27.4.11

How-To: Cropped Tops

About a month ago, I promised myself to go on a shopping diet till end of April.

I failed.

But I am still trying! I'm a shopaholic and when it comes to clothes, I don't think I'll ever own enough. This is an issue that I fully aware of currently struggling with. With so many neighborhood malls around my school and home, it is difficult to look away from well dressed mannequins and sale racks. Plus, my daily dose of Lookbook+Bloglovin+fashionistas on campus makes it almost impossible to NOT know what I'm lusting for...

So far, I have been using an iPhone app (Piggie) to track all my expenses, not visited a single blogshop, and not walking into fashion boutiques.

I need to shop less for two reasons:
1. To save at least 20% of my allowance every week
2. To rediscover my existing wardrobe

To my surprise, there were so many old, preloved pieces I found in my wardrobe! One of which was is a t-shirt with a skull printed on it. I purchased it 5 years ago.

What you'll need:
- An old tee you're willing to destroy (preferably graphic/patterned shirts)
- Scissors
- Pencil/chalk

(Click to enlarge)

How to?
  1. Lay shirt on a flat surface. Picture how you want your cropped top to look like. There are many types of a 'cropped top'. Some like the collars big, some prefer it short to show off their abs. 
  2. Cut away the collar, sleeves and shirt rim. Snip with care and try to avoid rugged edges. Then, cut the collar, sleeves and shirt rim to however big/wide you want. (Tip: every time you finish cutting an area, try it on to make sure your top is wearable...you don't want a collar so wide that it drops off the shoulder!)
  3. Now's the tricky part - the curve. I first marked the midpoint, then briefly drew out curves line towards the bottom. After making sure it looks somewhat symmetrical, snip away!
  4. Finishing touch - trim the edges to smoothen the appearance. Use sandpaper against edges to remove loose thread. (Tip: simply stretch every opening to instantly minimize uneven edges.)

Try it on!

My brand new top!

More ideas for your cropped top:
- Cut an opening on a random part of the top and hold it together with safety pins
- Cut vertical slits along the bottom of the top to create fringe.

How to wear?
- Safest choice - with jeans and a nice belt
- With a flowly maxi skirt. Wear the top by itself, tucked in, or even with a knot to show off your abs
- Over something that's too revealing to be worn alone
- Whatever works for you

I wore it with a pair of skinny cargo pants. Here's the look:

See it HERE on Lookbook! Please support :)





My ever faithful Timberland booties
Grumpy because my fish tail braid is so messy (yep, just learnt it today)

Hope you enjoyed this entry! Looking forward to my weekend, I'm halfway there.