It's hard to exactly explain what makes an ideal "going-out" top. So first, let's start with what makes a "going-out" top in general.
I started using the term somewhere between eight and ninth grade, when I had become newly aware that there was a difference between wearing a T-shirt and Soffe shorts to a girls' pizza party and jeans and whatever the hell I was supposed to wear to see a movie with (gasp!) both girls and boys. (Still Soffe shorts, just with a C&C tank top.)
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There's a certain sense of dressiness when you're talking about a going-out top, but most importantly, an implied sexiness. A going-out top is a top that gets you noticed and that you feel unabashedly confident in. And while it can be simple (my favorite going-out top in all history was a silk, racerback A.L.C. tank from Intermix circa 2007), there's always somewhat of an "aha" moment about it: a ruffle, a cut-out, a smocking.
Here, the best going-out tops of the summer.
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