Taylor Swift's Inspiration For Her Prom Dress Was A Dreamy Gwyneth Paltrow Gown
Before the glitz and glamour of fame and walking red carpets in lavish couture gowns, the fashion highlight of Taylor Swift's early teenage years was high school prom. Like many girls her age in the early 2000s, Swift was browsing the latest fashion trends in a magazine when she spotted a photo of Gwyneth Paltrow's dreamy pink Ralph Lauren Oscar gown.
"I was 15 and going to prom for the first time, and I saw that picture of Gwyneth in the pink gown," the singer recalled to Harper's Bazaar. She tore the photo out and went on a dress-hunting quest. "I went all over the mall and showed it to all the store owners and said, 'Do you have anything that looks like this?' And no one did." Still heartbroken over the disappointment, she added, "So there's that. That's a sad story for you."
While there weren't any available versions of Paltrow's princess-style Oscar gown, the look inspired Swift's actual prom dress. The "Today Was a Fairytale" singer wore an ivory satin tube gown featuring a ruffled tulle hem design by Jessica McClintock. To complete the ensemble, she wore dangling crystal earrings and strappy kitten-heel slippers, along with her flower-adorned wrist corsage. "There's just something so feminine about a dress," Swift told Harper's Bazaar. "Whether it's a summertime dress that makes me feel carefree, an evening cocktail dress that makes me feel fancy, or a vintage dress that makes me feel like a '50s housewife...I just really like dresses."
Taylor Swift Had One More Prom & Two More Prom Dresses
After Taylor Swift's prom, she would release her breakout single "Tim McGraw" in 2006 at just 16 years old, and as we all know, the rest is history. During her rise, the "You Belong With Me" singer appeared on MTV's reality show "Once Upon a Prom" in 2008. Swift selected a lucky fan, Whit Wright, and accompanied him to his prom. This time around, the singer had several beautiful dresses to choose from – with two wardrobe changes that evening.
For her first look, the singer wore a taupe BCBG chiffon gown with a rhinestone-embellished bodice, much to her date's approval. Swift also rocked her naturally curly hair that had become her signature hairstyle by this point in her career. "She was more beautiful than I ever imagined," Wright said. However, he later explained that he wore a pink tie and vest to honor his aunt who had breast cancer. The touching gesture immediately sent Swift to the back of her tour bus, where she changed into a coordinating pastel pink beaded Sue Wong dress.
As for Swift's original Jessica McClintock-designed prom dress, it was donated to a charity auction in 2009, per NBC Washington. "I chose to give away this prom dress because I wore it once and loved it," she said, according to The Boot. "I want another girl somewhere to feel good in it and have a great prom night because of this dress." Not nearly as costly as Taylor Swift's many eye-wateringly expensive red-carpet outfits, the dress sold for $1,200.