Would This Style Come Back?

In the 1500’s, jackets had sleeves that were not covered at the elbows and shoulders-they basically held the sleeves together with threads. This made the sleeves very open. When did tailors begin to cover the sleeves?

Don’t know if the jacket style would ever come back, but for a while one of the trendy styles for teens in Japan was to wear pants tailored that way.

Search “Harajuku” and “fashion” on Flickr and you may find some examples.

Sublight beat me to it.

I’m actually doing a little research into these sort of sleeves.

Sleeves were tied on for dresses and jackets and the like for a few hundred years. I’m not sure exactly why – that’s going to be for a real clothing historian, not a rabid dilettante like myself. I have my theories… first, it seems like they were kind of a mix-and-match thing. You could change up the sleeves or remove them entirely if you didn’t want to muck them up. In a world where having even one nice dress was more than most women had, tossing it for dusters when you get a nasty stain would hurt a lot more. Some sleeves were awfully special: there’s a painting of an Italian woman (I think) wearing what I believe is a wedding dress, or at least a dress given to her by her new husband. The embroidery on the sleeves is a symbol of the new house she’s married into, indicating that she belongs to them now, or at least the dress does.

Frankly, from my perspective, not having to deal with a blasted armscye is reason enough to tie the sleeves on. :smiley:

It was pretty stylish depending on where you went – especially in the 1500s and especially in Germany – to have your undershift/undershirt peeking through.

As far as today? I think it would take a brave designer, but I think it’s not so weird that nobody would do it again. I saw some designer’s new line filled entirely with faux-Elizabethan doublets and Venetians, so who knows?

As I read this, I could distinctly hear Jerry Seinfield saying, “But I don’t WANT to be a pirate!”

:wink:

Linky-poo? Pretty please?

I love doublets, especially that style. And I do wear my velvet one out in public here, with jeans, a shirt and Chuck Taylors. I get…looks.

It took me a while to find it, but look and be amazed.

This is pretty high fashion, though, so nothing anyone’s likely to find at the corner shop.