The new power sleeve? It’s the one that isn’t there at all

Sleeveless knits work brilliantly over a sleeved dress or blouse – the conversation between the two pieces is where the magic happens

Bishop. Puff. Raglan. Leg-o’-mutton. Lantern. Kimono. Bell. It’s a thing, these days, that if you want the world to know that you are wearing Fashion, as opposed to just clothes, you wear a sleeve with an unusual shape and a name to match. The statement sleeve has an origin story in the Zoom dressing lockdown era, but continues to go from strength to strength in 2024, with Bella Baxter’s bonkers sleeves helping power Emma Stone to an Oscar for Poor Things.

But the most fashionable sleeve of all is a sleeve that isn’t there at all. The no sleeve is the new power sleeve. To be specific, what we are talking about here is the unstoppable rise of the sleeveless knit and the sleeveless jacket. Sleevelessness as a fashion statement works best on a jumper or a jacket precisely because they usually have sleeves. When you see a jumper without sleeves, or a blazer, the sleevelessness feels like a daring creative decision, whereas a shift dress without sleeves is just, well, a shift dress.

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