Let Taylor Swift Be Your Style Inspo For Wearing Peplum Tops In 2026 (Yes, They're Back)

All eyes have been on Taylor Swift recently, with her marriage to beau Travis Kelce slated for early July 2026. As always when it comes to the "I Knew It, I Knew You" singer, fans want to see what she's been wearing. And they have not been disappointed with Taylor Swift's best-dressed moments in the lead-up to her wedding, including the white Stella McCartney peplum top she wore to dinner in New York City in May.

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That's right, the formerly outdated 2010s trend is staging a comeback in the most unexpected ways, including Swift's interpretation, which is as a crisp-meets-casual piece. And Stella McCartney wasn't the only designer presenting the silhouette for 2026. Dior sent tailored button-front jackets with peplum flare down the catwalk, while Chloé showed denim jackets and beautiful blouses with peplum waists. While you might be hesitant to get back on board with the trend, Swift's styling can serve as inspo. The 2026 iteration of the flared-at-the-waist style is more casual and unfussy, and looks amazing with Swift's easy trousers and heeled sandals.

Peplum styles, with their cinched waists that extend out into a skirt-like flare, are nothing new in fashion. They can be traced back to ancient Greece, through to Queen Elizabeth I, and gaining prominence in post-World War II France with Christian Dior's "new look," per The Zoe Report. Then they reappeared with force in the '80s, and again were everywhere in the early 2010s before fading into the fashion background. 

Looking back through Taylor Swift's outfit portfolio, she's rarely worn peplum. One notable exception was at an event in Germany in 2014, when she wore a cage-style peplum dress. This is a good example of how peplum was worn in the 2010s: with something tight-fitting on the bottom half that juxtaposed the added volume at the waist. 

Unlike the 2010s, when you might have worn a peplum top with skinny jeans, in '26, we're wearing it with looser fits on the bottom, like flared shorts or trouser jeans. And the "Red" singer is showing everyone exactly how to wear the silhouette in a new dressed-down, more casual way. Regardless of how she wears the trend, peplum suits her well. The fit-and-flare is particularly good at accentuating an hourglass frame, or creating the illusion of curves on a straight or rectangular shape like Swift's, which is exactly what the 2014 dress did for the lithe singer. We'll chalk that up as one more style secret that Taylor Swift can teach us.