Balenciaga crop tops
Recurrent trends are the best friends of those of us who hoard our old clothes/have no cash/are somehow still the same size as we were 10 years ago. The current ‘90s comeback means we can step out in our ancient clothes and look ironically fashionable, rather than looking as though we haven’t updated our wardrobe in decades.
Ok, so we knew grunge was back in a big way, but now the ‘90s redux trend has gained momentum. Trendsetters are digging deeper and deeper into their wardrobes to dust off relics such as dungarees, trucker caps and cropped tops. You heard me right: cropped tops.
If you’re anything like me, the thought of baring your belly anywhere away from the beach or bedroom is horrifying. The one piece of news I can offer as consolation is that the mid-nineties’ need for accessories has passed us by, meaning you can keep that ugly belly button ring in the jewellery box.
Thankfully, this time around, most cropped tops are designed to reveal just the strip of skin above your belly button and below your ribs, which, for most of us, is the least upsetting part of our midriff. Worn tight, with a pair of high-waisted trousers or a high-rise pencil skirt, the look can actually be surprisingly flattering.
Don’t believe me? Ok, so the look won’t be for everyone, but it’s not as hard to pull off as it first seems.
If you’re a dedicated follower of fashion, you might want to start doing more crunches at the gym because the look was everywhere on the runways this season and it doesn’t seem to be a trend that’s going away anytime soon. Just as boobs were the erogenous zone to show off in the last decade, abs are the go-to body part to whip out in the 2010s.
So, how do you wear an ab-revealing outfit without looking like a tragic Britney wannabe? Well, Jonathan Saunders paired his cropped t-shirts with pencil skirts, Miu Miu opted for bra tops, Balenciaga went the sporty route and Roksanda Ilincic showcased beautiful evening dresses with a flash of stomach. There were all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the general theme was to offset the potential for looking trashy by keeping the bellybutton under wraps, opting for luxe materials and keeping the rest of the looking classy. If you stick to these rules, belly tops can be surprisingly chic.
Bangkok is the perfect place to nab yourself a clutch of belly revealing tops. Not only are the nation’s designers getting in on the ab-revealing action (check out Wonder Anatomie’s latest collection), but street markets are awash with cropped tops as well. So, whether your budget is THB100 or THB10,000, Bangkok has plenty of belly revealing buys to offer. Just remember this helpful rule: just as walking up stairs in a teeny tiny skirt is a no-go, so is forgetting to suck your stomach in when you’re wearing a cropped top.
