# Would This Style Come Back? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433 "2008-08-01T00:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/1 "2008-08-01T00:37:45Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/2 "2008-08-01T04:20:21Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/3 "2008-08-01T06:09:38Z")
Sublight beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/4 "2008-08-01T23:50:58Z")
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. 😃 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? ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/5 "2008-08-02T04:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=Little Plastic Ninja] … 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? [/QUOTE] As I read this, I could distinctly hear Jerry Seinfield saying, “But I don’t WANT to be a pirate!” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/6 "2008-08-02T11:25:01Z")
[QUOTE=Little Plastic Ninja] saw some designer’s new line filled entirely with faux-Elizabethan doublets and Venetians, so who knows? [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-style-come-back/458433/7 "2008-08-04T19:28:02Z")
It took me a while to find it, but [look and be amazed](http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2009/spring/main/europe/menrunway/bernhardwillhelm/). This is pretty high fashion, though, so nothing anyone’s likely to find at the corner shop.