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Ask Angie: cropped tops and high waisted pants

May 8, 2015

With my long torso and short legs, high rise pants could be a great idea. But I am often at a loss for what to wear with higher rise trousers.

And, on the flip side, slightly cropped tops are everywhere this season. That seems like a good solution, but I can't quite make it work. My torso is long and a bare midriff isn't acceptable for work, so I have to be careful. Even mid-rise jeans are far too low on me for these tops.

So I'm in a bind. I would love to introduce both silhouettes into my wardrobe, but I never seem to find the right way to wear them.

I bought the lovely Banana Republic shirt in Finds below, then tried it with everything in my wardrobe and nothing quite looked right. Similarly, I'm not sure what to wear with the high-waisted Alice + Olivia trousers that I bought. They do work together, I think! A few other examples below.

I'd love to see ensembles that combine these shapes in interesting ways! Anyone have favorite inspiration photos or items? Do you all wear cropped tops?

Posted in the Dressing category
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8 Comments

  • UmmLila (Lisa) replied 8 years ago

    I'm working with this look, but I have legs on the longer side and torso on the shorter side, so it's easier for me. I'm thinking you might need to wear heels to lengthen out the leg, and also wear two layers of tops if there's gapping between the high waist pants and the crop top.

  • Angie replied 8 years ago

    Can we see the cropped short with the new high-wasited pants, Greyscale? My tools will be sharper that way. There is a lot that can go wrong with the proportions of a cropped top (I found out the hard way) - most of the time they aren't quite cropped enough. So I'm interested to see your challenge - especially since it's a column of colour which is a lot more forgiving with proportions. (No cutting contrast). And since you have a long torso. 

    A soft top tucked is an easier option. Perhaps in a dark grey?

    I wore my high waisted skinnies with a white crop top a few weeks ago and was happy with the proportions, as long as I wore ankle strap footwear. This was the outfit: 

  • Greyscale replied 8 years ago

    I'll try to post some photos tomorrow! I was at work (...shopping online) when I thought to ask.

  • DonnaF replied 8 years ago

    I have a Cheeto colored crop top (Top Shop so you KNOW it's cropped!) I wear a contrasting cami underneath to give a cummerbund intentional look when I flash.  Otherwise, I feel like I would just be showing underwear IYKWIM.  FWIW, I'm a Petite with a back waist that is Regular length (i.e. torso from neck to waist) such that Regular peplums hit me better than Petite ones.

  • Dixie replied 8 years ago

    I'm really interested in this since I love crop tops! And if you have a long waist it is going to look specially good on you. I have a short waist and high hips so high waisted pants looked a bit weird (they flare at the high hips). I got used to the siluette now and I like it. As long as they cinch at the waist and aren't super skinny and tight, they look good on me. I have a pair similar to your Gap suggestion. 

  • Suz replied 8 years ago

    I am still struggling with it, too. So far my solution with cropped pullovers has been to wear a long top untucked underneath (i.e. layer) but this was before I had a high waisted pair of pants.

    I still don't own such a pair of pants, but I do own some higher waisted skirts and the crops could work with those on their own...IF I felt comfortable in them, but I don't, quite, or wouldn't in a work environment. 

    I haven't been completely satisfied with my crop over long top outfits, either. It works better for me if the contrast is rather low, I am wearing a little heel, and the underneath top is soft vs. crisp in fabrication -- silk works better than cotton. 

    Curious to see your pics.  

  • Tanya replied 8 years ago

    I am also wearing (or at least trying to) lotd of cropped tops this season.  I have a very long torso and short legs so this silhouette should work well for me.
    In general I, own two lengths of cropped tops that I wear in different ways. The first one is very cropped, even with high-waisted bottoms they show some skin.  Most of those are loose and I only wear them layered over a bottom layer, though there is a cropped fitted top I wear with high-waisted top on its own and show some skin on purpose. Mosr of these tops are from last year and older.
    The second group is with the tops slightly longer and boxy, like what you are showing.  When worn with high-waisted bottoms they do not show any skin when standing.  I have that same BR shirt you showed.  
    I am attaching some photos for illustration.  The first one is of the very cropped variety, the rest are second group, which I think is what you asked about.

    1 2 3 4 5
  • Greyscale replied 8 years ago

    Thanks so much for posting those, Tanya. I definitely don't have any pants or skirts with a high waist like you show, and I think that's what's missing in my wardrobe. The white BR shirt looks great on you, so I'm optimistic that I can make mine work too. (And I'm even tempted to get one in white as well.)

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