There are vanishingly few places today with a dress code that requires, rather than prohibits, an exorbitant amount of sparkle. During last Friday’s premiere of Taylor Swift’s new movie, the lobby of the Silverspot Cinema was one of them.
Before the doors of Theater 4 opened, the hallway of the movie theater looked like any other: hushed, dimly lit, and smelling vaguely of buttered popcorn. With every showing over the weekend, however, the place was transformed. Sparkling Doc Martins were paired with pearl-studded headbands and neon lettered shirts. This was not Chapel Hill, North Carolina—this was Vogue.
Amongst a crowd of well-dressed moviegoers, one person stood out: Serena Kaylor, 40, a physician assistant and romance novelist, lingered outside the theater snapping pictures of the movie poster and accepting deserved compliments on her ensemble (a hot pink mini dress cinched at the waist with an enormous pink bow that trailed behind her like a cape; wide, heart-shaped glasses studded with rhinestones; and stilettos capped at the point with tiny red hearts). She looked more like a person ready for cocktail hour than someone who had just gone to see a movie at University Place mall.
This was not any old movie, though, nor was it really a movie at all: This was “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” For some 89 minutes, theatergoers watched animated lyrics pop onto the screen overtop a looped clip of Swift in costume. Between each song, Swift cut in with an “exclusive behind the scenes” where she explained some part of her choreography or talked about her writing, or showed off a loaf of bread. There was no plot, no character development. The crowd loved it.
After the film, her fans gathered in the hallway of the Silverspot to share their bedazzled exuberance. Strangers complimented strangers or leaned in conspiratorially to share a theory on what some symbol in the movie might have meant. Pictures were taken. Friendship bracelets were exchanged.
Whatever your political affiliation may be, we can almost certainly agree on one thing: Things in this country are not going well. The federal government is shut down. Political violence is on the rise. Low-rise jeans are reportedly coming back in style. It is, in short, a difficult time to be a politically conscious American. But in the lobby outside of Theater 4? “Happiness,” said Maria Olea, Silverspot’s ticket scanner, holding a hand over her heart. “All of them were cheering and laughing and having a good time. They were cheering before the movie event started.” If silence at the movies is the First Commandment of social etiquette, then Theater 4 of the Silverspot Cinema is a lawless land.
Olea watched the scene unfold from behind the ticket desk. Since 4 p.m., she had shepherded Swifties through the movie experience, pointing out seat numbers and doling out friendship bracelets. “Right now, we need it. These people need it.”
Kaylor’s outfit was nice, but Olea gave her ultimate prize of best-dressed to a group of women snapping pictures in front of a movie poster. Each one was dressed to a different theme: on the left, a red dress and cape accessorized with sparkling boots; on the right, a glittering gold top and fashionable hat; in the middle, the most elaborate outfit of the three—a rhinestone-studded black mini dress paired with a faux-diamond headpiece and a lime green plumed fan that could have been lifted directly out of the film.
Diana McElroy, the fan’s owner, may be a bit older than the average Taylor Swift fan, but her passion for the singer is just as strong as anyone in the under 12 crowd. “I saw ‘Red’ with my daughter and didn’t care for it,” she told me, “But when I saw the Eras tour, I was hooked.” She went on to see the show six times in three different countries.
Some 10 minutes have passed since the movie ended, but McElroy is still glowing from the excitement, bouncing up and down as she recalls the film. “For a while, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ was my everything. This new album might have changed that, though.”
McElroy looked out across the lobby, where the last of the moviegoers had filtered out. Already, the next wave of people had begun to arrive, dotting the room in sparkle. Two men in matching T-shirts posed grinning with the movie poster; a group of girls crowded together by the ticket stand, touching up the glitter they had smeared across their cheeks. She turned back, a soft smile on her face. “This,” she told me, “This might be my new happy.”
The lobby of the Silverspot was much quieter than the theater—there was no music, no lights. It didn’t matter. A little girl in a rainbow blazer and orange sunglasses broke away from her mother and skipped into the center of the floor. She closed her eyes for a second and then began to stomp out a dance, arms thrown out wide.
Photo at top: Serena Kaylor, center, was dressed to the nines at the Friday premiere. Photo by Annelise Bowers – The 9th Street Journal
