How to Wear a Crop Top without Baring it All

I'd originally written off the crop top look as a second coming of bad 90s fashion. If you recall the days of Winona Ryder's prime, short tops and high waisted pants were the ish, though looking back now, the style seems balloony and almost like everyone was trying to make the mom look cool.

Then, last summer Taylor Swift and one of my personal faves, Jessica Alba, started showing up in crop tops left and right and if not the world, I took notice (and really, so did the world). By taking notice, I also began to covet, and then, the story of my life, struggle to style it more modestly - i.e., less belly baring, without losing the fashion element.

Part of the crop top appeal is that sexy little sliver of stomach, though I think the real appeal is the slimming affect that the look gives.

So, if the point is to keep the silhouette, then the trick is to keep the crop and cover up that sliver. My choice de jour is high waisted skirts and pants.

Since I am now keeping this skirt, I'm now in the market for crop tops to go with it. Check out a few of the market hits in the lists below. What do you like best?

Crop tops:

Cropped sweaters:


High waisted pants. The higher the waist, the better.

Layer a crop top over a tank jersey maxi dress or an A-line dress.