Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour: Fan Fashion, Denver night 1 / July 27, 2023 by Liz Brown

I’ve typically divided each post by era, but I’m doing something different with this one, since I’ve got so many photos from before the show and during the show. We’ll have our intro (Taylor-gating in the parking lots beforehand), a verse for every era, a chorus (Eras Tour vibes in general), and an outro (the parking lot celebrations during the show). Thank you for letting me be a part of your best day.

xoxo Liz

P.S. If you see yourself and would like your photo, please email me at estorie@outlook.com (specify which image is you!). If you’d like to hire me, please email me, too. Lastly, if you’d like to support a local artist, my venmo is @estorie. If everyone sent me even $20, I could pay my bills for the next month! Thank you!

P.P.S. The other nights I’ve photographed can be found here:
Tampa, night 2
Tampa, night 3
Nashville, night 1
Nashville, night 1 (the bridge)
Detroit, night 1

the intro (Taylor-gating)

“You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.” Thsi group of gals was THE most fun. They had games with prizes, a cocktail menu, Taylor’s cookie recipe, and banners. 10/10 Eras Tour parking lot setup.

An interlude: Karaoke

Some folks set up a karaoke station by one of the gates and when I say I am obsessed! It was such a pure moment, girlies singing, other folks walking by and dancing and singing along. The joy it brought was tangible, beautiful, singable.

verse 1 (debut)

verse 2 (fearless)

verse 3 (Speak Now)

verse 4 (red)

verse 5 (1989)

Chorus (the Eras Tour)

verse 6 (reputation)

verse 7 (Lover)

Verse 8 (folklore)

Verse 9 (evermore)

verse 10 (midnights)

Outro (parking lot celebration)

These two took off running shortly after I took this photo; we watched them, curious, and saw them run up the hill and into the venue—our whole section internally cheering for their success!

long live.

Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour: Fan Fashion, Detroit night 1 / July 5, 2023 by Liz Brown

welcome to detroit—it’s been waiting for you!

I was talking to some new friends last night about how special this project has been: I get to bear witness to people’s best days, to document their best dresses, and to see firsthand their fearless determination to make it to these shows. There’s so much hard work and camaraderie and joy that lead into this spaces and I get to be a fly on the wall for all this beauty. Every time, both in photographing these days and in writing about them, I tear up because this is so special. It’s the intersection of fashion, music, community—all my favorite things—and I could do this forever. Thank you so much for trusting me with your faces, you stories, your best days.

xoxo Liz

P.P.S. The other nights I’ve photographed can be found here:
Tampa, night 2
Tampa, night 3
Nashville, night 1
Nashville, night 1 (the bridge)

the eras tour

debut

fearless

speak now

red

1989

reputation

lover

folklore

evermore

midnights

I had the best day with you today

so make the friendship bracelets

you can face this

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Fan Fashion, Nashville night 1 / May 23, 2023 by Liz Brown

Taylor has a little speech before “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” where she talks about how she’s written about some of the most painful moments of her life and she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to sing them in front of a crowd like this—seventy thousand, no less! But the fans, the listeners, the readers, the swifties, transformed the song into something differently entirely as they listened to it, championed it, understood it, sang it back to her. Instead of ten minutes of pain, the song became ten minutes of beauty, of connection.

This grandma-granddaughter due made their own shirts to mimic the Eras Tour poster, featuring photos of the two of them.

I could dwell on all the ways my day in Nashville went wrong, from the three hours of sleep to getting stranded in Indiana (don’t ride Greyhound, like ever), but instead I want to dwell on, to remember those moments of connection. Every time I think: what if I didn’t go, I’d have saved so much money and gained so much sleep—then I remember Gillian and Meredith and the other people I talked to throughout the day. I don’t want to give those moments, those conversations, those connection, those memories up. So herein likes the exchange.

This gal is a teacher (she saw several of her students at the show). She began designing her jacket to feature her favorite songs, but as the project progressed, she decided to add more details and ended up added some sort of design (some where small) for **every single Taylor Swift song**. The dedication!!!

Giving up the past pain means also exchanging the connection and in this case, the cost isn’t worth it. So I sit in my Music City Thrift camo cargo pants (a huge thank you to the person at Crema that recommended it because it was AMAZING) and remind myself of the same thing Taylor reminds herself and reminds us every weekend: the story can be rewrtitten, the songs can be recorded, the memory can be something beautiful, if only you sing along.

This time around, it felt like I took less photos (I didn’t) because I had more conversations. I’m excited to share some of these stories with you. This is Eras Tour Nashville, night 1. The sections are organized, more or less, by eras, with the exception of the first two sections. <3

on a wednesday, I mean Friday, in cafe

Even before I actually officially began working, I met a few folks at coffee shops (because really all I ever do is thrift and drink coffee when I travel) and asked to take their photos.

this is what it feels like

I’ve been photographing Gracie for a few years and it made me so happy that she had fans who turned out to Eras Tour just for her!!!

and i’m wearing my heart on my sleeve

and that’s the way i loved you

if this was a movie

That skirt was handmade by the gal wearing it and there’s a layer for every era—I never would’ve thought to do something so creative!

This person told me they were hoping boygenius would appear during Phoebe’s set—and they were dressed up as the actual story of us. So if you need someone to manifest something, this is your person.

and you were tossing me your car keys…

Starbucks lovers

‘cause look at your face

Guys. This Twister outfit. Original, creative, water resistant. Literally mastermind-level of creativity.

You can’t forget the getaway car.

it’s a cruel summer with you

These gals had a whole table set up in the parking lot where they gave away free bracelets and also let swifties make their own—I am obsessed.

giving me your weekends

Read the mom’s shirt.

long story short, i survived

midnights become my afternoons

Her fella was there, too, but he wasn’t really dressed up, so he let her have he main character moment and I’m obsessed with that energy.

This couple was walking in front of me (that is candid!) and I scurried up to nervously ask them for a photo, but there was no need to be nervous because they were super nice and so eager to dress up and pose!

Joey was honestly one of the most high-energy fun swifties I’ve met! We made eye contact from across the merch area and he was ready for that photo!

And just like any great Taylor Swift song, the night ended with a bridge…

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: The Bridge (Nashville) / May 7, 2023 by Liz Brown

the bridge

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Fan Fashion, Tampa night 3 / April 20, 2023 by Liz Brown

Welcome to the Eras Tour!

Frankly, I was a bit nervous about these shows. I tried to get tickets to Taylor’s SNL performance and it was a huge mess, with running and crying—disorganization and people almost getting trampled.

Taylor’s music felt sacred to me and my friends and my girlhood and growth and if this is what the wider scope of the community was, I didn’t want it.

Though usually a joyful space, even Tik Tok sometimes felt like it was full of fans trying to prove they know the most, have been a fan the longest, love Taylor best. This scarcity mindset felt rampant and I was nervous to embark on this photo journey, nervous that this was what I would encounter. Would I be judged? Quizzed? Doubted?

Instead, I was met with the opposite. People looked out for each other, laughedFolks welcomed me into their circles, asked genuine questions, chatted with me, and I took photos. I was given friendship bracelets, water. People looked out for each other, laughed, made friends. I was told stories about embroideries and families and how outfits were chosen and what they meant. Everything was drenched in that sacred feeling that I was scared of losing. It was beautiful and I’m no longer afraid to enter in.

Because right there where we stood: was holy ground.

If you see yourself and would like your photo, please email me at estorie@outlook.com. If you would like to hire me, please email me, too. Lastly, if you’d like to support a local artist, my venmo is @estorie. Thank you!

stay beautiful

i know i had the best day with you today

i was enchanted to meet you

tonight’s the night when we forget about the heartbreaks

we’re all here—the lights and noise are blinding

so it goes…

you could stay

who knows, if i never showed up, what could’ve been

but there was happiness because of you

checkmate, i couldn’t lose

so make the friendship bracelets

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Fan Fashion, Tampa night 2 / April 16, 2023 by Liz Brown

We brought our best dresses, our best friends, and our big reputations. We came with our friendship bracelets and left in our getaway cars. We took the moment and saw something they can’t take away.

There’s just one who could make us stay in that merch line that long and travel from across the country to Tampa, Florida, of all places, to stand in the sun for hours, waiting for the countdown clock to appear. Spoiler: her name is Taylor Swift.

And in that moment, as the lights turned down, and “it’s been a long time coming” poured over Raymond James Stadium, it turned into something bigger, all of us together. And the best part is, none of us were ever alone.

Long live, the looks on all your faces, the magic we made: thank you for letting me capture it. I had the time of my life taking pictures with you. You’re beautiful.

*Yes, I cried writing this; someone please hire me to do this forever. Yes, the person or people on the stage are important, but this—the friendship, the dancing, the dresses, the people coming together because the same words make them feel understood—this is what it’s all about. This is what the songs have become: stories and bracelets that tie us all together, and, god, if there’s one thing I want to do forever, it’s tell these stories.

Welcome to the Eras Tour!

Speak Now

A lot going on at the moment

already flying through the free fall

Reputation precedes me

nothing good starts in a getaway car

Can I go where you go?

Shining Just for You

Tuesday Night at Olive Garden—I mean, Friday afternoon at Burger King

midnights like this

So make the friendship bracelets

Girl in Red: Brooklyn Steel / April 4, 2023 by Liz Brown

girl in red captivated the room at Brooklyn Steel, following Holly Humberstone’s magical set.

Holly Humberstone & fans: Metro, Chicago / March 5, 2023 by Liz Brown

Harry's House Chicago, Night 6: Fan Fashion / November 18, 2022 by Liz Brown

Night 6 is here! If you’d like to see the other nights, the New York ones from last year are here and here and here and Chicago night 1 is here, night 2 is here, night 3 is here, and night 5 is here.

Thank you for everyone who let me take their photos! If you see yourself and would like your photo, please email me at estorie@outlook.com.

Also, if you like these photos and would like to hire me, email me!
And if you’d like to support a local artist, my venmo is @estorie. Thank you!

Harry’s House

“…or is it?”

This section is for all the proud and dedicated parents who made these nights happen! Watching them watch their kids was one of my favorite things.

sign me up!

“i can still make the whole place shimmer.”

lights up

watermelon sugar… and pizza

and we danced all night…

What are the odds that I’d run into New Rules again?!

the end

Thanks for joining me on this adventure! Let me know what community I should document next!

Harry's House Chicago, Night 5: Fan Fashion / November 3, 2022 by Liz Brown

Night 5! If you’d like to see the other nights, the New York ones from last year are here and here and here and Chicago night 1 is here, night 2 is here, and night 3 is here.

Thank you for everyone who let me take their photos! If you see yourself and would like your photo, please email me at estorie@outlook.com.

Also, if you like these photos and would like to hire me, email me!
And if you’d like to support a local artist, my venmo is @estorie. Thank you!