- A Swiftie went TikTok viral for creating an Eras Tour dress using hundreds of friendship bracelets.
- It split opinion on TikTok, with some saying the noise of the beads would annoy other concert goers.
The Taylor Swift fan who wore a 13-pound dress made of friendship bracelets says fellow Swifties were nothing but supportive of her outfit at the Eras Tour show on Wednesday after some said the noise of the beads would ruin their concert experience.
Laura Petty, a 27-year-old mortgage processor based in Charlotte, North Carolina, caught the attention of millions of TikTok users who followed her journey to painstakingly hand-glue hundreds of friendship bracelets onto a gold fringe dress to create a 13-pound custom-made gown.
Swift's fans, known as Swifties, and even her celebrity friends like Selena Gomez have made it their mission to make and exchange their own bracelets at each of Swift's concerts in a nod to the pop singer's song "You're on Your Own, Kid," which is lifted from her 2022 album "Midnights."
In the song, Swift sings: "Everything you lose is a step you take / So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it."
Petty took the trend to an entirely new level when she decided to customize a dress with hundreds of friendship bracelets. She ended up wearing it to Swift's final Eras Tour show in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday.
Speaking to Insider, Petty – who has been a fan of Swift since the release of the "Debut" album in 2006 – said she spent three months to complete her unique look. "It was done in little spurts at night and on weekends but first bead to last was right at 3 months," she said.
However, Petty's dress divided opinion on TikTok. While some users loved her innovative spirit and creativity, others expressed concerns that the dress, which Petty said weighed roughly 13 pounds at the end, would be too uncomfortable to wear to the concert. What's more, some said the noise of the beads would bother fellow concert-goers.
"Praying for everyone in ur section bc I'd move so fast," one user commented in Petty's final dress TikTok update, which has over 8.5 million views as of Friday.
"So fun but also rip to the people beside you that won't be able to hear the concert LOL," another TikToker commented.
@laurajpetty WE DID IT YALL ✨ SEE YOU AUG 9TH #erastour #taylorsversion #HarperFinkle #taylorswift ♬ original sound - Laura Petty
But Petty was quick to shut down any speculation that her friendship bracelet dress bothered fellow Swifties at the show.
"People were so, so sweet and I got nothing but nice reactions," she told Insider. Though she said she was "genuinely nervous" when she saw the negative comments on her video, she got the courage to wear the dress with the "help and reassurance" from her best friend who supported her throughout the process and was "so glad" she did in the end.
"And no, you could not hear the beads at ALL once the music started," Petty added.
As for concerns about the weight of the dress, Petty said experienced no issues of pain or heaviness throughout Swift's concert, a show that typically last over three hours.
"I had added so much internal support that I didn't feel any added weight or discomfort," Petty said.
Now that her Eras Tour experience is behind her, Petty said she's got no plans to sell her custom-made dress.
"Keeping it 1,000%," she said. "The only way I would part with it is to give it to Ms Tay herself."