The bigger your sleeve, the slimmer your arms...
HAD we not got the message before the start of awards season, we have now. From Beyonce to Olivia Colman, all the nominated ladies at the Golden Globes were wearing dresses which featured the boldest sleeves seen since 1981 and Princess Diana’s Emanuel wedding dress.
There were pumpkin puffy sleeves (Olivia Colman in that red Emilia Wickstead dress), gathered bell sleeves, starchy puffed sleeves, soft leg o’mutton sleeves. Supersize sleeves. Drama sleeves. Silly sleeves.
Whatever you want to call them, this year they are big — not just on evening dresses, but on everyday dresses and blouses and sweaters. And that’s where we come in.
Are we really going to go there? That depends.
They certainly get you noticed, hence the enthusiasm for wearing them on the red carpet. They’re feminine and romantic in one light and powerful and modern in another, which pretty much covers all bases.
Puffed sleeves flatter a bare arm the way puffy Moon Boots flatter legs, and they balance out and soften a deep plunging neckline, if that’s a look you’re considering.
But the real draw of a bumper sleeve is they are ‘look at me’ over-the-top without requiring you to do anything differently, let alone show a leg or invest in invisible undies.
A big sleeve is a no effort high-impact fashion choice, and it’s changing the game proportionally.
AS OF now, when you wear a silk shirt, you’ll want it to have gathered balloon sleeves (as seen on the catwalk at Louis Vuitton and Celine).
You’ll want a dress with leg o’ mutton sleeves (at Alexander McQueen) or a sweater with a bit of puff in the shouders ( Givenchy) or a sweatshirt with a feminine puffed and pushed-up sleeve (Isabel Marant).
Time has been called on the skinny-armed everything.
Even so, if the last time you wore a big sleeve was in the Eighties (and then they were slippery bronze faux taffeta and attached to a puffball dress), you might be wondering what this fashion can do for you this time around.
But keep an open mind. You don’t have to go the whole Henry VIII; it’s all about getting used to the idea that sleeves count and may be the most interesting thing about your outfit in the months to come. There are a couple of rules: if you’re broadshouldered, you’ll want to keep the sleeves puffed but not voluminous; and if you’ve got a decent-sized bust, a high neck plus big sleeves should be approached with caution.
All big sleeves look better finishing around the elbow: the look is meant to be one part disco, one part romantic heroine, one part modern fun. Not Victorian matriarch or Bo Peep.
A good place to start is with a dress-up top.
Giant gourd- shaped pink sleeves on a fitted black top (£59.99, zara.com) makes a little black top with a 2020 difference. And a black and blue metallic print V-neck top with puffed three- quarter sleeves (£30, also Zara) would work at night with jeans or an A-line skirt and boots. A metallic crepe powder blue midi dress with fat balloon sleeves (£89.99, stories.com) is a pretty classic given a bit of contemporary oomph.
Or a William Morris- style print jacquard top in soft browns, with contrasting puffed sleeves (£29.99, zara.
com) looks fresh paired with white jeans. Providing you keep the neckline simple, big sleeves work well with patterns and bold florals.
Probably the easiest introduction to the look is an elbow grazing puff- sleeve top like Mango’s satin one in emerald green (£35.99, mango.com), which you can pair with the matching slip skirt (£49.99).
Alternatively, the slim leg o’ mutton sleeve — like the ones on Zara’s animal print dress (£49.99) — gives you a bit of extra shoulder accent without adding breadth.
Meanwhile, for anyone in the mini market there’s a lace Ganni dress (£154, mytheresa. com). Its bell sleeve top (£110,
ganni.com) and wrap, and puff- sleeve top (£ 100) go with everything.
Whatever you do, put away those tight sleeves until further notice.