How to Wear a Crop Top: 4 Crop Top Styling Tips

A crop top is an article of clothing that exposes the belly button or midriff. Crop tops can be of varying sizes for different sizes and body shapes. Crop tops can be tank tops, strapless, or long-sleeve. Flowy or tight, they work with various outfits and pair well with midi skirts or high-waisted jeans. Many clothing stores sell crop tops, or you can make a crop top by cutting off the bottom of a t-shirt to the desired length.

Wear crop top outfits out for a date night, on the beach in warmer weather, or to a rave for a more fashion-forward look. Consider the following crop top fashion trends:

1. 1. Start simple with jeans and a white crop top. A white crop top will go with almost anything, and high-rise jeans make for a natural pairing and a classic way to ease into crop top wearing. For summer outfits, try pairing the crop top with denim shorts.
2. 2. Pair with a maxi skirt. The long, flowy fabric of a maxi skirt will juxtapose the shortness of a crop top, and these two pieces allow you to play with color and patterns. If your maxi skirt is plaid or colorful, you may opt for a plain black crop top. In hotter weather, you can pair a mini skirt with a cropped tank top.
3. 3. Sport a cardigan crop top. Cardigans can be cut at the navel to create a casual crop top with buttons and a slightly more formal twist.
4. 4. Layer with a blazer. Blazers are part of semi-formal attire, but you can also make a smart casual outfit combining a short-sleeved crop top with a blazer over it. This ensemble works best with a matching blazer and high-waisted pants set, and a crop top with a different pattern to pop.

Mimic the looks of street style stars and follow these tips for a successful crop top outfit:

1. 1. Make a faux crop top with a button-down. If you don’t want to cut up any of your t-shirts, create a crop top with a button-down shirt by pulling it at the sides and tying it in a gentle knot over your stomach to expose the belly button.
2. 2. Experiment with length. Whether you’re trim or curvy, crop tops work with all body types. If you don’t find a shirt length you like, you can easily turn a cardigan, tee, v-neck, or another shirt into a crop top with just a pair of scissors and some imagination.
3. 3. Minimize skin exposure. If you don’t want to show as much skin or give your outfit a retro or rustic look, try wearing a crop top under overalls or high-waisted trousers.
4. 4. Try out frayed edges or ruffles. Crop tops can have fun designs. Ruffled shoulders or sleeves can be part of your crop top outfit, or you can create some frayed edges at the bottom of your top by snipping a half-inch up at the hemline all around your shirt.

Get a MasterClass Annual Membership and let Tan France be your very own style maestro. Queer Eye’s fashion guru spills everything he knows about building a capsule collection, finding a signature look, understanding proportions, and more (including why it’s important to wear underwear to bed)—all in a soothing British accent, no less.