What an incredible past couple of years it has been for fanatics of pop concerts. It seems like there’s a new pop girlie rising to stardom every other week. Not to mention, with each one having a unique, special aesthetic, it makes dressing up for concerts so much more dynamic. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense to wear your “Folklore” dress to go and sing “All-American Bitch.”
However, no matter how much fun attendees seem to be having switching their costumes around for each show, the artists themselves have done a phenomenal job of curating the perfect set of concert looks to correlate with the songs, sets and energy of each act of their show.
More specifically, it is more sensational than ever for female pop icons to style and dress up in colorful, glittery lingerie as concert attire. There is something so empowering about watching an artist perform her favorite tracks knowing she feels as confident and beautiful as possible. These women know their audience remarkably well, and the majority of them have been in the industry for long enough to know how to cater to their concert attendees and really give them a look to remember. This is a semi-convoluted way of saying that, when they’re captivating arenas, these pop icons know that the majority of their audience is made up of women and the queer community. When these women feel the weight lifted of not having to feel unsafe and judged by the toxicity of male gaze, they really start to glow and revel in their sexuality in a supportive, safe environment.
This topic was brought to my attention because Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet Tour” kicked off Sept. 23 and the internet has already exploded. Carpenter has recently adopted a sixties soundstage aesthetic for this new era of her career, think “Hairspray” and Brigitte Bardot. From a cartoon Carpenter opening sequence that looks like it was pulled straight out of “Bewitched” to the vintage voice overs announcing her arrival and track list, every performance feels like it was pulled from another time.
Even with 6 albums out, Carpenter has never been afraid to change up her sound and style and make sure that each one stands out in its own way. It is that commitment and relentless creativity which has earned her the post-Disney Channel big break she has always deserved. Carpenter’s choice of concert lingerie consists of pale pinks and blues that blend beautifully with her blonde blow-out and skin tone. She alternates between flouncy, chiffon babydoll dresses and glittery, bodysuits complete with lacy garters and harnesses. After the final touches of her signature white go-go boots and a red lipstick kiss on varying parts of her body in true “Short n’ Sweet” fashion, the look is fun, sexy and complete.
Speaking of blonde pop icons, Taylor Swift was no stranger to the lingerie trend in her legendary “Eras Tour” shows. To open the “Midnights” era, Swift emerges on stage in a long, fluffy coat concealing one of the most memorable costumes of the night. After stepping out from a herd of umbrellas concealing the quick change, Swift stuns on stage wearing a glittery, deep blue bodysuit custom made to flatter her figure. The addition of the matching garter on her thigh perfectly fit the “Midnights” aesthetic while nearly breaking the internet.
Swift has been very vocal about how spending nearly her entire adolescence planted firmly in the spotlight has affected her sense of self and ability to make the art she wanted to make. For so long, Swift was under strict orders from an overbearing team that manipulated her teenage naivety about the industry, and it has been so refreshing to watch her re-record her albums and reclaim those parts of herself that she previously was forced to hide, including her sexuality. It is so great to see her grow from a teenager forced into the “Miss Americana” golden girl box to a woman with the confidence and poise to perform a sultry number like “Vigilante Shit” in lingerie in front of a stadium full of other supportive women.
The final member of the pop royal family who really upped her glam factor on tour this year is Olivia Rodrigo. The “Guts World Tour” kicked off in February and even before the shows began, everyone already knew this second album packed a much harder punch than “Sour.” Driven by Rodrigo’s fears about being stereotyped as the “heartbreak girl,” “Guts” features edgier, faster-paced rock-elements that contrast the slower ballads of Rodrigo’s debut album. Her outfits on this tour reflect this maturity and growth both as a woman and as an artist as Rodrigo trades her plaid skirts for on-trend lingerie pieces. Glittery red and black bras with matching high waisted, high cut shorts and sheer, fishnet tights allow Rodrigo to make a bold, confident statement about the woman she has become.
My favorite outfit is the low-cut red jumpsuit that she coupled with her usual choice of Doc Martens and bright lipstick, and it is another positive example of a young woman learning to feel comfortable in her sexuality and blossoming in an environment where she can perform for nobody but themselves and a crowd full of other adoring women who want nothing more than to see their fav sparkle.
Dressing up lingerie into the perfect concert outfit is such an iconic and powerful way for these women to inspire their fans and feel confident in their own bodies and sexuality. Based on the way each one sells out as quickly as possible, these recent concerts have been deemed by many fans online as the ultimate safe spaces for women and girls to have fun, feel sexy and completely let go of insecurities and stressors resulting from the male gaze or a lack of other safe spaces for women to bond. This new era of concert attire, for the artist and the attendee, represents a confident, shimmering era of female empowerment and community in a world so complicated and unfair to women. We all deserve to feel a little bejeweled.