ModCloth Is Teaming Up With Malala for a Really Cool Reason

Folklore

The surprise release of Folklore, which Taylor began writing in April of 2020 and dropped in July, came at a time when the world felt more confused and alarmed than ever. Folklore perfectly touches on the fact that emotions were running high and escapism played a huge role in the everyday. "August" touches on yearning and hope for a love that's not reciprocated, while "Mirrorball" is a glittery explanation of how easily Taylor (and a lot of us, really) falls apart. "Cardigan" is both a love letter to her fans and a celebration of unconditional love and second chances.

"Folklore resonates with me the most," says Head of Content Ali Ives. "The collab with Bon Iver [on "Exile"] is what originally got my attention, but the album also dropped during peak pandemic times when the world still felt mostly shutdown. It definitely left an impact."

Not only does the folky production serve as a callback to Taylor Swift's original country days, but the toned-down aesthetic reflects a period in time none of us will ever forget. Folklore takes a melancholy yet romantic approach to life, and listening to it in the entire thing feels like one long poem. It is truly a no-skip album.

1989, Taylor's first fully pop album came in October of 2014, and we're convinced the cover art conveys the themes of the album before you even press play. Because the polaroid photograph cuts off Taylor's eyes, it serves to show how constrained she feels, and how much she feels like she has to hide. We couldn't agree with The New York Times more when they said "By making pop with almost no contemporary references, Ms. Swift is aiming somewhere even higher, a mode of timelessness that few true pop stars...even bother aspiring to."

The satire of "Blank Space" feels nearly Shakespearean in its genius, and slower ballads like "Clean" cut straight to your heart every single time you listen. The production of "Wonderland" and "I Know Places" capture the chaos of having public relationships.

The album's full of the kinds of songs that get stuck in your head for years, not days. While the lyrics aren't Taylor's deepest, the melodies, production, and overall aesthetic have been cemented in pop culture history forever. We aren't the only ones who think so — it went on to be certified nine-times platinum (which means it sold one million units nine times). From "Style" to "Out Of The Woods" to "New Romantics" it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite.

After a first listen, The Tortured Poets Departmentis one of my favorite Taylor Swift albums. And after almost 20 years, the fact that she can release music unlike anything I've ever heard — and evokes different emotions than her other albums — is a feat in and of itself. The album has so many vocal and musical layers, and it is truly the sad version of 1989 or Lover. It's cinematic, complicated, and honestly sounds the way looking at an old Tumblr post feels.

The Tortured Poets Department is like listening to the five stages of grief, and it really dives into a period of Taylor's life where she had to say goodbye endless times: to a relationship, to the future they were preparing, even to a potential wedding.

Taylor Swift might not be a stranger to writing about heartbreak, but she does it in a whole new way for TTPD. Swifties were wondering if all of TS11 would feel like "You're Losing Me," and it turns out we were right. Each track explores themes like depression and uncertainty more in-depth than she's ever done before. Taylor isn't holding back any punches this time around, and she's laying it all out with lyrics like "F*ck it if I can't have him // I might just die, it would make no difference" on "Down Bad" and "How much sad did you think I had // Did you think I had in me? // How much tragedy?" in "So Long, London." We've seen sad Taylor before — but this is a whole new side of her.

Red (Taylor's Version)

While we didn't get "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)" on the first go 'round, we have to lead with it. "ATWTMVTVFTV" (as the kids on TikTok call it) perfectly captures the spirit and the strengths of the 2012 album. It also went on to win the VMA for Video of the Year and the Grammy for Best Music Video. Throughout the fan-favorite song, Taylor brings up hyper-specific details that create images in your mind the same way your favorite novel does.

"Musically and lyrically, Red resembled a heartbroken person," Taylor says in the official Instagram announcement. "It was all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end. Happy, free, confused, lonely, devastated, euphoric, wild, and tortured by memories past."

With ethereal background vocals grounded by a mix of country, pop, and rock production, the album — like the autumn aesthetic is pairs so well with — is all about complexity. The beauty of falling in love, the pain when you hit the ground, and warmth of finding someone to sit with among it all. Red (Taylor's Version) feels like you're listening to her diary entries more than just a mainstream pop song, and it really does capture what it feels like to be "happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time" when you're in your early 20s, as she sings on "22."

Fearless (Taylor's Version)

Fearless, which originally released in 2008, is definitely the album that cemented Taylor Swift as an global artist. Her storytelling, production, and the way she crafted the album as a whole proved her ability to balance grounded authenticity and the enchanting allure she became known for at this period in her life.

The album debuted at number 1 and went on to make Taylor Swift the youngest person to ever win Album of the Year at the Grammys.

While more polished than Taylor's preceding debut album, the raw emotion of Fearless almost perfectly translates what it feels like to navigate high school. Fairytale lyrics like "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone / I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run / You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess" stand in stark contrast to painfully realistic lyrics like "When you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them." We should've known from the start how versatile her songwriting would be!

Evermore

Instead of a few hits and a few beautifully-written songs, Evermore has the most of Taylor's best songwriting on one album — and it continually tricks people into thinking it's Shakespeare. "Now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon" and "I'll meet you where the spirit meets the bones" are without a doubt some of the craziest lyrics we've ever heard.

Considered to be Folklore's wintry sister, almost every song on Evermore is inventive and emotional. It has the same toned-down production as its sister album, letting Taylor's songwriting shine, but it has a little bit more warmth that rounds out the listening experience. However, it's not quite as cohesive as some of her other records.

Consider Taylor Swift's latest record-breaker as a mix between Reputation and 1989. Songs like "Question...?" have the upbeat pop sound to get you into a party mood, while "Snow on the Beach" is a hesitant, awe-struck look at falling in love and the devastating "Maroon" examines a love gone wrong. The album looks back at all kinds of relationships — including Taylor's relationship with herself — but does so in such a cheeky way that it feels like Taylor's winking at you every time you listen.

Midnights is the perfect album for something like the Eras Tour because of the fact that it spans so many years, and detail-oriented fans will be able to spot which song lines up with which period in her life. However, the album doesn't go as deep as it could, and the song with the most cutting lyrics ("Would've, Could've, Should've) appears on the extended edition.

Reputation, which came after the internet seeming turned against Taylor Swift and she disappeared from public view, is a love album at its core. Despite the snake facade and using "Look What You Made Me Do" as the lead single, the album's thesis can be summed up in its last two romantic, slowed-down songs: "Call It What You Want" and "New Year's Day." Both of these songs show how Taylor feels like she can rest when she's with the person she loves, and how much she enjoys doing the boring aspects of life with her partner just because they're doing them together.

"I feel like Reputation is actually more relatable than it lets on!" says Editor Haley Sprankle. "The put-on persona is a mask to hide how 'she's just too soft for all of it' à la 'Sweet Nothing' [from 2022's Midnights]."

"Reputation is definitely more complex than people give it credit for," Assistant Editor Chloe Williams adds. "It's playful and vulnerable — not just dramatic (although, Taylor did say she avoided press and came up with 'there will be no explanation, there will just be reputation' because she is, in fact, dramatic.)"

Just like Taylor herself, the album is multi-faceted and often misunderstood. Look close enough and you'll see that there's still glitter and color and life hidden beneath Reputation's armor.

Speak Now (Taylor's Version)(which originally dropped in 2010) captures the starry-eyed, romantic worldview you can have in your tween and teen years. We have referred to this era as Taylor's Princess Era on more than one occasion, and both the album's content and the era's aesthetic lend itself to that.

"Enchanted" retells a meet-cute in glittering hindsight, while "Long Live" uses fantasy imagery to convey how empowered Taylor's career thus far made her feel. It's also the first Taylor Swift album she wrote entirely on her own! However, aside from a couple incredibly mature songs (looking at you, "Last Kiss"), Speak Now lacks some of the more clever lyrics featured on her later work.

Taylor Swift (often referred to as Debut) is the Taylor Swift album we'd say is the most under-appreciated. It translates the ferocity and punch of girlhood very well, and while it's not her strongest album, it is incredible for the age that she wrote it. Taylor Swift balances a bubbly outlook on life with more difficult realities, and the comparison of tracks like "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" shows she can celebrate the good parts of love and criticize the hard parts with equal power.

"Debut is underrated, I loved following Taylor from the very beginning (teardrops will always be on my metaphorical guitar)," social lead Mallory Levy says. "I love the unpolished excitement that comes out in 'Should've Said No,' 'Picture To Burn,' and 'I'm Only Me When I'm With You.'"

Lover

Lover is perhaps Taylor Swift's most fun album. The bright aesthetic, lyrical imagery, and (of course) hits like "Cruel Summer" make this the *perfect* album to listen to when you need a dose of summer cheer. It's a celebration of every single kind of love — including fighting through the difficult parts of a love you don't want to end.

While Lover is very clever, it's not as complex as her other work, especially at this point in her career. The 18 tracks feel like they only scratch at the surface of her emotions instead of diving deep into them. However, if we were ranking Taylor's discography by songs alone, the emotional, hopeful, and Easter egg-filled "Daylight" is without a doubt in the top three.