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What is a Dolman Sleeve?

Douglas Bonderud
Douglas Bonderud

A dolman sleeve is narrow at the wrist and wide at the point where the arm attaches to the garment. This style is used on women's garments, often on sweaters or dresses. The sleeve is cut as a part of the torso of the garment, eliminating the need for stitching under the arms. Sleeves in this style can be anywhere from slightly over-sized to stretching all the way down to the waist.

The term 'dolman' is a Turkish word meaning 'robe.' It is named for a loose-fitting garment that was similar to the cassocks commonly worn by Catholic priests. It was worn in the Middle East and Turkey during the Middle Ages. This style was copied by Europeans in the 16th century, and used as a military jacket.

Woman posing
Woman posing

Dolman sleeves were originally popular because they were simpler to sew than set-in sleeves. This is the type of sleeve found on most modern garments — the sleeve is attached by stitching to the body of the clothing. A dolman sleeve required no extra stitches, and prior to the invention of any automatic sewing machinery, this was a significant time-saver.

When a garment with a dolman sleeve is worn, the sleeves have the effect of sloping at the shoulders. This, in turn, minimizes the appearance of the waistline. These sleeves also add a sense of movement to a garment, as they will bunch and flow as the wearer moves.

This style of sleeve has seen several periods of popularity in recent history. In the early part of the 20th century, it was lauded as an exotic fashion from the East. During the 1940s, post-depression culture spawned a desire for decadence and elegance, and the dolman sleeve was considered one of the most fashionable choices a woman could make.

In the 1980's, the dolman sleeve had a resurgence in fashion culture, and was known as the batwing sleeve. This was due to the shape made when the arms were held out to the sides of the body. The style was popular in both formal dress and sportswear.

Dolman sleeves are still manufactured — mostly on sweaters, tunics, and other shirts. Originally, a true dolman sleeve was required to come to the wrist, but many current styles include three-quarter length or t-shirt length sleeves as well. Some outerwear with dolman sleeves does not taper at all. Dolman-sleeved garments are typically made of light, flowing material rather than heavy cotton or wool.

Discussion Comments

JessicaLynn

@Monika - I'm also pretty slender and I've found that dolman sleeves aren't very flattering on me either. This is pretty unfortunate because I always see the cutest dolman dresses when I go shopping and I wish I could wear them!

Monika

@sunnysideup - I think you're right about the dolman sleeves being forgiving to ladies with weight issues. Along those lines I think that dolman sleeve blouses aren't very flattering on really slender women.

I'm pretty slender and definitely not blessed in the bust area. Dolman sleeves look positively horrible on me! I just look like I'm drowning in sleeve.

I think a dolman sleeve blouse probably looks best on a lady with a serious hour glass figure or a woman who is a little bit bigger.

sunnysideup

I think the Dolman sleeve sweaters are very forgiving for women with a bit of a weight issue. For example, if you're a woman with large upper arms, this Dolman sleeve will hide them and accommodate them in comfort!

It's a nice look with a pair of bootcut jeans. Dolman sleeves come and go in fashion, but I always seem to have some of them in my closet for fall and winter.

seafoam

Dolman sleeves are also made out of knit fabric with an elastic waist and frilly short sleeves. Yesterday I saw several tops while shopping that had dolman sleeves and rows of elastic at the waist.

This current style with the elastic waist and little ruffle at the hem is only a good fashion choice if you have a trim waist. Otherwise, the dolman sleeved top should loosely taper down to a plain hem that falls bellow the waist.

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