page_title: Cultural views on the navel
section_title: Fashion
hierarchical_section_title: Cultural views on the navel / Western culture / Fashion
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Junge Frau in Hüfthose. English: Young woman in low-rise jeans.paulina 2 033
context_page_description: The cultural views of the navel vary significantly. In some cultures the navel is seen as sexually and culturally significant, and its exposure has been subject to a variety of cultural norms and taboos, based on concepts of modesty. The views, customs and fashions relating to the navel change from time to time, and such exposure has become more widely acceptable, as reflected in design of clothing.
context_section_description: Exposed midriff is associated with the crop top, often in association with low-rise clothing. Another way that the navel may be exposed is via a deep plunging neckline dress or top that drops below the natural waist line.
  Low-rise clothing started in the early 1990s, when the British magazine The Face featured Kate Moss in low-rise jeans on its March 1993 issue cover. Models such as Gisele Bündchen frequently flash their midriffs. In 1994, Art Cooper, editor-in-chief of GQ magazine said that his big seller in 1994 was the February issue with Geena Davis on the cover, on which she wore an Armani suit opened at the hips to reveal her navel, It sold about 400,000 copies. He stated, "Part of the success is the navel factor. I think the belly button is really an erogenous zone."
  Navel piercing and navel tattoos has become more common among young women. The trend of piercing or tattooing the navel became popular in the 1990s. It is popular among middle-aged women. Actress Drew Barrymore has a butterfly tattoo beneath her navel. The growing popularity of belly dancing, where navel exposure is typical, has also added to the navel exposure trend.
  Contrarily, advice columnist Ann Landers commented, "Navels are neither sexy nor obscene. I do not believe any female of good taste would wear an outfit where her navel shows. This does not include women in costumes or those on beaches in bikinis. The same goes for males. An adult male who wears hip-huggers so low rates zero minus 10 on the scale of taste—it's my opinion but it's one I feel strongly about." Fashion historian James Laver told that he hasn't quite caught up with the idea of exposing the navel, saying, "I have never regarded that as a particularly attractive part of the human anatomy". The navel fashion returned in the 1980s, when a New York City ban on exposing the navel in public was lifted.
  Since 2010, the crop top evolved by which women started wearing it with a high-rise skirts, jeans, or shorts that are high enough to cover the navel. The bandeau top also made an appearance in formal wear, usually associated with a high-rise skirt or pants that cover the navel. Actress Halle Berry wore a bandeau with matching pants at the MTV Video Music Awards, fueling the trend of wearing a bandeau top as an out-of-home dress. Miley Cyrus also wore a cropped bandeau top with high-waisted pants at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards and Jourdan Dunn wore a black bandeau top with matching maxiskirt.
caption: A woman wearing a cropped top and low-rise pants that expose the midriff and navel
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