Concert or fashion show? What Swifties are wearing to The Eras Tour

Sequined skirts, lavish gowns and an armful of friendship bracelets. These were just some of the looks local and overseas Swifties wore as they milled around the National Stadium.

The highly anticipated The Eras Tour concert began today (Mar 2) with the doors opening at 4pm. But even at 2.30pm, throngs of fans had already gathered outside to take pictures, trade bracelets and just bask in the excitement of the day. 

As seen from the slew of social media posts, The Eras Tour experience began long before the Grammy-Award winning singer takes centre stage. In fact, the pre-concert prep took months as fans planned, bought or even made their outfits and stash of friendship bracelets. And let's not forget about hair and makeup.

Here are what some Swifties were wearing on The Best Day (Taylor’s Version). 

Malaysian Khairina, 23, an auditor and her friend Sofea, 23, an advisory with an auditing company, took over five hours to get ready.

Khairina, who was inspired by the Lover era, wore pink from head to toe. She donned a tinsel jacket, cowboy hat and even meticulously placed rhinestones in the shape of a heart around her eye. 

Meanwhile, Sofea wore a long, black dress adorned with rhinestones as inspired by Bejeweled from the Midnights album.

When asked if it was difficult to find modest outfits, Khairina said: "Not really because I have been to a few concerts before. But I would say the choices are limited."

Concert-goers had no trouble identifying fellow Swifties. "We just met each other at our hotel," said Jayson Arenas, 28, referring to the group of fellow Filipino fans he was with.

Reigna Louise Abella, 28, added that the moment they saw each other in their elaborate outfits, they knew they were going to the same show and decided to go together.

Hong Kong-based tech entrepreneur Karena Belin, 49, flew in with her daughter Clarisse Belin, 12, just for today's gig.

Clarisse said she has been a Swiftie since she was two, and decided to go for a look inspired by The Man after seeking advice from her friend. 

"And I just had to match, so here we go," quipped Karena, who had attended the 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour in Tokyo. 

Singaporeans Divitra Chandra, 26, and Kristian Lenardt, 23, said their outfits were mostly thrifted. But considering they both work for local vintage and rework brand Vintagekwnd, that was hardly surprising.

Kristian shared that his look was influenced by the Lovers album. Divitra, on the other hand, took a more unconventional route. Instead of specific eras or songs, she based her outfit on one of her favourite colours, pink. 

“I’m looking forward to just vibe with everyone. I think it’s really great to see everyone come here for one single reason and yeah, I love that,” said Kristian.