In the United States, "Style" peaked at number six and was 1989's third consecutive top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The single reached number one in South Africa and the top 25 and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea and John Hanes at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, and it was mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York City.

[11][12] The track exhibits eclectic influences: it is built on a recurring electric guitar riff that aligns with funk,[11] R&B,[13] and 1980s rock,[14] and its upbeat groove evokes dance and 1970s disco.

[24] Ed Masley in The Arizona Republic and the musicologist James E. Perone regard it as a hybrid of disco and new wave,[11][25] while Alex Hudson and Megan LaPierre from Exclaim!

They liken the sound to the works of 1980s musicians such as Chaka Khan,[14] Nile Rodgers,[27] Don Henley, and Madonna,[28] or contemporary acts such as Daft Punk,[29] Electric Youth, and Blood Orange.

[30] Masley writes that the track "would have sounded right at home on MTV a few years earlier than 1989",[11] and Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone deems it "extremely 1986-sounding".

[35] The refrain depicts the couple as conventionally attractive: the male lover resembles the 1950s actor James Dean with his "daydream look in [his] eye", and the female narrator flaunts her "red lip classic thing that you like" and "good girl faith and a tight little skirt".

[52] The Recording Industry Association of America certified the single triple platinum denoting three million units based on sales and streams.

[75] In reviews of 1989, many critics regarded "Style" as an album highlight, including Caramanica,[35] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times,[21] Benjamin Boles of Now,[76] and Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle.

[20] In Vulture, Lindsay Zoladz commented that "Style" showcased Swift as an artist who made pop music "bend to her will".

Caramanica and Robert Leedham of Drowned in Sound opined that "Style" embodied Swift's adult viewpoint on romance; the former said it depicted her as "savage, wry, and pointed",[35] and the latter applauded the song for celebrating "being young and reckless [as] a part of growing up".

[84] The Independent's Andy Gill said although the song had a "certain piquancy", it also contained "desperately inclusive electropop grooves and corporate rebel clichés".

[85] Consequence of Sound's Sasha Geffen said the song had one of the album's catchiest hooks but criticized its lyrics mentioning "conventionally pretty white people" as a cliché that blemished Swift's "girl-next-door likability".

She lauded its "disco-funk vibe" for evoking a sentiment similar to "the ecstatic feeling of speeding down the highway in a convertible" and the dynamic chorus that sounds like "a confident catwalk strut".

's Alex Hudson and Megan LaPierre,[26] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis,[14] NME's Hannah Mylrea,[34] and Variety's Chris Willman.

[94][100] The video does not have a clear narrative but features disparate flashbacks of Swift and her love interest by the seashore, in the woods, and on car rides.

[17][98][102][103] Vox's Kelsey McKinney opined that Swift embraced her sexuality using "sensual imagery" of her touching herself, which showcased her maturity as an artist.

[101] Spence Kornhaber from The Atlantic, meanwhile, remarked that Swift expressed her sexuality in a more conservative manner compared to her contemporaries that distinguished her from "the pop obsession with women's bodies".

[36] Several images in the video featuring silhouettes of Swift's head overlaid by other scenes of her lover, the forests, smoking clouds, or thunder storms, were compared to the opening credits of the crime drama series True Detective.

[17][104][105] The Wall Street Journal's Michael Driscoll said the atmosphere evoked 1980s pop videos, specifically Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" (1989).

[106] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times labelled the visual "a creepy homage" to David Lynch's mystery film Mulholland Drive (2001).

Club, deemed it a standout on Adams's 1989 for its "yearning, '80s college rock fever dream with snarling punk stabs",[120] but Slant Magazine's Jeremy Winograd called the version "a bad U2 song".

[184] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe wrote that the "altered guitar tone" was a "distraction" but the song overall was "perfect pop songcraft".

[185] In American Songwriter, Alex Hopper said that the re-recorded "Style" featured Swift's matured vocals, which elevated an already great song.

[186] Pitchfork's Shaad D'Souza regarded the track as one of the album's "immaculate highs",[187] and Rolling Stone UK's Mark Sutherland said the re-recording's production remained "astounding".