Sunday, November 22, 2009

Fingertip Length: The New Chic?

I’ve been on a bit of a J Crew kick for basics lately, which surprises noone more than me, because I’m usually highly suspicious of anything I buy from the Crew that doesn’t have the word “shorts” in its description.

And indeed, yesterday, as I was putting on my elaborately beaded t-shirt, I heard a tell-tale tinkle followed by a roll as one bead fell off the (annoyingly untied thread) and nestled under my bed. But no matter: I can easily sew it back on, and more securely too.

Today I had another adventure: I was looking forward to wearing a just-arrived navy-and white scoop-neck, long-sleeve, fitted tissue tee, but when I put it on, the sleeves reached my fingertips(!!!) and the bottom third of the tee had to be scrunchedscrunchedscrunched so that it did not reach my knees (I exaggerate only slightly). And who wants tiny rolls upon rolls of fabric at one’s midsection?



In this image, there is no fingertip-length sleeve. And neither is there any scrunching here, unless it is masterfully concealed by the model's hand. (Did I mention that you can see her hands?!)

Quality control aside though, what is up (or down) with fingertip length? I saw a chic young woman wearing this look only two days ago and, I must say, as someone who always pushes up her sleeves, I do not appreciate even more fabric to deal with.

Are extra-long sleeves the new fingertip-less gloves? Do any gentle readers sport this look?

6 comments:

Thumbelina Fashionista said...

Did you see the Project Runway finale? Two contestants had garments with exaggerated--and I mean exaggerated--sleeves. They ran probably a good foot past their hands.

I have a Rick Owens jacket with REALLY long sleeves too. I need to alter them, but for now I just tuck the extra fabric back into the sleeve. I would feel a little ridiculous having it scrunch or hang out.

Then again, I do have another old turtleneck, the sleeves of which deliberately fold back to my elbow. They're more manageable and part of the charm of the garment.

Angie Muresan said...

I like the look of such long sleeves, but can't stand them on me. Maybe when my little one is older and can clean up after herself. By then, they'll probably be a dated look.

~kristie~ said...

I'm not really into really, really long sleeves.

Adore your blog!

Check out mine: www.thesocietyofstyle.com

La Belette Rouge said...

I have that tee and I will tell you that I am a big fan of the VERY long sleeve tee. I didn't find it very long on me. Maybe we can switch our tees. I also love the weight of this tee. It is one of my favorites.

Mary-Laure said...

Me, I like it when sleeves are super long... It lengthens the line of the arms...

s. said...

As a tall woman, I find that sleeves are so often too short on me so this extra-long trend is a welcome annoyance : )