The oversized sleeve has migrated from blouses to dresses. Huge ballooned shoulders were seen on AJE’s puff-sleeved midi dress, (7, below), with a floaty paisley tie-neck version at Mango (£79.99). Gathered sleeves, where the volume sits a little further down the arm, were seen on Kitri’s leopard print dress (4, below), while ruffled bell sleeves were on show at Kemi Telford (5, below). The supersized sleeve is what our wardrobes need when heading into the party season: a little romanticism and a big entrance.
To get the most out of your dress avoid party-specific fabrics like sequins and satin. Just add a chunky gold chain, sparkly necklace or big glittering earrings to switch it up for the festive season. The good news is the high street has been getting in on the act already, from Zara’s Studio Collection’s contrast-print dress with cuffed sleeves (1, below) to Asos’s rich oxblood velvet wrap style with striking embroidered violet flowers (£135). Queen of chintz Batsheva Hay’s much-anticipated collaboration with Laura Ashley is wall-to-wall puff sleeves, with mini-me styles for kids.
The retro nature of this style makes vintage stores a prime hunting ground. There are plenty of 60s mini dresses and 70s maxidresses with big sleeves to be had, and if that all feels a bit too Austin Powers meets Abigail’s Party, a quick scroll of cudoni.com yielded recent styles by Stella McCartney and Christopher Kane at under £100. The only difficulty arises when you try to get a structured sleeve in thick fabric under a coat. Look for an opera/kimono style with wide sleeves to accommodate the extra fabric – or try a cape.
1. Studio collection, £109, zara.com
2. Tie-neck, £89, warehousefashion.com
3. Multi print, £245, ganni.com
4. Rosie leopard, £145, kitristudio.com
5. Ida ruffle, £200, kemitelford.com
6. Theresa dress, £46 - £117 to rent, Rotate Birger Christensen, hurrcollective.com
7. Revitalise, £464, uk.ajeworld.com
