Abdomens, Midriffs, midsections, a revealed navel. As hemlines rose and bottoms dropped, we watched a conservative piece of clothing turn to a cutoff showing off the toned and tanned stomachs we worked out so hard and ate healthy for waiting upon summer to come around.
Crop tops; also referred to as tummy tops, belly shirts, or half shirts are tops in which the bottom end of the top exposes the navel or part of the midriff.
Crop tops came in trend back again in the 80's with the ever clueless but style forward Kelly Bundy but long before than we saw the trend appear on the iconic stars of the 50's such as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, and Sophia Loren. Crop tops appeared again in the 70s on the actresses of I dream of genie, Gidget, and Gilligan’s island. The trend having a sporadic timeline would once again reemerge into society with the release of Madonna’s video for Lucky star.
As time passed so did the trends and the styles continued to be recycled from one decade to the next. The 1960s sexual revolution sparked a revolution of young girls and women to stop hiding under layers of clothes and to express themselves without prosecution of the men in their lives. Showing off ones midriff became a way to liberate and convey their sexuality. The 1980s was the decade when girls finally decided that changing clothing once they got to school was no longer cutting it and exposing their midriffs became a form of self-expression. Cher Horowitz said it best “You see how picky I am about my shoes and they only go on my feet.” In a study done by the Telegraph 2,491 women were interviewed based on the ages of 16 to 60. The findings of the research showed that on average women spend 287 dies in their lifetime just on choosing what to wear.
Crop tops have become a fashion staple again recently being sold on websites from high end brands such as J crew to H&M. Janice Toranzo at 61 recalls the change in style of crop tops stating “I remember when I first saw those kinds of shirts now I’m much too old to expose that part of my body but it’s nice to see a staple from my time come back into style.” Crop tops have revolutionized in appearance once having been torn at the bottom to recreate the look worn by Jennifer Beale in flash dance to now being more tightly fitted and properly sewn. We tend to refer to old fashion trends such as flared pants, chokers, and flapper dresses to name a few as outdated clothing that our grandmother may have worn but still find a way to refine the item into today’s fast paced always changing world of fashion. Is it possible that we are a society who wishes to repeat the runway look in a way that does not speak high couture nor outdated but breaths a new life into a garment as though it never went out of style to begin with? From the runways to the streets we channel our own personal style into an outfit we want to recreate sometimes a hit, sometimes a miss; it’s the same with anything else in life but the times it’s a hit those are the times that make history. According to Bustle Crop tops are a versatile trend that can be worn in various ways. BCBG’s most recent runway line featured a long sleeved metal made top alongside Tess Gibersons leather crop top paired with a tulle skirt both styling the crop in various formats. There have been tweaks to shape over the years — todays According to Rolling stone crop tops are boxier, less clingy, and more silhouette-driven — but the most key difference is that with the contemporary variety, the navel rarely shows. The trend even causing those who’ve sworn off them such as Taylor swift to sport them. Raghda Allan states “I believe crop tops have revolutionized due to women being more liberated and empowered it is now no longer just a reemerging trend but a staple piece in many women’s wardrobes including my own.” The crop top continues to show appeal to even those who have sworn off the trend some due to age others because they do not feel that it fits their personal style yet many continue to be persuaded to wear the trend. The trends have appeared amongst many including the Kardashian Jenner sisters, style bloggers such as Emily Ann Gemma and makeup artist Amrezy amongst those seen walking down a bustling street. No longer a fad more of a must have the crop top is here to stay.
