Why have sleeves?
Sleeves are used for a variety of reasons, namely to:
- Cover upper arms, which as women age they like to do, or for those who dislike their arms, perhaps covering a tattoo, vaccination marks etc;
- Add to the overall effect of the garment, giving balance;
- Give balance to the body shape (eg compensating for narrow shoulders);
- Change the visual of the item (shape, colour and pattern);
- Add details to attract attention there, and perhaps away from another area;
- Add warmth or protect from the sun.
Depending on the length of sleeves, they can bring the eye to another part of the body, for example the bust or waist, because of where they end, which draws the eye to that line.
Types of interesting details:
Slits, like “cold shoulder”, lace, crochet, chiffon, ribbon, sparkly things, gathers, chiffon, flaps (eg petal shape), buttons, puff, zips, and chains.
Length of sleeve:
There are at least six lengths:
- sleeveless,
- cap sleeves (like a plain cap or a ruffle),
- short sleeves, which can be plain or puff,
- elbow length,
- ¾, and
- full length.
Some people do not like ¾ sleeves as they constantly want to pull them down, and others always push their sleeves up! If you have shorter arms, ¾ sleeves can be useful, but they might still be a little short. You could think of adding some lace, frill or chiffon to lengthen a slightly short sleeve, and if the sleeve is too long, you can take it up.
Materials:
Does the sleeve have the same material as the body of the garment, or is it different? It can bring attention if the material and/or colour is different.
What will suit will depend on your style (body shape, proportions and “clothing personality”), so do get in touch if you’d like personal assistance.
Fiona Mobbs
Your Colour & Style Consultant
07469 246722
I love sleeves – but don’t like the tan lines of shorter length sleeves.
My longer length is definitely 3/4. I even fold up my jacket sleeves to get them off my wrists!
Can’t please us all 😉
Hi asianjournalusa.com – Thank you for your question. I do apologise for missing it and not replying sooner. I do believe that married women wear their kimono sleeves shorter than non-married women, so almost half the length. Most kimonos I see, the sleeves are very long, and may not necessarily end at the wrist. I hope that helps.