The “22" hat is the coveted headwear Taylor Swift fans hope to receive when attending the Eras Tour in stadiums across the world. During Taylor Swift’s magnum opus, she dons the “Red” era fedora along with one of three bejeweled T-shirts: “We are never getting back together like ever,” “A lot going on at the moment” or “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? Ew.”
As the singer skips down the catwalk with her dancers, a lucky fan waits at the end of the stage crying and dancing. When Swift arrives, she takes off the hat, places it on the fan's head and exchanges a friendship bracelet along with a core memory for the chosen Swiftie.
Eight-three hat recipients were selected in 2023 and the beginning of 2024. There are 69 lucky fans left to be crowned as the 3 1/2 show heads to Europe and North America.
Here’s everything we know about the Holy Grail of Swift fan fashion.
Swift signs every brim with a metallic Sharpie. There’s a chic black tag sewn on the inside with the signature of Mexican-American haute couture milliner Gladys Tamez. It also reads “Handmade in Los Angeles.” Tamez is based in the California city and makes a collection of luxury head coverings that cost from $255 to $1550. While the "22" hat is one-of-a-kind, you can get a similar one called “Karina” for $525.
How are the fans chosen? Usually, it's random. Fans in the audience (usually dancing on the floor) are hand plucked by Swift's team. In other cases, Swifties have been picked because they went viral demonstrating their fandom to the superstar or they have incredibly inspiring stories. Then there’s those like Selena Gomez's sister, Gracie, or Kobe and Vanessa Bryant’s daughter, Bianka, who have a special bond with Swift.
“This lady came and tapped me on the shoulder,” Sarah Frances said in a TikTok explaining how she was randomly chosen for the hat in Atlanta. If you really want to know where Frances was April 29, she was on the floor dancing when a member of Swift's team discovered her.
“She asked me if I could go take a walk with her, which I thought I was in trouble for doing something,” she said. “I thought I was about to go to Taylor jail.”
The same thing happened in Chicago when Tina Avila surprised her daughter Isa with tickets. They were dancing when someone came up to them during the "Speak Now" era.
“It was random,” Avila said in the comments. “We did nothing special but sing our heart outs!”
In Pittsburgh, halfway through “Enchanted," someone came over to Renata Guarlotti and her daughter Katie and said, “I’m with Taylor’s crew, can you come with us? You will want to video this.”
In Minneapolis, Austin (@austinandmikemn on TikTok) noticedSwift's parents Andrea and Scott Swift entering the stadium and jumped up-and-down ecstatically asking to trade bracelets. During the concert, Austin was invited to the VIP tent to watch with Swift's parents and then before "22," he was escorted to the end of the stage. Austin smartly brought a Sharpie and asked Swift to sign his shirt.
On night three in Sydney, Swift's team chose Lily Gearside, the 5-year-old Aussie who went viral for her award-winning speech on Taylor Swift. The adorable video caught the attention of the superstar who commented and liked a few of the posts on TikTok. Lily’s mom, Jessica, mentioned where their seats were on social media and tagged Taylor Nation, Swift's marketing account. The mom and daughter had no idea that Lily would be chosen, and they were in the nosebleeds when a woman on Swift’s team came up to them during the “Lover” era. The worker asked them to grab their belongings.
“She takes us to a private lift and we get in with a security guard and it takes us from the 400 section to the ground level,” Jessica explains on TikTok. “We walk through these back sections and arrive at a door that leads to the floor.”
Jessica and Lily were handed wristbands that said “The Fearless Lounge” and escorted to the VIP tent where Swift’s dad Scott wanted to make sure Lily could see the stage. During “Long Live,” a team member came to get Lily and Jessica and lead them past the barricade to the stage.
Here are social media posts corresponding to lucky ones who have received the "Red" era fedoras. If you know names of any other "22" hat recipients, please message me on Instagram (@bryanwesttv).
2024 hat recipients:
2023 hat recipients:
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