The Puff-Sleeve Trend Is Here to Stay
When we started to see the puff-sleeve trend pop up in spring 2018, it seemed like just the season’s newest must-have. Since then, it’s been reimagined in so many iterations and has continually returned season after season; it’s become more than just a fleeting trend and a style with lasting power. Today, we see the larger-than-life sleeve present itself in many variations: the balloon, the Juliet, the leg-of-mutton, and so on. It was first seen fixed to Victorian-inspired shirts and romantic house dresses, but the market has since expanded (pun intended) to anything that has a sleeve. We saw it again shortly after in the fall/winter 2020 collections. There were mighty balloon sleeves on sweaters at Fendi, billowing sleeves attached to pleated shirtdresses at McQueen, perfectly puffed gowns at Rodarte, and double-breasted winter coats at JW Anderson.
Whether you’ve had enough of the oversized sleeve or not, we can certainly expect these statement sleeves to stick around for plenty more seasons to come, at the very least. And as far as shopping for a “trendy” item goes, ones with proven staying power feel like a smarter investment. For summer, you’d probably want a billowing dress in a breezy fabric. It is the season of the day dress, after all. And come fall, look to the Pre Fall and Resort 2023 collections from Erdem, Carolina Herrera, Ulla Johnson, and Gucci for more proof.
Find 19 versions of the puff sleeve you can wear right now, and save for later too.
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