I LOVE crop tops. I have so many I have lost track. I’m obsessed with this new trend of crop tops and high-waisted skirts, shorts and pants. Crop tops are no longer the skeezy, trashy, belly button-baring trend we know from the 90s. Now they are classy, acceptable for women of many ages and accessible to many different body types. When you only show a sliver of skin, that is at the slimmest part of your midsection, it’s so sexy. Just a subtle flash and that’s all. Best yet, thanks to high-waisted bottoms, you don’t have to worry about having a six-pack or not creating a beautiful food baby at lunch. Can you tell I love crop tops??

You will see me in a crop top nearly every Saturday and Sunday. As awesome as crop tops are, they are definitely NOT appropriate for a traditional workplace. This got me thinking – could I utilize the high-waisted skirt trend to allow myself to wear crop tops M-F too??

I started with this gray high-waisted pencil skirt. I got this skirt at Goodwill many years ago at the beginning of college, when I was just a young unpaid intern with no cash, a wardrobe full of frat bro tanks and cocktail dresses and absolutely no idea what to wear in a professional work environment. Thank goodness I did, because this skirt is literally the basis of my corporate wardrobe now!

I paired it with a black ruffly crop top from Fashion Rush Clothing?that I purposely bought in a size large so that it would be longer than most crop tops.The top has two layers of ruffle. I tucked the longer layer into the skirt, and let the shorter layer hang over the skirt. This way, it was fun and young, but no one could even tell I was wearing a crop top! I carried around my little secret all day.

Last week, I decided to take a gander at actually showing that I was wearing a crop top. I paired this bright yellow t-shirt crop top from Fashion Rush Clothing with a white high-waisted pencil skirt I recently purchased at H&M. The skirt hits so high up that the crop top easily overlapped it. It was obvious that the top was cropped, but I didn’t show any skin. Brilliant, if I do say so myself.

I’m excited to go through my closet and find new ways to incorporate my summer/weekend wardrobe into my work wardrobe.

How do you go outside the Express/Banana Republic/Ann Taylor/J. Crew box when dressing for work?

Nude heels?& black wedges, both Payless.

Gold necklace, Target.

Heart necklace, Tiffany & Co.