“Dress” is one of Taylor’s most sexually charged songs on reputation and it details Taylor’s wants and lusts over another lover. As the name implies, many of the sexual references throughout the song pertain to dresses and the main hook of the song is something Swift herself admitted feeling really proud of. Taylor has a history of fascination with dresses dating back to her country music roots from when she first stepped foot in the music industry.

This song is most likely about Swift’s boyfriend at the time it was written, the British actor Joe Alwyn, who is also rumored to be Taylor’s muse for many other songs, especially throughout her 2017 and 2019 albums, reputation and Lover, respectively. The couple dated from 2016 until 2023 and “Dress” seems to be detailing Swift’s point of view from the beginning of their relationship — the bridge, specially, is full with references to when and how they first met.