If you've spent any time on TikTok in the last six months, you've almost certainly seen the Mossman Brooklyn Top. The chances are you've seen it on ten different people. It's one of those pieces that sits at the overlap of three different trends: the return of the proper layering basic, the renewed appetite for quietly polished workwear, and the TikTok-driven obsession with the small number of items that genuinely earn their cult following. The Brooklyn Top is on all three lists, and it has been for long enough now that the hype feels less like a flash trend and more like a shift in what a well-built wardrobe basic looks like.
We carry it in six colours at Wally, and we've brought in a deep stock position on the shape because it's one of the few pieces we sell that reliably gets worn to the point of replacement. This is a proper staple, built for work, weekends and everything that runs between the two. Below is everything you need to know about the Mossman Brooklyn Top, why it's become a cult favourite, how to wear it, and where each colour fits into a wardrobe.
Who is Mossman?
Mossman is a Melbourne-based Australian fashion label founded in 2007 by Deanna Depetro. The brand sits in the elevated-essentials part of the Australian womenswear market, with a focus on considered tailoring, clean silhouettes and knits that feel properly built. It's not fast fashion, and it's not trying to be a trend label. The Mossman point of view is to make pieces that work across seasons, can be dressed up or down with very little effort, and hold their shape after a real amount of wear.
The brand has always leaned into the kind of garment that quietly outlasts whatever is in the monthly trend cycle. The Brooklyn Top is the clearest example of that philosophy in a single piece of clothing.
Why the Brooklyn Top has gone viral
There are a lot of ribbed tops out there. Almost every Australian and New Zealand label has some version of it. So why has this particular piece become the one that creators keep reaching for, the one that sells out and gets restocked, the one that keeps coming back into TikTok feeds?
It comes down to four things that Mossman got right.
First, the fabric. The Brooklyn Top is cut from a 96% rayon, 4% elastane ribbed jersey that sits somewhere between a proper knit and a jersey tee. It's soft enough to feel like something you'd sleep in, but it holds its shape the way a more structured piece would. That combination is genuinely rare, and it's the thing that separates a top you wear all the time from a top you wear a few times and then forget about.
Second, the construction. The piece is double-layered throughout. This is not a small detail. Most ribbed jersey tops are a single layer, which means they cling in ways you don't want them to, they show everything underneath, and they never quite feel substantial. The double layer on the Brooklyn fixes all three of those problems at once. It's opaque, it smooths cleanly across the body, and it has real weight in the hand.
Third, the silhouette. The Brooklyn is a longline cut with a high round neckline and long sleeves finished with thumb openings. The longline means it tucks cleanly into high-waisted bottoms or sits naturally untucked over a waistband. The high round neck reads more polished than a lower crew, which is the reason it works so well under blazers and tailoring without feeling casual. The thumb holes are a functional detail that also happens to look good, keeping the sleeves long when you're layering under a jacket.
Fourth, the versatility. And this is the point the TikTok videos keep coming back to. The Brooklyn Top is one of the few basics that pairs genuinely well with absolutely everything. Jeans and trainers for the weekend. Tailored trousers and loafers for the office. A midi skirt and boots for dinner. A blazer over the top for a meeting. It holds its own in every context without changing what it is.
When all four of those things come together in a single garment at a sensible price point, the result is a cult piece. The Brooklyn Top has been selling out and restocking at Mossman and its stockists for over a year now, and it's one of the handful of tops that ends up tagged in almost every "what to wear to the office" TikTok we see.
The workwear angle
This is the part we think gets undersold. The Brooklyn Top has a reputation as a casual layering piece, but the silhouette is built for work dressing in a way that a lot of its competitors are not.
The high round neckline keeps things clean under a blazer or a crewneck jumper without any awkward show-through. The double layer means there's no sheer issue to manage. The longline hem tucks neatly into high-waisted trousers or skirts, or sits over the top of a waistband if you prefer the looser look. The thumb holes keep the sleeve length exactly where you want it when you're pulling on a jacket over the top. Everything about the shape has been thought through for the layering use case.
If you work in an office where the dress code sits somewhere between corporate and creative, this is one of the easiest pieces in the shop to build a wardrobe around. Run the rotation through all six of our colours and you have a full week of outfits that look deliberate, feel comfortable, and cost you basically zero styling effort in the morning.
The six colours we carry
The Brooklyn Top in Chocolate is the one we'd point people at first if they're buying the Brooklyn for the first time and asking which colour to start with. Chocolate is the kind of warm, earthy neutral that pairs with black, cream, denim, olive and almost every other colour in a sensible wardrobe. It's softer than black, more deliberate than grey, and genuinely unusual enough to feel like a statement without actually being one. We have the deepest stock position in Chocolate for a reason.
The Brooklyn Top in Black is the obvious workhorse. If your wardrobe leans monochrome, this is the piece that slides under a black blazer, over black denim, or with tailored grey trousers and disappears into the outfit the way a good basic should. Black is the most requested colourway across every stockist of the Brooklyn and the one most often mentioned in the TikTok reviews. It does exactly what you need it to do.
The Brooklyn Top in White is the counterpoint. White tops are notoriously hard to get right, particularly in a ribbed jersey where everything underneath tends to become visible. This is the piece where the double layer really earns its keep. The opacity is excellent, the shape stays clean under denim, tailoring or a blazer, and white acts as a genuine reset button against any colour you pair it with.
The Brooklyn Top in Natural is the quieter neutral, a soft beige tone that works especially well with warmer colour palettes. Pair it with denim, cream trousers, or a darker jacket and it becomes the thing that pulls everything together. Natural is the colour we'd recommend if your wardrobe is already dense in black and white and you're looking for something that adds warmth without introducing a full new colour.
The Brooklyn Top in Grey Marle is the softened, textural option. The marle gives the jersey a subtle depth that a flat grey couldn't manage, and it sits beautifully alongside navy, cream or darker denim. Grey marle is one of those colours that feels more relaxed than black or navy without tipping into casual territory, which is exactly why it ends up in the rotation so often.
The Brooklyn Top in Cherry Lacquer is the colour for anyone who wants to use the Brooklyn as a moment rather than a background piece. Deep, considered red with a slight lacquer sheen to the tone, Cherry Lacquer works against navy, chocolate, cream and denim in a way that feels grown up rather than loud. This is the one if you want to pull a rich, rewarding colour into an otherwise neutral wardrobe.
Fit, sizing and fabric
The Brooklyn Top is designed for a form-fitting silhouette. Sizing is generally true to size, and the 96% rayon, 4% elastane blend has enough stretch that most people can take their usual size without any surprises. If you prefer a looser, more relaxed fit, sizing up one is the standard recommendation.
The double layer construction means the top is not sheer at all, so it works cleanly on its own without needing a layer underneath. The ribbed texture is subtle rather than exaggerated, and the piece holds its shape well after multiple wears. The thumb openings on the sleeves are functional rather than novelty, and they stop the sleeves riding up under a jacket.
Care is simple: cold gentle wash, lay flat or hang to dry. We've found the Brooklyn recovers well between wears and doesn't stretch out the way cheaper ribbed jersey tops often do. If you're the kind of person who wants to buy one piece and wear it a hundred times, this is built to handle it.
How to style the Brooklyn Top
The easiest starting point is the tucked look. Tuck the Brooklyn into high-waisted tailored trousers, add a belt, and the silhouette becomes immediately polished. A loafer or boot on the foot and you've built a proper work outfit with one top and one trouser.
For the more casual version, leave the hem out over the top of jeans. The longline length means it sits cleanly rather than bunching up or looking half-finished. A chunky trainer or a boot on the foot and you have the weekend version of the same piece.
For layering, the Brooklyn sits beautifully under a blazer, a cardigan, a trench coat or a bomber. The high round neckline keeps everything looking clean at the collar, and the thumb openings stop the sleeves from creeping up when you put a jacket on over it.
If you're building a capsule, the move is to buy two colours you'd actually reach for in a week. Chocolate and Black is our most popular pairing for a reason. White and Cherry Lacquer works if you lean more feminine. Natural and Grey Marle is the softest option, ideal if you're already running mostly neutral.
Meet the Camden Top: the Brooklyn's refined evolution
If you love the idea of the Brooklyn but want a slightly different neckline, Mossman have released the Camden Top in Black, described by the brand as a refined evolution of the Brooklyn silhouette. The Camden swaps the high round neckline for a wider boat neck, which opens up the collarbone and works especially well over tailoring where you'd otherwise wear a scoop neck or a simple tee.
It's built from the same double-layered ribbed jersey as the Brooklyn, so the hand feel, the opacity and the long-wearing quality are identical. If you already have a Brooklyn Top in your rotation and you're looking for the next piece in the family, the Camden is the one.
Where to shop Mossman in New Zealand
Wally is a Mossman stockist in New Zealand. We carry the Brooklyn Top in all six colours (Black, White, Natural, Grey Marle, Chocolate and Cherry Lacquer) plus the Camden Top in Black, with stock across the core size range. You can shop the full Mossman selection at Wally, with free shipping on orders over $80 anywhere in NZ. Or come and see everything in person at our store in Takapuna, Auckland, where you can try the Brooklyn on in whichever colour you've been eyeing up on TikTok.
If the Brooklyn has been sitting in your cart for a while, or you've been watching it disappear from other stockists, this is the moment to grab one. It's the rare bestseller that genuinely earns the bestseller status, and it's the kind of top you'll end up wearing to the point of replacement. That's the whole point of a proper wardrobe basic.
If you've been waiting for the Mossman Brooklyn Top in New Zealand, we've got you covered.