The Varying Looks Of The Persistent Crop Shell

Women’s fashions are constantly changing. The latest look is often something that was worn decades ago brought back into the limelight. Today’s crop shells are the cropped top of yester year. In the 70’s men wore cropped tops especially if they were football players. Now, in the year 2021, the crop top reemerges as the crop shell.

Cropped for the usual reasons it is shorter than the torso, it falls just above the navel by a couple of inches or more depending. The term shell is applied because of its brevity. So, the crop shell is taking the fashion world by storm. It appears both in casual dress and in formal wear.

In athletic wear it appears in stretch tops that are form fitting as well as looser shells that freely swing away from the body. In casual day to day wear, the look is often accomplished with spaghetti strapped tops, sleeveless tops, and short sleeved tops. On the rarest of occasions, you’ll see one with long sleeves. In formal wear, the crop shell appears in sequins, matte jersey, embroidered, printed, and with fringe attached. Tops are made in both knitted and weaved cloth, and in leather and suede. They are even constructed in snakeskin for effect.

Crop shells often appear paired with leggings for the total exposure of the body’s form. In most instances all but the most fit persons, choose this look. Most with common body flaws freely display the abdomen and choose to keep the hips camouflages with free-flowing skirts or loose-fitting pants.

Most crop shells have modest neck lines: mock turtlenecks, crew necks, scooped U-necks, or V-necks that display a limited amount of décolletage. Some however, plunge deeply into the neckline and start to reveal the top of the belly. These provocative pieces of clothing can sometimes seem scandalous to the more conservative set and are simply unwelcomed in others.

Still, there is a place where the crop shell is at home. On the beach or in beach towns, this look is commonly seen on young girls and older women. It’s just as common as bikinis and one-piece bathing suits worn by pedestrians carrying on their daily lives shopping, dining out, and jogging by. It’s a uniform for many young ladies. If you see them in a group, they’ll all have on that one unifying look the crop shell. It may feature different surface designs, be in varying colors, or be trimmed with ornaments, but it will always be a cropped top.