Yes! Another fun revived 80’s trend, only this time sans the shoulder pads. You’ll find ruched sleeves on tops, knitwear, shirts, blouses, jackets and coats, and there’s no stopping the look as new Spring collections swarm stores. I much prefer this type of voluminous sleeve to the short poufy sleeves that are simply gathered at the crown and hem. Somehow, the integrity of the sculptured ruching seems more grown-up, especially when the sleeve is elbow length and longer.
This design feature is a no-brainer win for lasses with dainty shoulder lines because it instantly widens the width of the shoulders. Surprisingly, a more subtle ruched sleeve works well on broad shouldered gals too. I had the INC ruched short sleeve cardigan (the one on the right below) on a strong shouldered client last week and it looked fabulous. The shoulder seam was cut deep past the shoulder closer towards the neck. This shortened the shoulder line to compensate for the shoulder extension that is achieved with the effect of the ruching. The actual volume in the sleeve is less dramatic too. So clever. The two ruched styles immediately below this paragraph illustrate these points perfectly, whereas the ruched sleeves on the black dress pictured at the bottom of the post are more voluminous, AND the shoulder seams are cut wider on the body. This automatically makes for a broader shouldered look.
Ruched sleeves are a definite nostalgic yay in my book. It’s probably a fad but fads are fun! You can pick up inexpensive items with ruched sleeve detailing at Macys, Asos, Charlotte Russe, Forever 21 and H&M at the moment and that’s precisely what I did. I purchased a citron cardigan with crazy over-the-top ruched sleeves from H&M, and a more mainstream subtle take on the trend from Macy’s. Does this trend inspire you too?
