C&C California

A simple cotton T-shirt is threatening to end a fashion craze that has bared midriffs around the world and revealed parts of the human anatomy that, for some people, are best kept covered. Across southern California, the home of the belly-baring micro-tee popularised by pop diva Britney Spears and her teeny-bopper clones, the tiny tank top has given way to a long shirted, layered look invented by two 30-something pals.

Their quest for the perfect tee led Cheyann Benedict and Claire Stansfield to start C & C California and unwittingly launched a fashion revolt against the all-too-public bare belly button.

"People are sick of the bare midriff thing," Pam Cohen, owner of a tony Manhattan Beach, California, boutique, said as she rung up a 50-ish customer who bought $500 worth of C & C T-shirts. "Britney Spears is over. Layering is in."

Cohen's boutique, Flip Flop, sells about 100 C & C T-shirts each week at $38 to $48 apiece, and ships another 30 or so to style-hungry customers who see their favourite stars dressed in the filmy tees and heard about them on "Oprah" but can't find them in stores.

She doesn't see demand waning soon: "Older customers don't want to show their bellies and all the jean styles are low."

Jamie Rosenthal, owner of the hip Hollywood boutique Lost & Found, where actresses Jennifer Aniston (news) and Catherine Keener (news) bought their C & C tees, has gotten "hundreds" of calls for the shirts and compared their popularity to the Beanie Baby craze.

"It's the drug of the century," Rosenthal, who launched the brand from her store, said. "It has created in some people a sort of compulsive behavior. It turned into a craze to where we are unable to keep them in stock."

The secret? A soft, thin cotton reminiscent of a vintage T-shirt, a slightly clingy fit and a selection of colours like Barcalounger, Guacamole and Freezie that changes with each shipment, said Los Angeles Times fashion writer Booth Moore, who stumbled onto the growing hunger for C & C shirts while surveying the city's boutiques for hot new trends.

"There is something about the smooth, soft texture of the shirts that makes them comfortable and desirable," Moore said. "Everybody seems to be really excited about it and ... very relieved. I would like to think maybe older women are standing up for their rights and saying, 'We are not going to dress like Britney Spears any more."'

C & C proprietors Benedict and Stansfield said the pop princess' wardrobe was the last thing on their mind when they began roaming Los Angeles' fashion district in search of the perfect fabric about a year ago. Read More…