One young fan tries on his new, freshly uncovered Eras T-shirt.
Photo: John Medina/Getty Images
After trying to expose Ticketmaster’s flaws, Taylor Swift fans are adding another pressing issue to their agenda: touring merchandise. Swifties are spent hours On the Eras tour to buy a coveted hoodie or tee, only to discover that the purported finished products don’t come out very well.
“After one wash, the print faded so terribly that Taylor’s face on the print was unrecognizable,” says Emilia, who waited more than five hours to purchase her gray zip-up T-shirt at the Las Vegas stop of the tour. “It was also $65, and I feel like it’s more than enough to hold up. It’s just so disappointing that you look that bad.”
Florencia, 24, says her tour T-shirt from Glendale Station faded after one wash. “The whole point of buying a T-shirt or sweatshirt is to wear it—if I’d known I couldn’t wear it, I’d have gotten a water bottle or a tour label instead, which is cheaper than clothes,” she says. Then, I put together a Twitter thread that collected similar complaints in hopes of finding a solution. “I wanted to create awareness and provide information about this to Swifties who were planning on staying hours in line to get items like I did.”
The criticism was bad enough that the staff working the merchandise stands gave fans a warning about the issues before making a purchase. “I was already warned about the girls who ran the booth at the Vegas show,” shares Zachary, who nevertheless bought a white T-shirt and a blue turtleneck. Even the online-only tour goodies were under scrutiny. Patty, 30, tells us that when she washed the shirt she got at Eras, “the black ink in the pictures faded.”
“Oh, damn it, I’ve never seen this blue before.” Swifties look at their goods in Eras. From left: Photo: Kaley JacksonPhoto: Amanda Taylor
“Oh, damn it, I’ve never seen this blue before.” Swifties look at their goods in Eras. From left: Photo: Kaley JacksonPhoto: Amanda Taylor
While Taylor’s team declined to comment on the alleged shoddy production, they did attempt to rectify the situation, posting the phrase “It’s supposed to look like this.” statement To the online store of goods, while also reminding fans to learn how to… properly wash their clothes?
“Due to the particular ink curing process used on some Tour Collection products, after washing your merchandise you may see a faint fade in the print of the product,” the statement reads. “This slight fading is associated with the product’s old, sad appearance. Please also note that it is important to follow product care instructions as listed on the product label when washing and drying your items, in order to better protect and preserve the product’s look and feel.”
For what it’s worth, Emilia tells us she took extra cleaning precautions and still had problems, washing her shirt in “cold water and inside out like we’ve heard there were issues.” Not to disappoint her fans, Team Swift at least offers alternatives (and limits, too big size scalper buys, which became another problem in the quick button round).
While fans were slowly receiving the news that the faded items would be replaced, others wished it had been revealed which team Swift was looking for before the purchase. “I think this is a good solution, assuming UMG holds up on its own,” says Emilia. “I just want some form of solution, whether it’s a replacement or a refund, I don’t care.”
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