Those shoulder holes

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.

Cowl sleeves

So, the latest Vogue Patterns catalog has this Guy Laroche, which, as far as I can tell from the flats, may have cowl sleeves. (I won't be absolutely certain until I have it, which probably won't be for a month or so — if anyone's got it already, correct me if I'm wrong.)

I don't see these often. Have a look at the Vintage Patterns wikia (if you block or don't mind all the ads) for a few; they seem restricted to the 30s and the 80s.

Like a neckline cowl, they can be made with or without pleats. Rhonda Buss drafts an example of the latter type here. Pattern pieces tend to look either squared off or forked at the top of the cap.

Far left: short pleated cowl sleeve on the blue dress; far right: both long sleeves are cowls, the green one having an opening, and the pinky-beige one pleats. (The brown sleeve on the upper left is not really a cowl; it just has a slightly droopy pleated cap.)

They're not the most classic, restrained look, which may explain why they don't show up often. I probably won't make the Laroche in its original form; I mostly want to experiment with it. It looks different from all of the above styles in that the pleats are nearly all in the underarm seam, not the cap, placing the fullness much further down the arm. So maybe it's a true cowl, or maybe it's just got some extra length being pleated up. The pattern piece will tell.