Madame, your sleeves are marvelous!

While designers are supposed to know what they are doing – sometimes you have to wonder. Jackets for woman come in all shapes and sizes. You have fitted, boxy, boyfriend cut, tapered, long line, cropped, bolero, slouchy (yes, that is a shape), button front, double-breasted, and many more.

Admittedly, there are some women who just look great in absolutely everything. But, that is not the majority (read: me and probably you). I have so many gals tell me, “I just don’t know what to wear that looks good”. Usually, this is followed by tales of woe about their figure flaws. Piddle-posh. EVERYONE can look great. I promise. There are just a few rules that lowly non-perfect people like us need to follow (okay, some need to follow a few extra rules). But there are indeed some standard rules that apply to everybody.

Let’s take that jacket for instance. People typically worry a lot about the fit on the body. They forget about those sleeves. They suppose that if they don’t have upper arm restriction, things are fine. Not quite. In the 80’s, jacket sleeves took on a life of their own with shoulder pads the size of line-backer padding and sleeves comfy enough to roll from the cuff to the armpit. When we look back at those jackets they are face-squashing ugly. We wouldn’t repeat that boo-boo now that we have photos to prove how awful they were. So, we make new mistakes.

Mistake #1: The Box. I don’t know a single (or married) woman, who Wants to look like a box. However, if you take a perfectly acceptable jacket that has little or no tapering and the sleeves are the same length as the jacket – you get a big fat box. Chances are you own such a jacket. Why? Because designers continue to make them. But you do not have to be a square! There is an easy fix to this dilemma. Roll the cuff of the sleeves. You don’t have to make a drastic roll, but get the cuff of the sleeves away from the hem of the jacket. Voila! So much better and Skinnier!

Mistake #2: Stove-pipe Arms. Really people, just say no. Again, how many of us have a jacket we like, but there is just something “wrong” with it. We feel “big” but the jacket body fits. Perhaps it is the sleeve. Put on the jacket and head to the mirror. Hmmm. Is there extra sleeve space? Could a squirrel happily run around your arm from top to bottom within the confines of that sleeve? Take a portion of the sleeve and pull it back to see what a difference a slimmer sleeve makes. Nice. Slimmer sleeves present a slimmer you. Amazing, isn’t it? I know that many of you don’t sew and taking in a sleeve might present a problem. If you like the jacket – have it altered. Taking in a sleeve is not that expensive and your improved appearance will be worth it.

That is why The Closet Fairy is here – to make you look amazing. Each week we will focus on something different. Let me know if you have any questions or comments, or would like to see a specific area addressed.

God bless you richly. I know that He has blessed me!