An explanation of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets: What are they and why do Swifties create them? [2024] (2024)

An explanation of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets: What are they and why do Swifties create them? [2024] (2)

The Eras Tour by Taylor Swift has inspired fans globally to create and exchange friendship bracelets. Swifties share details about the bracelets they’re crafting, the significance behind them, and the rules surrounding their creation and trading.

Taylor Swift previously shared instructions on how to put on her Love Love Love bracelets, and now, nearly 15 years later, Swifties are engaging in a similar tradition, trading friendship bracelets during her current shows in Singapore. The Grammy Award-winning singer, who is set to perform six sold-out shows at the National Stadium, has her fans enthusiastically crafting these tokens of friendship ahead of the concerts starting on Mar 2.

However, just what are these? For the Swiftie community, what do they signify? How even did this pattern start to emerge?

An explanation of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets: What are they and why do Swifties create them? [2024] (3)

WHAT ARE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS?

Friendship bracelets, as the name suggests, are tokens exchanged between people as symbols of friendship. Typically handmade, these bracelets are crafted using materials such as embroidery thread, beads, and, in some instances, plastic bands (similar to loom bracelets). The act of creating and gifting these bracelets serves as a tangible expression of friendship and connection.

WHAT KIND OF FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS DO SWIFTIES MAKE?

A quick Google or TikTok search reveals that the friendship bracelets exchanged at the Eras Tour concerts are typically vibrant and colorful. These Taylor Swift-themed bracelets often incorporate song lyrics, titles, and inside jokes within the fandom. While most are made using beads, charms, and string, there isn’t a specific right or wrong way to create these friendship bracelets. For example, TikTok user fatynanana utilizes ribbons in her designs.

The time it takes to craft each friendship bracelet varies, depending on the complexity of the design and the maker’s experience. Swifties shared with crafting each bracelet can range from less than 5 minutes to over 30 minutes. Zoe Yan, a 29-year-old fan, has crafted over 700 bracelets since August last year. Initially making them to trade at the Eras Tour shows, she started receiving requests from Swifties who lacked the time to create their own. Consequently, she established an Instagram account, @imaginarybeads, dedicated to selling these bracelets.

“I’ve definitely sped up after making them for seven months. Now, it takes about four to five minutes for me to make a single bracelet. Due to the overwhelming custom orders, I’ve learned that I can make 60 in a day,” said Yan.

An explanation of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets: What are they and why do Swifties create them? [2024] (4)

SO DID TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS START THIS TREND?

While they made it popular again, the act of trading bracelets dates back to before the singer even debuted.

The exact origin of friendship bracelets is unknown, but some believe they came from the indigenous people in Central and South America. Trading such bracelets specifically at music events, however, began a few decades ago.

Kandi (pronounced as “candy”) bracelets from the 1990s, for example, were popular among rave and EDM concert attendees. Like the Taylor Swift friendship bracelets, they were often made using coloured and lettered beads.

Ravers would also trade their homemade kandi bracelets after doing a four-part PLUR – which stands for peace, love, unity, and respect – handshake.

HOW DID SWIFTIES START TRADING FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS?

Ask any Swiftie, and they’ll tell you it started at midnight. More specifically, Swift’s song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from her tenth album “Midnights.”

Sarah Tan, who has been a fan of Swift since her debut in 2006, said Swifties can take things quite literally. As Taylor had sung: “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it”; her fans listened and made them.

Thanks to the Eras Tour, social media pages have been brimming with fans sharing their creations. While some are posting tutorials, others are encouraging fellow fans to trade with them.

This infectious hype has prompted some to partake in the trend, including 21-year-old Layne Lee, who has been a Swiftie since she was 10 years old.

Lee said she initially didn’t have much interest in the bracelet trend. But after seeing how it gained popularity and became almost synonymous with the Eras Tour, she grew receptive to the idea.

Although she may have started because of FOMO, she believes the friendship bracelets make the concert experience more fun and even help bring Swifties together.

Likewise, Tan said: “This trend has become widespread among Taylor’s fans worldwide, uniting Swifties all around the world…. This also drives concert-goers to put in effort to dress up, and have this ‘pre-concert prep’ before the big day.”

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An explanation of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets: What are they and why do Swifties create them? [2024] (2024)

FAQs

An explanation of Taylor Swift friendship bracelets: What are they and why do Swifties create them? [2024]? ›

The friendship bracelet trend among Swifties is inspired by lyrics from a song on Swift's 2022 album "Midnights." "So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it," Swift sang in her nostalgic anthem "You're On Your Own, Kid." Her fans took that suggestion very seriously.

Why are Taylor Swift fans making friendship bracelets? ›

Why are fans making and swapping them? It is impossible to link this trend back to any particular Swiftie, but we do know where the idea came from – Swift's song You're on Your Own, Kid from her album Midnights. The lyrics in the song are, “So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.”

What does the friendship bracelet symbolize? ›

Folklore. According to tradition, one ties a bracelet onto the wrist of a friend as a symbol of friendship and may wish for something at that moment. The bracelet should be worn until it is totally worn out and falls off by itself to honour the hard work and love put into making it.

Did Travis Kelce try to give Taylor Swift a friendship bracelet? ›

“If you're up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it,” Travis said before lamenting that “she doesn't meet anybody or at least she didn't want to meet me, so I took it personal.

Will the Eras Tour have light up bracelets? ›

Throughout the tour, fans have received a bracelet that lights up in sync with Swift's music and 'eras' throughout each concert.

What is the deal with Taylor Swift bracelets? ›

The tradition of trading friendship bracelets at her concerts is inspired by the lyrics on her song “You're on Your Own, Kid” from her most recent album “Midnights.” Swift sings about making friendship bracelets as a way to connect with others on a shared experience: “Cause there were pages turned with the bridges ...

How do the Eras tour bracelets work? ›

The wristbands are equipped with a signal receptor and a tiny computer to process the signal into lighting colors. An operator would send out the signals from a small control board, and change the colors in different sections of the audience.

What is a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet? ›

These Taylor Swift-themed bracelets often spell out song lyrics, titles and inside jokes within the fandom. While most use beads, charms and string, there isn't a right or wrong way to make these friendship bracelets.

What does a black friendship bracelet mean? ›

Black is a bold, strong colour that represents the positive energy which radiates throughout your friendship.

Which wrist do you wear a friendship bracelet on? ›

A friendship bracelet is typically worn on the left wrist. However, many different bracelets designs can also be worn on the right wrist. There is no one "correct" way to wear a friendship bracelet, so feel free to mix and match different patterns and styles.

How much older is Travis Kelce than Taylor Swift? ›

He's 34 years old. Swift was born Dec. 13, 1989, making her the same age.

Does Taylor Swift like Travis Kelce? ›

Taylor's really enjoying getting to know Travis. They're taking it day by day, but she has high hopes. She likes that he's a normal, nice guy. He's down-to-earth and isn't affected by fame.

What did Travis Kelce send to Taylor Swift? ›

Kelce also sent 250 more roses to his partner — this time in vibrant pink. Kelce also reportedly sent Swift, 34, a handcrafted Perigold sculpture of a rose with a delicately cut crystal rose at the top and a 24-karat gold gilded stem.

Can you keep Taylor Swift wristbands? ›

They urged fans to remove the batteries from the wristband - even if they plan to keep the band itself as a keepsake - and take them to a B-cycle drop-off point, rather than tossing them in the bin. They wrote: 'T-Swift has left the building… but your battery hazard hasn't!

Do the Eras Tour bracelets work after the concert? ›

But if you keep that little tab and you put it back in. at the end of the concert kind of thing, it should keep working. So these are my ones from 1989, which was 8 years ago, and they all still work. Like you can see, they're the 1989 style colours from the tour at time.

How to activate Taylor wristband? ›

Bejeweled - Taylor Swift

Taylor does the light up bracelets at the ERAS tour. like she did for reputation and 1989. So basically, when you get a bracelet, if there are bracelets, uh, they normally come with this little tab in the side, and the idea is that you. You pull it out and it activates that kind of thing.

Do I need friendship bracelets for the eras tour? ›

Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged,” she wrote, before asking fans, “What's your friendship bracelet going to say?” Her people have said the idea of showing the concert in theaters was designed so that people who couldn't afford a concert ticket or airfare can still get the experience.

Why do Swifties write 13 on their hands? ›

Swift was born Dec. 13, 1989, and has long proclaimed 13 as her favorite number. During her "Fearless" era, Swift wrote a blue "13" on her guitar-strumming hand for good luck at her concerts. The singer doesn't do this anymore, but long-time fans like paying homage to that era by writing a "13" on their own hands.

How did Travis Kelce get Taylor Swift's attention? ›

I had somebody playing Cupid," Kelce told WSJ. Magazine, adding that he eventually found that out from Swift when she contacted him directly. Kelce added that a few members of the Swift family even assisted in helping him get her attention.

What did Travis Kelce say to Taylor Swift? ›

Thank you for coming," Kelce said to Swift. "Thank you for making it all the way across the world. You are the best, baby. The absolute best."

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