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This definitely wasn’t the first time I spotted a crop top in the wild, but I have a distinct memory of seeing someone who may or may not be a “street style star” wearing one as she bypassed hundreds (myself included) waiting in line for Kenneth Cole’s NYFW presentation in September 2013. It’s distinct because that’s when I labeled myself as a Girl Who Cannot Pull Off Crop Tops — we have wildly different body types, so how could it ever work?
Now let’s fast-forward almost three years, most of which have been spent working (and shopping!) for Racked, and I’ve learned a lot about dressing for my body and have gotten smarter about styling — or at least I’d like to think so. I picked up a matching top-and-skirt set at & Other Stories a couple months back and have been playing around with separating the pieces for new outfits, preferring to pair the skirt with a blush silk shell top I grabbed at AYR’s first sample sale.
That’s what I was wearing when NY associate editor Channing Hargrove and I were hitting up multiple Zara stores yesterday to find the best one (you can follow that saga on our Twitter feed) when I stumbled across this white top at the upper Fifth Avenue location. It was worth suffering through the slow dressing room line when I saw that the top ended exactly where the skirt began, and it was worth suffering through the slow checkout line because it was only $13.
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About an hour after purchasing it, I ripped off the tags in a Starbucks bathroom to change for a date that was starting approximately four minutes later, and I’m wearing it again today (this time with & Other Stories high-waisted shorts that I bought last year — see a trend here?) to attend some NYFWM events. Now I’m a Girl Who Can Pull Off Crop Tops, and I’m hoping to convert others, too.—Laura Gurfein, Racked NY editor
As someone who wears a size 10.5 shoe, I’m constantly, unpleasantly reminded of the fact that for most footwear brands, that size does not exist. Most shoes are made available in 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5 — but then either stops at size 10 or skips straight from 10 to 11. Why? Why?! I have a terrible habit of buying size 10s even if they’re a bit too snug, and over the years, my toes have paid the price.
But two of the few companies that regularly, blessedly offer size 10.5 shoes? Stuart Weitzman and Topshop. As such, roughly 75% of my footwear collection is comprised of those two brands.
Old habits die hard, however, and a few weeks ago, I once again made the poor decision of purchasing a too-small pair of gold pointy Topshop flats (I think my pair was marked as 10.5, but fit like a 9.5). After wearing them around my apartment and deciding that my toes just couldn’t take the torture, I sadly brought them back to the Soho store.
But! Just as I was getting ready to return them, a pair of lovely block-heeled sandals caught my eye from across the sales floor. They were everything you’d want in a summer sandal: leg-lengthening, comfy, surprisingly expensive-looking despite their under-$50 price tag — and most importantly, they fit. Nothing eases the burn of a required return like a consolation purchase! —Elana Fishman, entertainment editor