It’s spring! I’m already getting used to seeing the sun when I open my eyes in the morning and I’ve almost forgotten what the depths of Seasonal Affective Disorder feel like, so I’d say it’s going well. Plus, this is the start of my favorite season: #CropTopSeason.
If you need me between now and late fall, you can find me poolside, roadside, on the metro, at work, laying in the bench in my bay window, and drunkenly walking home from happy hour in the same silhouette: a crop top and high-waisted bottoms. (Those could be lounge pants, denim shorts, or white cotton bloomers with embroidered daisies on them, just for the record.) It’s a good life, y’all, and I’m hoping you’re gonna get on board the midriff train with me sooner rather than later for the sake of all of our Instagram accounts.
Take a cue from any of the beauties in here to figure out how to wear your crop top whenever, wherever. As an added bonus, I went and found you a bunch of crop tops that would work with these looks, and when you buy ’em, Autostraddle gets a kickback. Everyone wins! And nobody’s wearing a full-length shirt! All is about to be right with the world.
Museum-Hopping
Whether you hit up a fancy art museum or wander the local gallery, you can’t go wrong with some loose-fit linen pants and an elegant crop top. Also, I wear outfits like this to work pretty much all the time because that’s how power bitches roll.
Black Lace Crop Top | Bella Red Lace Crop Top | White Floral Lace Crop Top | Cold Shoulder Crop Top
Music Festivals & Other Outdoor Sports
This is an outfit that deserves its moment in the sun, y’know? Next time you’re headed outdoors, throw a crop top on with some cutoffs and a classic pair of sunglasses and pretend you’re Lydia for a second. Go ahead. We all do this. Right?
Southwestern Print Crop Top | Ribbed Knit Crop Top | White Vest Crop Top
Brunch / Lunch / Cocktail Hour
Wearing just a dress or a skirt and top combo to brunch is so last summer. This time around, head out to that bar patio in a slim-fit crop top and a pencil skirt to prove you’re just as saucy as you are sassy. Oh, and also because you’ll look fly as fuck.
Lace Sleeve Crop Top | Adjustable Spaghetti Strap Crop Top | Striped Short-Sleeve Crop Top
Running Errands of a Fashionable Sort
Casually throwing on a crop top communicates an effortless, no-fucks-given sense of chic that everyone else in the grocery store is totally going to hate you for, in the good way. People will be all, do you think you’re like a model or something? And you’ll be all, shut the fuck before I embarrass you.
Embroidery Print Swing Top | Tie-Front Lace Crop Top | Chiffon Cropped Cami | Boxy Crop Top
Cleaning the Haus
Um, okay, this is me, totally drunk, literally cleaning my house in preparation for a party. I wore a loose-fit crop top with leggings to brunch because leggings are pants and I went with a sports bra that day so that when said loose-fit crop top inevitably fell of my shoulder, things wouldn’t be scandalous. I put on that big blue ring because I like to pretend I never left LA after I bought it. The best part of this outfit, hands-down, was that it took me from Presentable to Passed The Fuck Out without ever losing its edge.
Heathered Boxy Crop Top | Striped Crop Top | Ribbed Crop Top
Garden Party
Floral crop tops were made for afternoons in the garden potentially sipping tea next to a babbling brook. Also, they’re the best.
Boxy Tropical Crop Top | Fitted Stretch Floral Crop Top | Lay of the Island Top | Tropical Print Crop Top
Up All Night
If there’s ever been an appropriate time to wear less clothing, it’s when you’re entering a bar so hot with human body heat that the humidity comes close to knocking you out. Crop tops generally transition well from day to night, especially if you change them up by adding or removing layers or changing your bottoms. But for the most dance-filled, boozy, Ke$ha-inspired nights, you’ll want something super special, like maybe a crop top made entirely of crossing straps of fabric, or one that shimmers a little too much to ever see the sun, or, y’know, one that shows more skin than it covers up on average.
Sexy Spaghetti Strap Pink Crop Top | Cross-Band Shiny Crop Top | Bling Bling Gold Crop Top | Backless Crop Top
Anytime You Would Normally Wear a Screen-Print Tee
Hey, it’s your life. I’m not here to tell you that you should wear screen-printed crop tops while you play video games, go to the movies, carouse around your childhood hometown, or dance in the dark. But I’m definitely not telling you not to.
Alice’s Adventures Crop Top | Merci Crop Top | Catnipped Crop Top | Stay Cute Crop Top | Pineapple Printed Crop Top
Okay, now it’s your turn to show me how you wear your crop tops and also which ones you’re currently drooling over in the comments!