Top of the crops

In the past, crop tops were associated with muffin tops and chavs (sorry but its true), but they've evolved slowly into a wardrobe staple that every girl should invest in. I've got plenty in loads of different styles; bralets, racer crops, t-shirts and blouses. But you can topple back into danger territory with them if you don't style them properly. In my opinion, only skinny-minnie, gym-bunny girls can get away with wearing crop tops with hipster jeans or skirts. And even for those girls, I still don't think having a bare stomach looks great. Following the number one rule of feminism; boobs or legs; there is no option for stomach, proving you shouldn't show it unless you're in a bikini on the beach. I think crop tops look amazing when paired with anything high-waisted, be it jeans or skirts or shorts or trousers. It's only by coincidence that all of the outfits I've put together are with skirts; the tops would look equally as good with jeans when the weathers not as warm.

Ever since I experimented with mixing florals, I can't seem to get enough of clashing prints! This time I went with a clashing fine-check print. The crop top is a pink gingham print and was only £9.99, and the skirt is a very fine monochrome dogtooth print and was around £15 (both new look). I thought they worked well for a clashing outfit because of the really similar print and pairing of black and white against colour. I love the racer style sleeves of the top and the keyhole fastening at the back means it fits really nicely. They're the perfect lengths to wear together aswell because they meet at the waist, making your waist seem smaller (clever little trick right?). It seems I was subconsciously riding a new look wave because everything I added was new look (which I've only just realised). The gladiator shoes were £24.99 and they are one of few pairs of shoes in my wardrobe that don't tear my feet to shreds and leave me wanting amputations (maybe a little dramatic but seriously, I own like no comfy shoes). The gold watch and hoop earrings are both new look too and are pretty much the jewellery I wear everyday.

The second I put this outfit on, I had a crazy urge to go for a teddy bears picnic or to go running in slow motion through a field filled with daisies and cornflowers. It's just so cute and girly between the pink skater skirt, white sandals and floral prints and I couldn't resist pulling an overly-girly pose (holding out a skirt at the edges is something I haven't done since prom and probably never really before that either come to think of it). The skirt is from miss selfridge and was in the petite range for £29 (clearly I went through a phase of buying petite skirts from miss selfridge) and I just love the colour so much. It gets ruined by black tights so this truly is a summer-only skirt and it matched the coral flowers in the print of the top perfectly. The top is also miss selfridge but it's brand-new; it was £25 and so worth the money. The fabric is dreamy and you can just feel the quality of it. The cross-over style adds a little something to it and the earthy tones mixed with the floral print makes it so beyond perfect for summer. I finished the look with my white La Moda sandals (£24), my rose gold Identity London watch and a coral-pink lipstick; Rimmel Colour rush in 700 Not an illusion.

This skirt is one of my favourites and based on the quality, you would never know it was only £10 from primark! The faux leather means it keeps its shape really well and the high-waisted style and length of the hem means it works for day or night with bare legs or black tights. It also has a small split up the back which looks good and gives you some extra movement. The colour went perfectly with the green parts in my new river island top. I love their racer style crop tops and have been holding out for the perfect colour/print. It seems I was right to wait because this coral flower print one is my favourite by a long way, but at only £12 I'm sure I could stretch to invest in one or two more. I think mixing prints with colour blocks works really well and I added black shoes, which matched the top and balanced the outfit out. The shoes are my trusty black new look heels and were around £35 last October. Again, I added the same coral-pink lipstick because it matched the flowers in the top, along with my gold jewellery.