Taylor Swift theorists have already been hard at work in 2016, decoding the singer's latest music video, "Out of the Woods." The highly anticipated video premiered on New Year's Eve, and Swiftie sleuths have taken a keen eye to its every detail — particularly anything that might relate back to the singer's relationship with Harry Styles. And indeed, breadcrumbs sprinkled throughout the video do seem to lead back to her One Direction ex. (We won't be wading through all the theories and nuances, but feel free to go down that rabbit hole when you have an hour to kill.)
The most significant clue is the blue dress worn throughout the video.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Anyone who kept track of the (brief, but dramatic) romantic saga between the two pop stars should recognize the color and style of the dress from that sad picture of a solo Swift leaving a tropical vacation with Styles in early 2013. The picture was taken just days after the two shared a public New Year's Eve kiss — another subtle parallel between their relationship and the timing of the video's debut.
Swift appears alone in the video, and according to her tweet announcing its release, this time she is figuring out what's best for herself and how to move on. "She lost him but she found herself and somehow that was everything," the singer wrote.
She lost him
but she found herself
and somehow that was everything.
#OOTWMusicVideo is now on @VEVO https://t.co/k4emHDRfD3
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 1, 2016One dramatic moment in the video shows Swift ripping off her necklace and throwing it over a cliff. Swifties are claiming that that scene, paired with a few key lyrics from the song, is a clear reference to the paper-airplane necklace Swift wore while dating Styles, as well as to how fragile and anxiety-ridden the relationship was.
Your necklace hanging from my neck,
The night we couldn't quite forget
When we decided (We decided)
To move the furniture so we could dance
Baby, like we stood a chance
Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying. If anything, their imperfect relationship has given both stars something to be thankful for: plenty of material for new tunes. Watch the full video, below.
The night we couldn't quite forget
When we decided (We decided)
To move the furniture so we could dance
Baby, like we stood a chance
Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying. If anything, their imperfect relationship has given both stars something to be thankful for: plenty of material for new tunes. Watch the full video, below.