I am catching myself trying to guess whether this opinion will be unpopular, but it doesn’t matter: I still am pleased with this.

I think there is often extreme pressure on the co-chair to demonstrate that he or she, at least, fully understands the theme even if everyone else is scratching their heads. Taylor’s effort here is one of the best in recent memory. I was EXTREMELY concerned she was going to go full Tron on us, with a slick helmet-like bob and a light-up catsuit, or otherwise pop out in something that veered absurd. So this is really a relief. It’s edgy and cool and slick, with futuristic leanings and tiny flavor of Fembot, but it doesn’t hew too closely to any of those things — at least, not in a way that obscures Taylor Swift’s innate Swiftiness. She’s still very much herself in this, while also clearly playing the ultimate game of dress-up. That is a really tough line to walk.

Let’s go in close:

I have to confess, I have not loved this hair on her. (And I loathed how they styled it on the Vogue cover; nobody should be trying to turn Taylor Swift into Sienna Miller.) But I can see why she kept it. For this night, and with that makeup, she is KILLING IT. The lipstick is so dark and dramatic, and the hair SO bleached, that they average out into something perfect. Look how blue her (minimally adorned) eyes are. Somewhere, Miley Cyrus is going, “SEE? I TOLD YOU. It can work.”

[Photos: Getty]