While crop tops in general are always fun and flirty, I especially like the polished look of this week’s DIY Crop Top in particular. It can be paired beautifully with distressed pearl jeans or a wrapped maxi skirt (tutorial coming later this week!) and coordinate beautifully. It looks far more sophisticated than a hacked up t-shirt and doesn’t take much more time to complete. I’m gunna call that a total win-win. This DIY crop top is unique because it’s crazy-simple to make (the video tutorial is less than 3 minutes long!) and looks feminine when you’re done. This is the perfect project if you’re just barely getting started sewing and are scared to make your own patterns yet. I’ll hold your hand and walk you through every step of the way.As far as the “pattern making” portion of this tutorial, you only need to take two measurements to complete this project. You’ve likely spent more time re-measuring yourself and checking with a new brands size chart than it will take for you to finish this DIY crop top.

Supplies:

My supply lists are shoppable for your convenience! Just click any aff. link below to get everything you’ll need to complete this tutorial without adding extra errands to your day.

• 1/2 Yard ITY Knit Jersey In Black
• Dressmaker Shears – I’ve used these ones for years and love them!
• Basic Sewing Machine (or serger)
• Tape Measure
• Dressmaker Pins

How To Make A DIY Crop Top

To begin, cut 1/2 yard of ITY Knit Jersey into two, long strips. I love using this one in particular because it drapes beautifully, is ultra-soft, is easy to work with, and is also incredibly inexpensive.

To decide how wide your strips need to be, follow the steps below:

Start out by measuring the height of your breast. Place your measuring tape under your boob and wrap it up over your nipple until it’s fully covering your entire breast. Double that measurement and then trim the width of your strips to match.

Next, fold your strips of fabric in half and pin into place. You’ll be sewing your strips into a long, thin, tube. Repeat on the other piece of fabric so you have two separate long tubes.

These tubes of fabric are likely way to big, so next we get to trim them down to fit. To decide how long your tubes need to be, wrap your measuring tape around your torso over one shoulder, across one breast, and under your armpit. Take note of that measurement and subtract 2″ – 3″ for stretch. Trim your strips to size.

Now, flip your tubes inside out and fold in half again. Pin along the rough edge and sew into place.

Now comes the fun part!

Wrap the tubes around your body and play around with them until you like the way they look. Use sewing pins to tack the center top, center bottom, and either side in place. Then, use a hand-sewing needle or your basic sewing machine to tack these points into place. This helps to insure that there are never any wardrobe malfunctions and your new DIY crop top stays put.

Ta da! You my friend are DONE! Now wear your new DIY crop top with pride and have fun wearing it over and over again.

Thanks to street style and the instant documentation of it on social media, the gap between the runway and reality narrows every season. Revisiting the hundreds of street style photos Phil Oh shot in New York, London, Milan, and Paris, you can witness how women’s outfits gradually shift to reflect what they’ve seen at the shows. Victoria Beckham and Burberry’s new look of bourgeois elegance in London prompted several women to wear skirt suits and head-to-toe camel before the trend had even crystallized at Hedi Slimane’s Celine show. Whether those ladies remixed the clothes they’d packed in their suitcases or went out to buy brand-new looks—and fast!—it’s a good example of how runway trends and street style trends have started to overlap.

That explains the subversive, punk codes we saw on and off the runways, too. There was a tough, anti-establishment spirit in several collections, usually with a side of romantic florals (see: Prada, Valentino, Alexander McQueen). We saw guys and girls wearing studs, spikes, smudged eyeliner, dark lips, platforms, and, of course, head-to-toe black on the streets, too. There’s no arguing that’s where the trend started—decades and decades ago, in fact—before trickling up to the highest echelons of fashion. Maybe “trend” isn’t even the right word; Lily Gatins, for example, has been dressing this way forever, regardless of what’s happening in the zeitgeist.

A Fresh Way to Wear Your Blazer

Tailoring was a huge story on the Fall 2019 runways, but with spring around the corner, you might not feel inspired to wear a full-on pantsuit. Instead, we saw lots of women pairing their jackets—oversize or trim, leather or checked—with skirts. Occasionally, the look resembled an actual skirt suit. We also spotted a few women in full, pleated midis days before Hedi Slimane put them on the runway at Celine.

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Photographed by Phil Oh

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The New Statement Coat

For years, the streets outside the Fall runway shows were insanely plush. Fur was the dominant outerwear trend, from soft shearlings to rainbow-striped chubbies and everything in between. Maybe it has something to do with the real-versus-faux argument—many women have vowed to stop wearing both—or perhaps we’re all just ready for a change. This season’s most photogenic coats fell into two camps: long and lean in a bold color, or vividly printed. They made just as much of a statement—and were likely a lot easier to pack, too.