Men, love experimenting with fashion? Follow this style guide to ace the crop top trend

Actor and dancer Shantanu Maheshwari is back with a dancecentric web series which is also currently one of the most watched series on the free of cost OTT platform Amazon Mini TV What kept this writer really hooked to the college romance series is the bold experimental and striking GenZ wardrobe While some characters flaunt oversized fits with elements borrowed from the streetwear culture others sport a unique take on the equally dominating cute and chic Korean fashion For this writer the winners were the sleeveless hooded crop top looks that Maheshwari carries throughout the web seriesHarry Styles sports a crop top in a music video right Lil Nas X in his singlesleeved bejewelled crop top at the Grammys AwardsldquoThe younger generation is out to experiment with fashion and break gender stereotypes when it comes to clothing and we are here for itrdquo says costume designer and stylist Lovedeep Gulyani ldquoCrop tops for decades have always been considered a feminine piece of clothing even when it was worn by rugby players where they used to cut their Tshirts off to distribute body heat And despite being rejected time and again by the straight male audience and being widely associated with the queer community crop tops have seeped back into the common male wardroberdquoStyle it like SmithOf the many outfits that stirred a conversation in the fashion industry was actor Will Smithrsquos crop top look right in the 1990 TV show The Fresh Prince of BelAir His grey lsquoPhiladelphiarsquo oversized tee was paired with lime green sweatpants which Gulyani approves of ldquoIt is super jock and fashionable His tee is cut short for comfort and is teamed with a baggy cargo and a pair of Nike AF1 This is a classic sporty look with a twistrdquo he remindsTroye Sivan Pic CourtesyGetty ImagesGet casual with cropsThe best thing about GenZ fashion A little DIY cutting and stitching can give the apparel a completely new look Gulyani agrees and says that it works best with daily styling ldquoFor the more casual and shopping looks for instance cutting short a basic cool cotton graphic tee will do the trick Pair it with slightly baggier denims or cargo pants Throw on a short jacket and you have a complete look I also love printed crop oversized Tshirts worn with a cool pair of shorts with socks and sneakers It makes for a super fun everyday outfit for a grocery runlook as wellrdquoLovedeep GulyaniKeep up with party trendsldquoA crop shirt looks very cool at parties thatrsquos what I have recently done to most of my long shirts I alter them to waistlength and pair it with a wellstyled straight fit jeans and hightop sneakersrdquo Another look that can be borrowed from is Lil Nas Xrsquo single sleeved dazzling crop look during the 2022 performance at the Grammy Awards ldquoIt was an interesting look sported by the queer artiste bejewelled crop top for that performance It was finely balanced between masculine styling in a feminine silhouetterdquoEnhance your waistlineldquoThe abs that men work out for need to be flaunted and crop tops are the way Theyrsquore a fun take on a Tshirt and proportionately cut your body They make your legs look longer and torso shorter And if you have a great waistline it works even betterrdquo he remarks adding that the best examples for this would be popular artistes like Troye Sivan and Harry Styles who make it quirky and fun ldquoA lot of menswear designers are now adopting the style Like Ludovic de Saint Sernin made these beautiful chainmail crop tops for men that could be worn by women as well Similarly Fang NYC does these super cool gender fluid crop tank tops Crop tops for men are here to stay especially with the fun risktaking audiencerdquo he concludesHear it from the creatorCreative producer of the web series Campus Beats Palki Malhotra tells us that the motive behind the outfits worn by all characters was to truly reflect on the concept of inclusivity ldquoThe world wersquore living in currently is the GenZ world that is unapologetic about its choices in fashion And their motto is inclusivity and experimentation The outfits we planned for the series went exactly parallel to this We wanted to give Shantanu a different look something people havenrsquot seen him in before and something that aligns with the GenZ fashion culture Hence the evident unisex styling As he is a dancer in the web series crops worked best They highlight his movements are comfortable to wear for a dancer and definitely trendyrdquoCool Tip To replicate the look we gave Shantanu you can simply put on a hooded crop top pair it up with baggy jeans and accessories with anything that breaks the monotony mdash either a fabric which can be converted into a belt or a few chains to be worn around the loopStyle Mantra Do not follow rules Find what suits your attitude and wear it unapologetically