Crossword Genius

Popular girl left an item exposed (2,3,10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

in the altogether

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'exposed' is the definition.
(both can mean naked)

'popular girl left an item' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'popular' could be 'in' ('in' can mean trendy) and 'in' is present in the answer.
'girl' could be 'thea' and 'thea' is located in the answer.
'left' could be 'l' (common abbreviation) and 'l' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'together' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for in the altogether that I've seen before include "wearing nothing?" , "unclothed" , "having nothing to wear?" , "exposed" , "Naked" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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