11 Going-Out Tops, Because Everyone Loves a Going-Out Top

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.)

Sign up for our shopping newsletter

Get exclusive discounts, celeb inspo, & more.

Sign Up

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. 

VIDEO: Badass Women: Aly Raisman, The Heroine