What has happened to Sleeves?

[ohnonotshoppingagain]

I have wondered if anyone feels as I do about dresses which are sleeveless, and my other pet hate embellished. I can't stand either, for me personally, sleeveless dresses are of course cooler to wear in the heat, but heat is not something we live constantly with in this country.

Apart from that reason, I wondered why designers right across the spectrum still insist in churning out sleeveless dresses, knowing full well, (a) a high proportion of women don't like them, and (b) most women past a certain age, unless very slim, and even then, do not like to show that part of the arm above the elbow.

I think this style of dress is most unflattering and I wish I could go online or elsewhere and buy nice dresses with sleeves which come as close to the elbow as possible, this design is very flattering to the female body, and it bothers me greatly.

Worse than sleeveless (I know it's only my opinion) is the awful 'capped' sleeve - what the heck is that all about, they are ridiculous.

I often wish there was a feminine revival of 50s dresses, which were so well designed for that era, and I think could be again today.

I am venting my anger on this subject as it bothers me a lot. Moreover, where did this fad for embelishments around necklines come from? They are the most awful designs, I see no need for them, and they spoil what could be otherwise, nice tops and dresses.

Someone please tell me I'm not alone in my thinking or just old fashioned.

 

[Turandot]

Q introduced With Sleeves by Lesley Ebbetts ,but haven't seen the brand for a good while. Although the garments had sleeves they were still tight fitted stretch jersey type which I don't like because they show all the bulges.I am quite slim but still have the bumps and lumps .

As far as embellishments go,I can cope with a small amount but that's all.I once purchased from Q a tunic by Bob Mackie with embellishments around the neckline and the stones were like wearing rocks they were so heavy .For me it was unwearable .They were American style rhinestones.....Sometimes I think the manufacturers think they can use the really cheap fabrics and cover them with embellishments to disguise the fabric.

 

[Akimbo]

Sleeveless is cheaper and quicker to make. A set in sleeve takes added time to produce and a full length pair of sleeves take quite a lot of material, especially if it's cut to match pattern. Arm length varies with height so hitting the perfect wrist length in a long sleeve might result in lots of returns from the majority of wearers who aren't that average sleeve length. A short-sleeve can fall within a range of acceptable positions between shoulder and elbow for tall and short ladies, as with 3/4 sleeves which will finish somewhere between elbow and wrist and look ok for a wider group of buyers.

QVC perennially tries to relaunch the Dolman and Bat-wing sleeve which allow the sleeves and body of a garment to be cut out in a single piece. They don't fit well inside jackets and the hem tends to ride up if you raise your arms.

Cheap blingy embellishments give an item "added value" for the presenter to extol as a great selling point, whilst a plain top is easier to compare like for like with plain garments from high street shops or other online retailers. They probably look more eye-catching on screen than a plain T shirt or Tunic would.

 

[Vienna]

This website do quite a number of dresses with sleeves but as it heads towards Autumn and Winter then more and more of them will have sleeves of all lengths. The only time I wear sleeveless dresses is when I`m abroad but only in the evening and frequently with a pashmina. I don`t mind small amounts of beading especially if the colour of beading is subtle and not sparkly but on the whole I prefer the dress to speak for itself. As a very tall woman too much beading/sequins/or any other embellishment makes me resemble a decorated Christmas tree !
http://www.romanoriginals.co.uk/icat/dresses#esp_pg=1

 

[ohnonotshoppingagain]

I would rather pay extra for sleeves half way between shoulder and elbow or just an inch above the elbow. The 'With Sleeves' that you mention would be no good for me either, I'm not slim, and even if I was, this range to me was very restrictive size wise and way too expensive. I don't mind paying for quality when it's available.

 

[boffy]

i have not worn sleeveless dresses since my early twenties. if i am on holiday i may wear a t shirt with no sleeves on the beach with shorts. in the garden if its really hot i may wear a t shirt but not with guests around. most people over a certain age dont look good without some sort of sleeve. julia roberts take note.

embellishments i loath. i love beautifully cut clothes that are plain in good fabrics. hate fussy clothes.

 

[Brissles]

I wrote the following on the Artscape thread.........................

I like the new look of elbow length sleeves, I think they look elegant. Long enough to cover the flabby upper arms, but not untidy enough to be 3/4 sleeves which are rubbish for getting on with a coat. Short, sleeveless, cap or angel sleeves are fine for young or toned upper arms, but a disaster for bingo wings. Since discovering shrugs or popcorn cardis (Roman Originals or Bon Marche do brilliant ones) I now wear sleeveless for the first time in my life !!

 

[AndiK]

One of the main reasons I rarely wear anything sleeveless is the same reason I don't often go bare-legged - pasty flesh! I am just about ok to wear a sleeveless top or dress if I have got a tan or have had the time to self-tan. I see a lot of people with bare arms that many others would think was ill advised and I kind of envy them their confidence.

Anyway, has anyone ever tried the thing Mary Portas brought out a few years ago, the Armery? It's like a long-sleeved clingy shrug-style top with the body completely cut away below the shoulder, the idea being you wear it under sleeveless items to give it sleeves. I think it is also supposed to slim the arm. See here from the House of Fraser website: Armery.

A great idea on paper but I never thought it would work because it seems to be far too cut out around the armpits so would surely only work with a broad shoulder strapped top. And of course the colour would need to match somehow. I never tried one but wondered if anyone here has?

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I don't mind sleeveless things even though my arms are not the best. I'm an outdoor girl though and my arms are tanned almost all year round. Flab is marginally more acceptable if its tanned.

BUT embellishments. Oh my sweet lord I can't be doing with embellishments of any kind. I can't do it. It brings me out in a hot sweat just thinking on. I don't mind buttons or zips if they're functional but that's my lot. Anything else is a no go.

I don't mind a sparkly thread running through a fabric or yarn, but it can't be sewn or glued on. Really, really not my thing at all.

And my absolute pet hate are those tab sleeves. Roll them up if you wish or don't but don't give me a flap of material and a button. Its a bonkers idea. I bought a linen top from eBay that had those tabbed sleeves. Well not anymore it doesn't. I unpicked the stitching and heaved a sigh of relief.

 

[ohnonotshoppingagain]

Thanks all for your replies, I don't feel so bad now. I just wonder sometimes, despite the extra costs involved for the designers, who know how we feel all too well, yet still continue with this, if they but realized we'd be willing to pay a little extra just to have short sleeves.

 

[Whatsgoinon?]

I'm fed up of sleeveless garments, being of that certain age when things need to be covered up because everything is slowly slipping south :mysmilie_17:

What really gets my goat are the 3/4 sleeves, which just hang there and sometimes are so wide, if you try to pull them up they just drop down again...aaargh! I would much rather have long sleeves and have the choice the hitch them up myself.

I don't mind the scattering of sequins on the Artscapes garments, but again they're mainly 3/4 sleeves, my pet hate! Why not a bog standard, old fashioned t-shirt shape, now that I wouldn't mind :mysmilie_59:

 

[Bea Frugal]

I like sleeves too and agree that cap sleeves are a pain if you want to wear a cover up. I'd like some more interesting necklines - really fed up with scooped or boat necks that drift off to reveal bra straps and don't flatter older women. No embelishments required!

 

[Brissles]

Thanks all for your replies, I don't feel so bad now. I just wonder sometimes, despite the extra costs involved for the designers, who know how we feel all too well, yet still continue with this, if they but realized we'd be willing to pay a little extra just to have short sleeves.

Despite all the clap-trap from the 'designers' about how they listen to their customers, er. b....sh..t ! I have a thing about pockets. In my hey day of QVC spending I bought quite a few jackets, not realising they hadn't got pockets until it was delivered. When Indigo Moon was 'big' I actually spoke on air to the designer Julia K about having pockets put on her jackets. 'oh yes' we will be concentrating on pockets in the next collection. Like hell she did. I've never been caught out again, if a jacket doesn't have somewhere to shove my hands, keys, tissue, then it doesn't get bought !

 

[ohnonotshoppingagain]

I forgot to mention pockets, I too have a thing about pockets, and I still have in my wardrobe jackets by Indigo Moon, which were a big ace at the time for QVC I think, but you're right because it has only now dawned on me that they haven't featured on Q for a very long time. I can't wear any of mine now as they don't fit, so am going to have a clear out. A big thing I did which is good and bad, is that 2 and a half years ago I stopped smoking, and was neither up nor down with it, however, even whilst trying not to, I put on an awful lot of weight which even now I struggle to get off, and I can't wear some of my most favourite clothes and will not discard them.

I also have a thing about colour which I love in clothing. I am particularly fond of orange shades, peach and soft peach, and certain shades of pink, but with me it has to be a good colour, not for me pale I just don't like pale colours, but I'm lucky in that I can wear any colour, so I've been looking this week online for clothing in the more coral, orange and peach colours and I don't see them, at least not in a size that would fit me. Woe is me!

 

[Akimbo]

QVC like sleeveless tops so they can also sell you a (Ravel) bolero..it's a win win for them!

Tab sleeves? The work of the devil!

 

[ohnonotshoppingagain]

how do I add a profile picture?

 

[maymorganlondon]

There is a further blindingly obvious reason for no sleeves in dresses - the upsell! Let's face it, QVC's fashion shows are peppered with shrugs, boleros, cardigans and jackets which they can offer at the same time as the sleeveless dresses. Kimmie's recent maxidress TSV was accompanied by a matching scarf on offer as well as tonal boleros.

Personally, if I like a dress style, I don't mind if it has sleeves or not. I'll find a way to cover up my arms if I need to. When it gets too hot, though, I don't care who I subject to my arms... comfort is my priority.

I don't buy the embellished dresses. To me this makes them look cheaper, and if the fabric is too thin and flimsy, the heavier embellishments just drag the dress down from where it should sit properly around the neck/décolletage area. I don't want a dress which has "built in jewellery" - I'd rather choose my own!

One of the things I do detest is if a sleeveless dress has gaping armholes.

I don't understand batwing sleeves, nor dolman sleeves for that matter. I do like an elbow sleeve, and I like 3/4 length too. I'd rather have a capped sleeve than a t-shirt sleeve which seems to stop at precisely the widest part of my upper arm. Hey, we're all different, thank goodness, and hopefully we can all find things which appeal to us.

 

[Brissles]

Gaping armholes are a constant issue. WHY do designers have to create a ****** great hole which isn't necessary? tops and dresses on the larger sizes (I cant speak for the smaller sizes) can sometimes have a gap so deep that the whole of the bra side is on display. Even those of us with flabby upper arms don't need a hole the size of a bus to get our arm through, so how come those displayed on the models don't appear to have this problem ? Perhaps they do but tend to prance up the catwalk with a 'matching' bolero, so the problem is hidden.

 

[maymorganlondon]

One reason I'd never buy Yong Kim. Anything you have to buy a camisol to wear with it even though it's not sheer - no thanks! You could get your entire body through the arm holes on some of those "pieces"!

I have one dress which has overlarge armholes - which relegates it to mooching around at home, even though it's a lovely colour, and very comfortable.

Generally speaking I've found the armholes on Lennie's and Kimmie's sleeveless creations tend to be the right size and shape to allow an arm view without getting up close and personal with your lingerie.

 

[Turandot]

I always laugh when they say you can wear a blouse or roll neck jumper under the dress.Its Soooo versatile.....