Ask Angie: Dolman Sleeves, Dropped Shoulder Styles

Kyle

These styles perplex me and I mostly avoid them, but I am not exactly sure why. I try them but don't feel they flatter. Are there guidelines for wearing them well? Can some body types wear them better than others? I've heard you mention how "strong shoulder lines" can be important -- how does this factor in?

Would welcome forum thoughts and ideas on this. I'm ready to sort this out!

13 years ago

Dressing

10 replies

Latest reply was from DonnaF

DeclawedJaguar

Veteran

I wear dolman-sleeved tops a lot and find them very flattering on my pearish hourglass body. To my eye, the dolman sleeves balance the lower half really well, while still accentuating the waist. I do have strong broad shoulders, which goes along with Angie's idea.

ETA: Here is an atrociously bad bathroom picture of one of my dolman tops.

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13 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I LOVE dropped shoulders! So gorgeously '80s :). But I don't personally like them on my own body *with* the dolman sleeve.

The devil is in the detail, Kyle. I have a long neck, short hair, regular bust size, small frame and dainty shoulder line. I drown in dropped shoulders that are dolman AND cowl or low necked. I just can't fill them out. I must have the high neck and fitted armhole to add strong lines to my frame when I wear a dropped shoulder style. The volume is fine, but the armhole must be fitted. This broadens my small shoulder line. (See photo).

That said, I dress clients in dropped shoulder dolman sleeve tops with low necklines all the time and they wear the look well. A fuller bust helps fill out the look, as does broad shoulders. One or the other is also fine. To declawed jaguar's point

Hope that gets you on your way.

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13 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I find them hard to wear (I am a pear, with very sloping shoulders and short neck) with one exception - for some reason they are quite flattering on me when they are sheer or holey - somehow when you can see the body underneath it mitigates the giant, drowning-in-fabric look.

I am wearing one today, will post my WIW when I get home in the evening to show you what I mean.

13 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Diana, is spot on. Dropped shoulders are hard to wear when you have sloping shoulders (no structure). But not impossible. I look forward to seeing your outfit, Diana.

13 years ago

Keix

Veteran

To add evidence to Angie's point--I have a strong shoulder line (relative to my petite proportions) but a very small bust, and I find low-necked dolman tops to be more flattering than high necklines because it adds some much needed volume to my bust. I'm a rectangle shape and my shoulders are slightly wider than my hips from the front.

13 years ago

cinnamon fern

Veteran

Hmmm, I have always avoided dropped shoulders and dolman sleeves thinking they would make me look even more like an American football fullback. Must experiment!

13 years ago

christieanne

Veteran

I love both a dropped shoulder and dolman sleeve and both together too. I think they make sense for a full bust although I draw the line at a batwing sleeve which just has too much volume for me. I agree that the proportion can be great balance for bottom half - if it works for pears to balance out shape, it also works for apples if there is a banded bottom on top to give a waist illusion.

13 years ago

Kyle

Veteran

Hmmm. I'm going to have to experiment, I think. I have short hair, a long neck, strong shoulders, small bust, and not much in the way of curves. This could be a function of me just not preferring pieces that lack tailoring and structure, versus this being a style that is not flattering. I'll keep exploring this idea.

13 years ago

Aida

Veteran

Kyle, good question! I have been thinking about these styles lately as well. I've got a very strong shoulder line (I hover between IT/hourglass) and I've come to decide that dolman sleeves are generally NOT for me, as much as I love the 80s vibe of them, unless the top has quite a lot of volume. The slim types with all the sleeve fabric overemphasize my shoulders and make me appear quite short waisted (I'm not). Same with dropped shoulders; without the extra volume, they don't quite work for me. I learned this after one of my favorite voluminous sweaters with wide dolman sleeves shrank and become quite fitted through the torso, heh. So to wear these styles I just have to go with the very waist surrendering nature of the tops that would work for me, and I usually prefer more fitted sweaters in cold weather.

13 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

I generally avoid dolman sleeves because I feel they make me look dumpy. When I was in Nordies the other day returning NAS mistakes, I bought a Sandra Ingrish shirt/blouse (non-NAS) with dolman sleeves because I loved the retro vibe and citron collar that modernized it. I have a full bust w/o a strong shoulder line, and I loved how you could pop the collar.

Bottom line is that with a certain set of body characteristics, particular styles should not be ordered *Final Sale* unless the same thing has been tried on IRL. But you can never say *never* because sometimes the cut of a particular garment will miraculously fit and flatter.

13 years ago

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