Summer Tops To Go Out In

(Photo by Christian Vierig/Getty Images)

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.)

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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RUFFLED CROP TOP

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$285 Alexis SHOP IT Opens a new window

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FLORAL SILK CROP TOP

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$265 LoveShackFancy SHOP IT Opens a new window

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V-NECK TOP

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$25 H&M SHOP IT Opens a new window

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PUFF-SLEEVED TIE-WAIST TOP

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$475 Lisa Marie Fernandez SHOP IT Opens a new window

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ONE-SHOULDER RUFFLED CREPE TOP

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$186 (originally $465) Solace London SHOP IT Opens a new window

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OFF-THE-SHOULDER TOP

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$381 (originally $545) Jonathan Simkhai SHOP IT Opens a new window

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BUTTON DOWN BALLON SLEEVE TOP

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$65 (originally $89) Pixie Market SHOP IT Opens a new window

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SILK HALTER TOP

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$275 Ramy Brook SHOP IT Opens a new window

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FLORAL SMOCKED TOP

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$325 Tanya Taylor SHOP IT Opens a new window

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TIE BACK BALLOON SLEEVE TOP

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$85 Topshop SHOP IT Opens a new window

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SLEEVELESS FLORAL CROP TOP

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$69 WAYF SHOP IT Opens a new window

Replay gallery

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