Since March, the music icon has been photographed at award shows, walking around New York City, and sitting courtside at an NBA playoff game — usually with her fiancé Travis Kelce in tow.
Naturally, she’s worn statement outfits for each occasion. Designer jackets, expensive jewelry, and luxury handbags remain her signatures.
Some of her recent looks are the epitome of her effortless street style, while others haven’t made much sense. Here’s how we’d rank what she’s worn this year, from her worst ensemble to her best.
Taylor Swift brought back peplum tops in May, but she probably shouldn’t have.
Taylor Swift in New York City on May 14.
Aeon/Getty Images
She was photographed in New York City wearing a $1,190 white button-up blouse from Stella McCartney, $1,350 The Row trousers, sandals from the same brand, and a black leather belt.
The bottom half of the outfit was chic, but her top looked too formal, making the outfit feel corporate.
It couldn’t be saved by Swift’s $4,500 Fendi bag or her Cartier Santos Demoiselle watch.
She chose elevated basics for an NBA playoff game, though they weren’t super memorable.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at a 2026 Knicks and Cavaliers game.
Tim Phillis/AP
Swift and Kelce were sitting courtside when the Knicks played the Cavaliers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
Both wore denim outfits for the game, though Swift’s look was undoubtedly more flashy. She paired $790 Stella McCartney jeans with a black denim jacket and a chain-embellished tank top from the designer.
Swift also sported a Dior purse, Stella McCartney sandals, and an assortment of gold jewelry — including her massive engagement ring.
The outfit was cute, but also simple and a little forgettable.
The musician accepted 7 iHeartRadio awards in a green corseted minidress.
Taylor Swift at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
Wiederhoft designed the ensemble, which was sleeveless and decorated with silver sparkles.
Swift wore it with $36,000 Dena Kemp earrings and Jimmy Choo sandals. The assortment of rings and bracelets she donned also retail for a total of $36,000.
Swift looked pretty, and her outfit was solid. It wasn’t her best look of the year, but it was far from her worst.
Swift’s street style reemerged in April, and it was strong from the start.
Taylor Swift in New York City on April 27.
Aeon/Getty Images
On one New York City outing, Swift paired a striped Staud dress in blue and white with $1,195 Christian Louboutin sandals and a mini Lady Dior bag in yellow.
The outfit was fun and perfect for summer. The mix of diamond and opal jewelry she wore with it only added to the look.
Her date-night style this year has been feminine and flowing.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in New York City on May 15.
DAMEBK/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Just look at the floral Doen dress she wore for a night out with Kelce in May. The off-the-shoulder design had puffed sleeves, a semi-sheer skirt, and a ruffled neckline.
The dress was cute on its own, but looked even better with Swift’s choice of accessories: $920 Aquazzura sandals, gold jewelry, and a small raffia bag.
Swift proved that you can’t go wrong with a classic black-and-white outfit.
Taylor Swift in New York City on May 12.
DAMEBK/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
A different night in New York City, Swift was photographed wearing a white Retrofête minidress. The simple garment had a high neckline, long sleeves, and a short pleated skirt.
On its own, the dress might not have stood out on Swift. However, she accessorized to perfection.
She contrasted the garment with a slouchy Dior purse in black, slingback heels from Gucci, and a ponytail.
Even as a wedding guest, Swift sparkled.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in New York City on May 16.
XNY/Star Max/Getty Images
Swift and Kelce attended a wedding in New York City this month and were photographed outside the event.
While Kelce sported a black Essentials suit with subtle pinstripes, Swift glowed beside him in a shimmering Maria Lucia Hohan gown.
The sleeveless design had waist cutouts, all-over ruching, and thin straps.
It looked stunning on Swift, who wore it with gold Aquazzura sandals and opal jewelry that previously belonged to Elizabeth Taylor (whom Swift name-checked on her latest album).
Flick, an AI filmmaking startup, included a YouTube sizzle reel in its seed round pitch deck.
Courtesy of Flick
The creator economy has captivated notable VCs’ attention and checks.
Some creator-focused startups are raising millions of dollars.
Here are the pitch decks that 47 startups used in Series A, seed, and pre-seed rounds.
The creator economy has bred a generation of startups — from influencer-marketing companies to new social-media experiences.
These startups have captured the attention and wallets of influential venture capitalists and angel investors over the last several years, giving rise to many unicorn valuations in the space.
AI is continuing to fuel investor interest in the creator economy. For instance, Hedra, a generative AI startup used by some creators to make viral content, announced a $32 million Series A led by A16z in 2025.
Other categories, such as social commerce, are also top areas of interest for investors. ShopMy, which previously shared its Series A pitch deck with Business Insider, raised another $147 million in 2025 and was valued at $1.5 billion.
Creators themselves, like Emma Chamberlain and MrBeast, are also raising venture capital for their businesses.
So, how do creator-economy startups land those investments? Often, it starts with a pitch deck.
Lumanu, a creator-focused financial startup, uses a simple pitch deck that’s more of a “conversation guider,” its cofounder and CEO, Tony Tran, told Business Insider.
We talked with founders who’ve pitched their startups to investors about their process. They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding.
Read the pitch decks that helped 47 creator-focused startups fundraise millions of dollars:
Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.
X is reallocating impressions from reposts to the original creators to crackdown on aggregators.
Richard Drury/Getty Images
X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, said the platform is cracking down on copycat creators.
These users are “programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts” for profit, he said.
Bier says to use “Share Video” or “Quote” for proper attribution and to support original creators.
X is introducing new strategies to rein in its copycat economy.
Elon Musk’s social media platform is now cracking down on large accounts that have been “programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts” to game its creator revenue-share program, X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, said.
That program lets eligible creators earn money from engagement on the platform, which has also created an incentive for some accounts to rapidly repost or repackage viral content before the original creator gets the credit.
Over the past month, we have identified a number of large accounts that have been programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts to game the revenue share program and circumvent crediting the original author.
We are now identifying these posts and allocating the…
Bier said X is now identifying those posts and “allocating the impressions entirely to the creator,” an effort aimed at making sure original posters — not aggregators — get paid.
For posts with added commentary, Bier recommended using X’s “Share Video” or “Quote” feature to ensure attribution goes to the original creator.
The move is part of a broader push by X to reduce payouts for aggregators, whose business model has often depended on rapidly repackaging other people’s work for monetizable engagement.
Bier singled out one of the platform’s most prolific posters on Saturday. Mario Nawfal is the CEO of IBC Group, a crypto consulting firm. He also hosts the largest live discussion show on X and has some 3.5 million followers.
Nawfal reposted a video of an ABC News journalist reacting to gunshots fired outside the White House on Saturday. A community note below the post now reads, “OP stole this video without providing credit.”
“Please do not reupload the author’s video: use Quote or Video Reshare,” Bier added. “Your revenue was reduced by 90% last cycle and we’re running out of room to reduce it more.”
Nawfal replied that his account always uses the video reshare option, but it doesn’t work for longer tweets.
That response now also has a community note: “No he doesnt. Here are additional examples just from the last few hours,” the note says, listing three other posts that don’t provide credit. “Chronic content thief.”
The author lets her kids check out at the supermarket.
Courtesy of the author
I let my kids take over the grocery self-checkout.
What started as chaos turned into teamwork and independence.
Grocery shopping became a way to teach practical life skills.
I have always loved grocery shopping with my kids. From the time they were babies and toddlers, I loved putting them in the cart and chatting about what I was buying. It always feels a bit chaotic, but it’s always been one of my favorite things to do with them.
Now that they’re older and have graduated from riding in the cart to walking beside it, I’ve looked for ways to get them more involved in the process. They would help choose produce or grab things off the shelf and put them in the cart.
But then the day came when they wanted to start scanning groceries at the self-checkout. There are three of them, and the thought of them all grabbing items out of the cart and scrambling to scan things seemed like a lot.
But one day I thought, “What the heck, let’s see what happens.”
Things got wild
The first time we did this, it was understandably chaotic. My son (the oldest) insisted on scanning, and the younger girls wanted to scan as well, so there was a lot of grabbing for items and running from the cart to the scanner. Groceries were tossed haphazardly in bags.
I was trying to keep track and make sure everything was actually scanned, and one kid started looking at the candy shelf near the checkout.
When we left, I was sweating. But the kids were so happy. You’d think they had just gotten to drive a spaceship. But no, they literally did a basic grown-up task that many actually dread.
They fell into their own roles
After a few times, they fell into a rhythm that I had no hand in figuring out. Each started to handle their own task while I kept a watchful eye on the cart and made sure everything got scanned. The oldest and the middle work on scanning, even talking to each other to make sure nothing is left behind, or adjusting based on who can pick it up (my son takes care of the heavier items).
Once the item is scanned, it’s passed to the little one, who puts it neatly in the bag or box. When everything’s done, she gets to use the debit card to pay, navigating the prompts on the screen like a pro. It’s a special moment when, as a parent, you can step back and watch your kids figure something out on their own — or better yet, with their siblings.
When I asked them what they liked about helping at the checkout, my son said, “I’m not bored. If I wasn’t helping, I would just be standing and doing nothing, and it’s boring.” It gives them a sense of purpose that’s really fun to see.
We’ve taken it a few steps further
A few years ago, I created a Master Grocery List. It’s laminated, so I use a dry-erase marker to mark the items we need each week. Since the kids have gotten more involved in shopping — and have more opinions on what they’d like to eat — I moved the list to a spot on the fridge that’s easy to access. Now, if they use the last of something, realize they need something for school, or have a supper idea, they’ll add it themselves.
The author has a laminated shopping list for the family.
Courtesy of the author
Since helping with groceries has been a theme in our home lately, I decided to go one step further and hand the phone to my middle child so she could place a pickup order herself. She had the list handy, and I told her the budget. She had a blast and did a really great job, even recommending a smaller size coffee when she saw the prices to make sure she stayed within the budget.
It can be hard to take a step back, but it’s worth it
Part of the fun of raising little humans is teaching them how to do daily tasks and watching them learn how to navigate the world. Basics like doing laundry, loading the dishwasher, and shopping take time for them to figure out, but they end up with a sense of pride and accomplishment as they learn. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
The first time the kids took over at the checkout, I found myself reaching to help multiple times. But given a few extra seconds, they typically figured things out on their own. I’ll still step in if necessary, but I try to wait for them to ask for help rather than just jumping in and taking over.
They’ve made mistakes, and I’ve had to help, but at the end of the shopping trip, they have a sense of accomplishment and ownership. It’s also good for me to step back and let them do so. Up next, I’ll hand off the list in the store and see how it goes.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is scheduled to deliver the commencement speech at Stanford next month.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Sundar Pichai is scheduled to speak at Stanford University’s commencement next month.
Students have booed several execs this year for talking about AI in their speeches.
Pichai is one of the leaders of the AI boom, but says people are “rightfully” anxious.
Tech CEOs have a lot to manage, from earnings calls and board meetings to competition and employee morale.
Now, in the age of AI, they also need a “boo strategy.”
This year, graduates have heckled some executives during commencement speeches after the corporate leaders made optimistic comments about AI, reflecting a growing anxiety among students about to enter the job market.
Students booed former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the University of Arizona, while Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta drew backlash at Middle Tennessee State University after he discussed AI’s impact on music and media.
So the hosts of the tech podcast “Hard Fork” recently asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai what his “boo strategy” will be when he gives the commencement speech at Stanford University next month.
For Pichai, the challenge is real: He leads one of the companies driving the AI boom at a time when many graduates worry the technology could evaporate the jobs they’re about to pursue.
“I’ve always been extraordinarily optimistic about the next generation,” he told the hosts. AI, he said, doesn’t change that. “My goal would be to share my experiences, and that’s what I’m looking to do.”
“These graduates are actually both going to be a big part of driving that progress and also dealing with the impact,” he added, referring to AI.
It’s possible Pichai will be met with a more receptive crowd at Stanford, which is in the heart of Silicon Valley and home to some of the most talked-about AI courses in the country.
Still, the perception of AI among the public is low. A Pew Research Center study found that about half of Americans felt the increased prevalence of AI in their daily lives made them feel “more concerned than excited.” Many Americans across the country, meanwhile, are resisting new data centers in their communities, which are essential to powering AI products like chatbots.
At least a dozen major companies have cited increased efficiency from AI as a factor in their decision to lay off employees this year. And AI has made job-seeking more difficult by prolonging the interview process. The unemployment rate for new grads reached a 4-year high at the start of 2026.
Pichai told “Hard Fork” that people are “rightfully” anxious about what sort of future the technology will create. “Humans aren’t evolved to process that much change,” he said, adding that the scale of the change is unlike anything the world has seen.
Earlier this month at Carnegie Mellon University’s commencement, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made the case that AI will be a net positive for humanity, including for those newly starting their careers.
“Now it’s your time to realize your dreams,” he told graduates. “The timing could not be more perfect.”
Guadalupe Galindo-Nevarez and her family moved from California to Texas in 2022.
Life is more affordable in Texas, but they couldn’t get used to the weather.
Despite higher living costs, the family is planning to move back to California as soon as possible.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Guadalupe Galindo-Nevarez, 63, who moved from California to El Paso, Texas, with her husband and daughter in 2022 and now plans to move back to California. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in El Paso, but I ended up going to college in Sacramento and living there for 47 years.
A couple of years ago, I started feeling homesick. I wanted to move back to El Paso, be closer to my family, and raise my teenage daughter in a different environment. My husband and I both thought Texas could be a good fit for her because it has high school programs that allow students to earn their associate degree before graduating.
In December 2022, we moved from Natomas, a neighborhood in Sacramento, to El Paso. We bought a brand-new four-bedroom, three-bathroom home for $250,000. Compared with California’s expensive housing market, it felt like an incredible bargain.
Texas’s lower cost of living has been great. Groceries and dining out are noticeably cheaper, and gas prices were as low as $2.34 per gallon before they started rising because of the Iran war. The lack of state income tax is also huge.
But while we’ve enjoyed those advantages, we’ve come to realize there are a lot of trade-offs to living in Texas — and for us, they outweigh many of the benefits. We once thought living in El Paso would be a permanent relocation, but now we’re happily making our way back to California.
Life in Texas isn’t what we thought it would be
When I told my family I was moving to El Paso, they were excited. They kept telling us, “Everything is so much cheaper and better here,” and they were right — for the most part.
El Paso really is a beautiful place with very kind people. It sits along the border, near Mexico and New Mexico, so there’s a unique blend of cultures. I wish more people knew about El Paso’s culture and its incredible, authentic Mexican food.
El Paso, Texas.
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
I was used to living in El Paso because I grew up here, but it has been much harder for my daughter and husband to adjust.
When we first moved here, my daughter immediately said, “I don’t like it.” She started school and made a couple of friends, but she said a lot of people treated her like an outsider.
She’s very happy we’re going back to California. She’s interested in pursuing a degree in molecular biology and is hoping to get into UC Davis.
Galindo-Nevarez’s husband, Thomas.
Courtesy of Guadalupe Galindo-Nevarez
My husband was over Texas within the first two weeks of us moving here. One of the biggest adjustments for him has been the weather.
In El Paso, summers regularly get above 100 degrees, and the winters can also be surprisingly harsh. Temperatures can dip to 18 degrees, which is much colder than what we are used to in California.
The wind in El Paso has also been challenging. We didn’t do enough research before moving, especially about the neighborhood where we bought our home. It’s a nice, brand-new neighborhood, but there’s a lot of open land behind us, so the wind feels even stronger. Just last week, winds reached 41 mph, tearing the curtains off our pergola. Dust storms are also common, especially in the spring.
We’re moving back to California as soon as possible
We are very sports-oriented and try to do a lot of activities as a family. In California, we would go to Monterey Bay, Los Angeles, Dodger games, and other baseball games. But in El Paso, there just isn’t as much to do, especially for a 16-year-old.
There are places to hike, but overall, it the activities here feel much more limited. I find myself looking forward to visiting places like San Francisco, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Monterey Bay again.
Sacramento, California.
Dee Liu/Getty Images
My husband worked for the State of California for 30 years, so we have excellent insurance in California. My medical treatments will be a lot more affordable for us there.
We know we’re probably going to have a higher mortgage when we move back to California, but the property taxes in Texas are much higher than we expected, so we’re comfortable with that trade-off.
Right now, we’re looking into buying my oldest daughter’s home in Sacramento. She has been looking for a bigger home for her family for about eight months, so our timing depends on when she finds something. But we know we’re going back.
We call this whole experience a learning lesson. If we ever move again, I will definitely do more research. We should have looked more closely at the neighborhood, the weather, the medical benefits, and the overall lifestyle before making such a big decision.
Did you move to a new state, only to realize it wasn’t the right fit? We want to hear from you. Email reporter Alcynna Lloyd at alloyd@businessinsider.com to share your story.