Are you like me and this crop sweater/crop shirt trend makes you want to pull your hair out? Hahaha! Get it? (Look at the picture above.) What can I say? I do strange things while posing- I don’t know what else to do! Anyway, in all seriousness, I’ve noticed the cropped trend coming on strong while shopping. I saw a ton of really cute cropped sweaters, jackets and tops, and frankly, it had me scratching my head. Well, I went on my long extended break (I didn’t really shop or look at clothes), and I forgot about it. Then my sister came over with this exact outfit on, and I was like BINGO! Now that’s how you wear the cropped trend (that is, if you’re not wanting to show you mid section -ha!).
First, let’s establish that the cropped trend is a good thing! As you can see in the picture above, the cropped hem gives the illusion of a waistline, even though it’s not hugging your waist (gotta love that). Plus, the look is just darling!
But what really makes this look work so well is the shirt underneath. You see, instead of wearing a tighter t-shirt that hugs you and and has a matching horizontal line, this shirt’s high/low hem adds interest. The curve in the hem allows for the horizontal cropped hem to stand out, and since the hem goes up on the sides, it doesn’t cause an unwanted horizontal line at the hip area. Yay! The hem also give you extra length, which balances out the short length of the cropped top! There is lots of proportion play and styling going on here, but it can be easily achieved just by wearing the right top underneath!
I have two really great tops that I can recommend to achieve this look. First- the one I’m wearing in this post (I originally blogged about it here). Second- my favorite t-shirts from BP (see selfie below). The t-shirts deserve a post of their own- I have like 15 of them! With these two tops, you can freely participate in the cropped trend and have fun!
And can we just also love these tops because they can be worn with leggings?!?! Yes, we can! We can love them and wear them with our cropped tops and our leggings (I never thought I would be saying that beyond the 80’s!)!
Post outfit links: Sweater- Madewell, Shirt- BP, Jeans- Paige, Shoes- J.Crew, Earrings- Lulu Frost for similar
Selfie outfit links: Top- BP, Jeans- J Brand, Sneakers- Nike, Scarf- Nordstrom, Earrings- Argento Vivo, Watch- Kate Spade
A special thanks to Emily for taking my pictures!
This outfit is the cutest!! I’ve been eyeing that top (the one underneath) online for awhile, but, could you pretty please tell me, is it too sheer to wear alone? I don’t want to order it if there’s a chance it’s see through. Thanks Carly!!
Yes, it’s kinda see through. I hope this helps.
I feel like I NEED this entire outfit. LOVE!!
Thank you!
Love this look! And I’m dying to know your workout routine to get such slim stems! All barre classes?
Thank you! I go to DEFINE here in Houston. They have a “body” class that combines different disciplines. It’s the first class that I can see visible results! I love it!
I think I need a few of those BP tops!
I am loving your blog…you have such a great sense of style and critical eye for aesthetics! This entry is a perfect example on how to break down an outfit to better understand how it works…something I’m unable to do consistently. Thank you!
I’m glad you are loving the blog! You nailed it, I love to break down outfits! Thank you for your comment!
I love your blog and consider you to be one of my best young friends! Am 67 ( my girls who are around your age put me on to you several years ago). I enjoyed your cropped top blog. Am wondering if there are any great sleeveless tanks you can recommend? My husband and I travel a lot ( that is what happens when you retire) ? and am looking for layering pieces that I can wear under a loosely knit sweater but that are not so fitted? Any great travel tips for NYC?
Hi! Thank you for sweet comment! I’m glad you feel like we are besties! There was a perfect shirt from LOFT for you, but they are sold out! Darn! What I recommend is to type “sleeveless tunic” in the search bar of my favorite sites for such tops (LOFT, Lou & Grey, Nordstrom, Anthropologie). I hope this helps! Thanks for reading!