Patricia Field Talks Carrie Bradshaw And Crop Tops

Patricia Field, the well-known fashion designer behind “Sex and the City,” described the evolution of the chic, cropped look as beginning in a 1960s hippie trend with a ribbed top called the “Poor Boy.” It is the perfect, short complement to long bell-bottom jeans, she said. As for the recent revival, Field said it is thanks to the spring-summer 2015 runway.

“It started as a retro 1990s [runway] trend, as the waistline of pants and skirts moved from the hip toward the waist. That allowed the top to be cropped to show a little bit of skin above the waistline,” she said. Field opened up to E! News about her incorporation of crop tops into the iconic character Carrie Bradshaw.

The designer made the scene-stealing looks long before crop tops came into being. She said that Sarah Jessica Parker was instrumental in the decision to bare her belly. Field said that the motivation for Carrie wearing cropped tanks came from a collaborative decision between her and Parker.

She said that they wanted to convey the accessibility of fashion and show that everything was about styling. Field collaborated with Hanes on a new cropped version of its classic ribbed tank with a string of pearls.

Field said that the idea to modify the classic Hanes tank came from the fact that crop tops are very popular and selling strongly. She said it was the right time to shorten and refinish the hem. The designer didn’t want to reinvent the trend, just add her custom touch to the outfit, and since Hanes was a classic she opted to work on it.

On Carrie still wearing the crop top look, Field said she would wear the ribbed tank, whether cropped or the original length, since it will always be a classic. The designer added that the character may even wear the trend with a fringe bottom. According to Field, style is all about attitude.