Oh hi! Welcome to another Taylor Swift album cycle. The singer is set to drop her highly anticipated twelfth studio project, The Life of a Showgirl, this Friday, Oct. 3 at 12 a.m. ET.
As promo for TS12 reaches a fever pitch, being a card-carrying Swiftie entails nonstop sleuthing for teasers about her unreleased songs, per tradition. I personally won’t pretend to know what’s going on with all of the Easter eggs and lyric puzzles trickling out this week. (That’s a job for someone with triple my daily screen time.) But allow me to clue you in on all of the limited-time TLOAS merch drops, shimmery orange product releases, exclusive deals, and launch events tied to Showgirl’s debut — official and otherwise — that you might have missed.
Wait, why orange?
Whoever said orange is the new pink had the gift of foresight. Swift assigns a specific color theme to represent each of her albums’ eras as a means of vibe-setting and savvy marketing. For TLOAS, she picked a peppy shade of glittery tangerine with mint-green accents.
Swift explained her choice of hue on the Aug. 13 episode of her fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, when she announced TLOAS and revealed its main vinyl variant — a Portofino Orange Glitter pressing. “[Orange] feels like kind of energetically how my life has felt,” she said. “And this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this [Eras] Tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant.”
Swift first referenced her orange era on the very last stop of her record-breaking Eras Tour in December 2024, when she exited the stage through a pumpkin-colored door instead of descending on an elevator lift like usual. That just shows the level of forethought Swift puts into every single marketing decision.
All the TLOAS vinyl and CD variants you can still buy
Credit: Taylor Nation LLC / Target
Speaking of vinyl: The life of a physical media collector is not a frugal or stressless one. Swift has released 23 different hard copies of TLOAS so far, including eight vinyl variants, 14 CDs (counting box sets and signed copies), and one cassette tape. Many were available in limited quantities and sold out quickly.
At the time of writing, the primary Portofino Orange Glitter vinyl, a CD/poster bundle, a CD box set with a crewneck sweatshirt, and the cassette tape were still up for preorder through Swift’s official online store. The orange vinyl and CD/poster bundle are also available through Amazon and Target at slight markups.
Target is carrying a couple of exclusive versions of TLOAS, including three CD/poster bundles with alternate covers and a “The Crowd is Your King” edition vinyl variant pressed in Summertime Spritz Pink Shimmer. The CDs were still in stock online when I last checked, but preorders of the vinyl are sold out. You might be able to snag it in person on Friday: About 500 Target stores across the country will sell it at midnight release parties (while supplies last). Visit Target’s website to find a participating store near you.
Stay tuned for more merch
The only official TLOAS merch you can currently buy is a crewneck sweatshirt featuring its cover art, which comes as part of the aforementioned CD box set. Swift’s online store sold another box set with a sparkly orange cardigan for $70 in mid-September, but it’s no longer available.
Swift’s past merch collections have included apparel, jewelry, drinkware, blankets, pins, guitars, guitar picks, candles, stickers, phone cases, and journals, so a much larger TLOAS drop is virtually inevitable. Some fans are convinced that Spotify’s TLOAS pop-up event in New York City this week teased some upcoming items: A TS-branded vinyl case, robe, duffle bag, slippers, and megaphone ornament were spotted inside the activation.
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If you’re looking for more TLOAS apparel and gifts in the meantime, you’ll find tons of unsanctioned options on Etsy — and on several brands’ social media feeds.
Brands are in their Showgirl era
Brands have “trendjacked” Swift’s TLOAS rollout with orange-drenched memes, orange-themed deals, and limited-edition releases of orange products over the past month. (Trendjacking is a marketing term that effectively means “interpolating a viral trend.”) None of the drops I’ve spotted are licensed collabs, but they wink-wink at a Showgirl connection in their titles and product descriptions.
KitchenAid’s Tangerine Twinkle Stand Mixer
KitchenAid shared a mockup of a glittery orange stand mixer on its Instagram page the day of the TLOAS announcement. The post was such a hit with fans that the company decided to make it real. Only 12 of them up for grabs, and you can win one by entering KitchenAid’s “Showbiz Sweepstakes” at some point before Oct. 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
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Limited-Edition KitchenAid Tangerine Twinkle Stand Mixer
OtterBox’s Encore phone case
OtterBox calls the Symmetry Series Encore “the case of the year to match the album of the year” — subtle! It features a shimmering orange design that’s drop-tested and scratch-resistant. It’s priced at $59.99 and available for newer Apple iPhones as well as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
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Apple’s Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro
Showgirl‘s branding is so potent that some Swifties credited it as the inspiration for Apple’s new cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro. It’s not, but the timing of the phone’s release a couple weeks after Swift’s TLOAS announcement was serendipitous. Other Apple gadgets that come in Showgirl-coded shades of orange include the AirPods Max headphones, the Beats PowerBeats Pro 2 earbuds, and the M4 iMac.
Uber’s ‘orange era’ deals
Uber is running a few promos tied to TLOAS (informally, of course). For starters, Uber Eats users can save 12% on select orange snacks, apparel, pet accessories, and beauty items through Sunday, Oct. 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Items available near me included Harvest Cheddar Sunchips, orange Spindrifts, literal oranges, mango-flavored lip balm, orange Nike running shoes, orange dog collars, and orange crafting beads, for reference.
Those attending a release-night party at a local record store, bar, or friend’s house can save $12 on an Uber Comfort ride using the code SHOWBIZ. It’s valid from Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. through Oct. 5, so fret not if you have your festivities planned for later in the weekend.
Get tickets for The Official Release Party of a Showgirl
If you don’t have any release weekend plans yet, throw on your finest orange garb and head to your local movie theater: Blondie returns to the big screen for The Official Release Party of a Showgirl from Oct. 3 to 5. The 89-minute event will feature the music video premiere for “The Fate of Ophelia,” TS12’s first single, plus behind-the-scenes footage of its shoot, lyric videos for the other 11 tracks on the album, and Swift’s explanations of each song’s meaning.
“Dancing is optional but very much encouraged 💃,” the singer wrote on Instagram. Tickets are available at releasepartyofashowgirl.com.
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