s outfits from this era, I’d suggest the blue dress from her “Our Song” music video. Find a light blue strapless dress to mimic the dress worn by Swift. Although Swift isn’t wearing shoes in the video, please wear some. I’d go with cowboy boots to keep with the theme of the album.

For Fearless, think gold. Gold is the color of Fearless, through and through. This album was still in Swift’s early country days so cowboy boots are still a good footwear option. If you want to wear a dress, white can still work, but champagne or light gold would lean more into Fearless than Debut. As for recreations, a silver tassel dress can channel an iconic Fearless tour outfit. Or you can think of more “Love Story” music video and wear a cream-colored corset with a similar color dress or skirt. On the casual side, may I suggest a DIY Junior Jewels shirt from the “You Belong With Me” music video? Grab a white t-shirt and some fabric markers, and your era will be easily recognizable.

There is no doubt that purple embodies Speak Now. Basically, anything purple will show your favorite album. A gold tassel dress is also an easily recognizable Speak Now outfit since Swift wore one on tour. Pair the gold dress with black boots to give the outfit a true recreation. If you really wanted to go all out, find yourself a champagne-colored ball gown (or maybe a shorter version so as to not obstruct the people around you) and channel your inner “Enchanted,” since that’s the only Speak Now song on the setlist. 

What to wear for Red is literally in the name. Literally anything bright red is perfect. Horizontal black and white stripes were also big with Swift during this era. Red heart sunglasses are a perfect accessory for any Red outfit. Swift dressed a lot more casually during this era, so a shirt and a pair of shorts totally work. A simple DIY idea would be writing “not a lot going on at the moment” on a white t-shirt. And of course, rock a red lip.

Skater skirts, crop tops, bomber jackets, tasseled two-pieces: welcome to 1989. A metallic skater skirt truly embodies the 1989 tour. Paired with a sparkly black crop top and a bomber jacket if it’s a bit cold, a skater skirt is one of the best options. If you want something a bit more fun, Swift brings back the tasseled outfits she used to wear, but as two-piece sets or rompers rather than dresses. If you want to match with a friend for this era, mimic the outfits of Swift and Selena Gomez from the 1989 tour. To dress as Swift, pair a white sparkly top with matching shorts and knee-high (or higher) black boots. For Gomez, wear a sparkly black two-piece set (or romper for the real outfit) and the same boots.

Pretty much anything black will channel reputation, especially if it sparkles. Snakes were a huge part of this era. Any reputation fit needs snake accessories. reputation is the “goth” sister of all other Taylor Swift albums. Newspaper pattern outfits give a nod to the album cover. If you have black combat boots, this is your era to wear them. 

Lover is light. Pastels and pink are this album. The perfect dress for this era in my mind is a Selkie dress, or something similar. The puffy silhouette embraces the airy love of this album. A pastel pantsuit or blazer would be golden for this album because of “The Man.” Swift was unable to go on tour for this album, so there aren’t many performance outfits to recreate. But from the performances she did give, sparkles, pinks, and rainbows are perfect for this era. 

Since folklore was released during COVID-19, we never got to see much of Swift’s style for this album. But, a cardigan is a safe option. Beiges, tans, and creams also give a nod to the album. I’d say this may be one of the hardest albums to dress for since we didn’t get a tour or events to base outfits off of. 

evermore was also released during the pandemic. Dressing for folklore and evermore is pretty similar, but the latter involves more burnt orange and plaid. But, evermore does have an outfit to recreate. By wearing a bright floral dress, you can channel Swift at the 2021 Grammy Awards

Midnights, Swift’s newest release, has quite a few options. Perhaps most iconically, a bejeweled corset from the “Bejeweled” music video. Or, a midnight-blue dress with silver stars. Seventies-inspired outfits with retro collars and corduroy allow for a more casual Midnights-inspired outfit. A lavender fur coat also gives a nod to the “Lavender Haze” music video. 

For all of the above eras, a forever-iconic red lip is perfect.

Additionally, make sure any shoes you wear are comfortable. I’d stay away from heels. You will be on your feet for hours and it would be awful to have your feet hurting at such an amazing concert. Be sure to be prepared with a clear bag for all of your essentials. These bags likely can’t have any decals on them at all, so sorry to anyone who got a custom one for the tour. And in addition to earrings that match your outfit, you may want to invest in some earplugs. Concerts are crazy loud and can make your ears ring afterward, as well as cause hearing damage. There are plenty of concert earplugs on Amazon that allow you to hear everything going on, but limit the exposure to hearing damage. 

If you are lucky enough to be attending the Eras Tour, I hope you keep these things in mind. And if you are yet to have tickets, keep an eye out for tickets that may drop a bit in price a few days before your chosen concert.