Women's Cropped Tops

A crop is defined less by its own length than by the waistline it stops above. A hem that finishes just under the bust needs a high-rise piece beneath it to work, while one sitting at or just above the natural waist behaves like an ordinary top with a shorter body. Boxy and straight cuts leave air between the hem and the body; fitted, ribbed and ruched crops follow the body closely and shift the proportion the other way.

The rest is whatever happens above that hem: cami and tank straps, off-shoulder and one-shoulder necklines, long-sleeve and cropped-knit versions, tie-front shirts, and cut-out or lace-up fronts. A tie or a lace-up gathers fabric and lifts the hem higher than the pattern alone would, where a cut-out opens the body of the top without changing where it ends. Ribbed cotton and jersey stretch and recover, poplin and denim hold a straight edge, and mesh and satin each change how much the hem moves when you do.