So crop tops are the trend that just won't quit. (Looking at you, Nasty Gal.)
They've been on runways forever, but made a particularly aggressive showing for spring 2013.
Miley Cyrus and Rihanna are so into them, they basically don't even wear whole tops anymore.
But Britney is the turn of the millennium's true pioneer of modern half-shirt wearing.
So if you want to wear a crop top successfully (meaning, obviously, nostalgically)? Follow her rules.
1. Have a pair of colored tights you never wear? Wrap them around a bra, and boom: crop top.
2. Match your crop top to your knee pads.
3. Diamanté trim separates evening crop top pant suits from daywear.
4. See?
5. When wearing a crop top for evening, consider using a table runner as a shawl.
6. But when on stage, swap it for a snake.
7. If you start to miss regular shirts, add a sleeve.
8. DIY crop tops from everyday materials, like white duct tape and thread.
9. If you have to wear a coat, definitely keep it open.
10. Just because it's a crop top, that doesn't mean it can't be a pirate shirt.
11. Emphasize a crop top with other cropped pieces — like these tights.
12. If your jersey crop top doesn't have any fringe, sequins, or tattered bits at the end, add a belly chain.
13. And lastly, wear your jeans as low as possible, to maximize abdominal exposure.
Fin.
