This song about a relationship with a guy who has "slicked-back hair" appears to be Taylor looking back at her time with Harry Styles. The clue is not only in the title but also Harry used to rock a slicked-back hair style.
Taylor wrote the song with Swedish hitmaker Max Martin (Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne), his protégé Johan Shellback and Ali Payami (who co-penned one of Lea Michele's Louder tracks, "Thousand Needles").
The song was first previewed when a portion of it was played during a Target commercial.
New Zealand teenage singer-songwriter Lorde was one of the first people that heard 1989. This was her favorite song on the album. She said: "I first heard 'Style' driving down the Pacific coast highway and it was EVERYTHING. I chair-danced so hard you have no idea."