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| Oh, Mary... |
The age old conundrum—I hate to bare my arms but what to do about summer dresses?—has been attacked and (to my mind) conquered by Vanessa Friedman in the New York Times. Vanessa's stories have often been inspiration for this blog. My excuse is that not everyone can access the Times, so I am doing womankind a service by passing along her (always) wise words.
Vanessa assures us that if you think you are seeing a lot of sleeveless looks out there, you are. Sleeveless dressing is more of a thing than ever, and global warming isn't necessary to blame. It's just a look. That's the way Fashion is, not always considerating what may not be easy to pull off.
Nine out of ten women over forty worry about their upper arms. Nine out of ten women over fifty don't like to show them. Nine out of ten women over sixty refuse to show them altogether. I've just made up those statistics, but you get the idea. The older you are the more that part of your body is a no-show zone.
Some women plain don't care. They've worked hard on their muscle tone and have managed to keep the jiggles at bay. Others—gulp—couldn't care less. This piece is not addressed to either camp.
While it's not possible to turn back time, there are ways to make an end run around a sleeveless top.
1) Redirect the eye. Statement earrings or an eye-catching necklace can pull the attention away from your arms. Pick one, not both.
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| Let the necklace do the talking |
2) Give it the cold shoulder. Try something incorporating the cold shoulder look or open arms.
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| Cold enough for you? |
3) Cap it. Look for a cap sleeve or dropped shoulder. This gives the illusion of sleeveless with less skin.
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| Cap sleeve |
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| Dropped shoulder |
4) Take cover. A sweater or shawl is practically a neon sign pointing out what you are trying to do. Instead cover with a sheer top. This look is so fashion-forward Marc Jacobs just showed it on his Fall 2026 runway.
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| Forward thinking |
Vanessa concludes with: "And you never know, you may learn to love your arms. They are, after all, the part of you that may have given Power Points; hefted children, boxes and furniture; typed your papers, hugged your family, paid the bills. Seems to me that's worth showing off."
Seems to me that's also good advice.
