If I left an item of clothing at Maggie Gyllenhaal’s house, I, too, would never shut up about it. It would be the first and last thing I say to everyone I see. I’d sign my emails, “Mia Mercado, who once left a raggedy sock at Maggie Gyllenhaal’s.” All this to say, I get where Taylor Swift is coming from.
The recent release of Red (Taylor’s Version), a rerecord of her 2012 album that includes bonus tracks and extended versions of original songs, has resurfaced a question that has plagued scientists and Swifties alike for nearly a decade: Where is Taylor Swift’s scarf?
Do I have to care about the scarf?
Dionne Warwick cares about the scarf. Are you questioning Dionne Warwick??
Fine. The scarf … what is it?
It’s supposedly this scarf that both Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal were seen wearing around the time they dated in late 2010. It’s dark blue with red and gray stripes, and some people think it’s from Gucci or maybe Banana Republic. To me, it looks like a scarf one might have found at an Aeropostale or perhaps American Eagle. Very 2008 Americana chic.
On Red, which Swift recently rereleased, you probably know that there is a song called “All Too Well,” which is beloved by fans and critics alike. Much of Red is rumored to be about Swift’s three-month relationship with Gyllenhaal, but “All Too Well,” in particular, is agreed by fans to be the song most clearly inspired by their breakup. Toward the beginning of “All Too Well,” Swift sings, “I left my scarf there at your sister’s house / And you’ve still got it in your drawer even now.” The sister in question would be fellow actor Maggie Gyllenhaal, if the song is about Jake. (Which … it is.)
Then, toward the end of “All Too Well,” Swift mentions the scarf and its location once again: “But you keep my old scarf from that very first week / ’Cause it reminds you of innocence / And it smells like me / You can’t get rid of it / ’Cause you remember it all too well.”
So, he didn’t give her back the scarf even after the song?
Apparently not. But on a related note, Swift may have alluded to Gyllenhaal listening to Red back in a 2013 interview with Vulture: “I heard from the guy that most of Red is about,” Swift said. “He was like, ‘I just listened to the album, and that was a really bittersweet experience for me. It was like going through a photo album.’ That was nice. Nicer than, like, the ranting, crazy e-mails I got from this one dude.” If this is the case, where is the scarf? (And who, pray tell, was this ranting ex??)
Do I have the scarf?
Are you Jake or Maggie Gyllenhaal?
… No.
Then, probably not, babe! If you want to feel included, you can preorder this red “All Too Well” scarf from Taylor Swift’s official merch. It’s the same scarf she gifts Miles Teller’s wife in her recent video for “I Bet You Think About Me.” It’s also $45. Make of that what you will.
What’s Maggie got to say about all of this?
Not a whole lot. On a 2017 episode of Watch What Happens, Maggie claimed to know nothing of the scarf or its whereabouts. Though she says she’s been asked about it before, Maggie says, “I am in the dark about the scarf.” … Sure, Maggie. However, she doesn’t completely shut down the possibility that the scarf is still at her house: “It’s totally possible. I don’t know.”
Okay, who has it then?
Tony Award–winning actor Andrew Burnap thought he might have the scarf, a legitimate possibility as Burnap and Jake Gyllenhaal are friends. On an October episode of The Howard Stern Show, Gyllenhaal said he and Burnap used to run lines together. However, a few hours after his initial tweet, Burnap confirmed that he did not, in fact, have the scarf.
Now, the scarf may actually be en route to Swift herself thanks to celebrity-gossip Instagram account Deux Moi. After getting a tip from someone claiming they have the scarf, Deux Moi was reportedly able to connect that person with someone on Swift’s team. Also, Deux Moi apparently confirmed the authenticity of the scarf. How did they do this? DNA testing? Taylor Swift–sniffing dogs? Swiftie science? I am unsure!
Regardless, per a November 15 Instagram Story from Deux Moi, “The scarf was authenticated by the appropriate people,” and now the scarf is figuratively and literally out of their hands.
So … that’s it? We’ll never know??
Truly impossible to say. Deux Moi doesn’t have any more updates. Swift hasn’t confirmed (or denied!!!) the retrieval of the scarf. But, if you think about it, maybe the real scarf was the friends we made along the way.