Fresh Crops are Tops

Black, mustard, and lilac: Pink Republic, Kohl's
Yellow floral: Delia's, Doll's Kill
Red floral: One Clothing, Marshalls
Fruits w/bird: Ziztar, Zulily
Pink: Wild Fable, Target

Crop tops are in this season.  Which I realize sounds kind of pretentious.  As if I'm some Manhattan mover and shaker who knows what's hot and what's not (a phrase, by the way, that would never pass a Vogue staffer's lips).  I know that the crop is big the way I know that anything's big: I see it out in the stores.  Then again, according to those in the know (ladies who lunch, plastic poncho models), when a trend becomes mainstream, it's well on its way to being passe.  But I don't bother myself with such details.  I like crop tops, and I don't care who knows it!  That said, here's a poem singing their praises:

Farm fresh
Showing flesh
Berry sweet
A trendy treat
From many a shop, many a label
Delia's, Ziztar, Wild Fable
For cougars and teens
And in-betweens
They keep you cool
And make boys drool
Crops are hot
Crops are tops.

Pause for jazz hands and sparklers.

Now, for a few words about Ziztar:

This food-and-bird-bedecked top is the only thing from the big Z I own, and I got it from Zulily for $12.  But Ziztar's website sells pieces that go for hundreds!  If snagging one of those isn't a sign of being in the inner circle, then I don't know what is.  Good thing there's Zulily, which is a sign of being in something else.  Like an outer square or wayward rhombus. 

Anyhoo, most of my crops are a misnomer, especially if worn with high-waisted skirts like the duo below.  No belly buttons saying hey here!  But that's for the best, as it's not exposure I'm seeking (that stuff about flesh and boys notwithstanding) but good old-fashioned, new fashion fun.  So far I've been mostly layering these over and under things like pullovers and dickeys.  In other words, I've been styling them as garments more popular with the shuffleboard than club circuit set.  I made my mocks even more retro by topping them off with my late aunt's necklaces. 

 Pencil skirt: Switchblade Stiletto, Amazon
A-line skirt: Bea & Dot, Modcloth

And now for a crop of a different kind.  Yes, it's produce from my kitchen counter!

I thought that it looked picturesque, especially with Mr. Brontosaurus standing sentinel.  (If Mr. Rooster [lurking out of frame] thinks that he's filching a strawberry, then he'd better pack his pepper spray.)  With plenty of vitamins and antioxidants, this roadside stand-worthy spread is just what a midriff-bearing (or concealing) body needs!  But if I'm being honest, the husband ate most of it.  Not because he's a glutton.  But because I'm too lazy to wash and cut fruit, instead eating the kind that comes prepackaged in single-serve bowls.  Like a toddler or a hospital patient.

Or someone who plays kicks ass at shuffleboard.