You know the ones. Some variants are
classic(al) in a literal sense, but many are on the faddish and contrived side IMO. Regardless, they're still being promoted by several pattern companies, both American and European. I don't think I saw the style at all in Germany as late as 2014. It didn’t seem all that popular in Vancouver either, while I was there, but I’ve seen more of it in Kingston—which has hotter summers and probably more tourists around where I'd see them—in 2017–18.
They have some potential benefits:
- less uneven tanning if you often wear short sleeves but rarely go sleeveless
- can feel warmer, if it’s your forearms and not your shoulders that get cold
- unlike with cap or no sleeves, nobody needs to know the state of your armpits, if that’s a controversial issue in your area (lol)
- likewise, you don’t have to show much of your upper (or lower) arms if you don’t want to
- might feel less sweaty and gross than sleeveless in humid weather, IMO, and if you chose to add dress shields, they’d be more effective, as they could cover both sides
- even long-sleeved versions can look summery, if you’re in a climate where this might be useful
Downsides:
- not necessarily considered appropriate for all occasions (such as in the office)
- structurally trickier than sleeves without the holes, since they aren’t supported by the shoulders
- more edges to finish
- when they do go out of fashion again, it'll be with a thud
I made a couple of dresses in this style last year, so I’ve been glad to see I’m not the only one still wearing it. One was based on a morph between the recent
McCall’s 7412 and
an early 70s Simplicity, cut as long as my fabric would allow, with the neckline hiked up and mock-smocking added to the sleeves and raised waist.
This is a crinkled linen blend I got from the Gala Fabrics that used to be in Vancouver. It lettuced a bit at the neckline and hems, but that and the clinging effect seem to become less noticeable once it's worn for a while and the fabric relaxes somewhat. The mock-smocking was done with elastic thread in the bobbin, while the neckline is held in with cord elastic in a casing.
The other was a modification of an early 2000s Neue Mode, which I may go back and use in unmodified form one of these days. The waist turned out rather loose (in keeping with the drawings) but that isn't such a bad thing, in hot weather.
The sleeves are self-lined and have an overlapped, mock-buttoned effect. I used the sleeveless views' combined neck and armhole facing to sandwich the partial armscye seams. The buttons were a gift and the fabric is a (Telio?) linen blend print that came from Dressew.
