Cropping Up

The Spring runways have spoken, and what a surprise! Like it or not, the 90’s are back in a big way. Grab your sweaters, florals, and flannels this fall as evident at Saint Laurent and don’t stop. Moving forward to Spring, fringe is big, and florals have sprouted, but revealing your midriff is a key theme cropping up at lightening speed. No, we’re not pushing aside this 90’s trend too quickly.

Whether peek-a-boo looks or baring it all for the sake of flesh, the exposed midriff is here to stay. The Spring collections found everyone from the  to showing suggestive slices of toned (but of course) midriffs. While lingerie-inspired looks have abounded the past several seasons, this time around, designers were careful to expose just the right proportion of skin. (We’re not talking Britney Spears redux here.)

Can’t wait to show off your abdomen? You’re in luck. Skittish about showing off your stomach after popping out a few kids? So, what? Fake it. Let the crunches commence. Here are a few looks as evidenced on the spring runways this week.

Starting with Alexander Wang.

Helmut Lang, the 90’s belonged to you.

From Jonathan Simkhai

And from the boys at Rag & Bone. What communicated most powerfully was its overarching nineties-ness: Those string-strapped crop tops and iridescent bias-cut dresses were kissing cousins of the clothes that girls used to rock in London back then, and the look has a fresh relevance now.

From Tibi

and Milly 

What do you think? Bras acting as suitable clothing? Tell me your thoughts.