Style and elegance abound in dress choices, with many dress shapes to chose from, but no more so than with the long sleeved versions. When you need to exude class, sophistication & mystique rather than glamour, exuberance or party-readiness then give the low cut, strappy styles a miss and go for longer sleeves.

The covered shoulders and hidden elbows of the long-sleeve dress have a much more subdued, subtle and toned-down appearance, ideal for smarter business events, an important family celebration or a stylish wedding or just when you need to dress to impress.

Once you’ve settled on leaving your shoulders undercover, the real choices present themselves because styles are varied. Like any good clothes shopper, you’ll take inspiration from celebrity icons and the latest red carpet fashions in Hollywood; also do a little browsing and researching in your high street vintage clothing store and remember there are many more excellent online stores too. When selecting the long-sleeved dresses you’ll soon see that all derivatives and versions make the grade. There’s a certain populist, frumpy vibe about some of the sleeved dresses, and if you are not careful you could well end up with the Betty Neels or Pam Ayres look, or you might just look like you’ve been to the local knitting circle or the monthly village committee meeting

To remain sexy and exquisitely lady-like, let the shape and form of your arms, not the formal cut of the material, determine the shape of the sleeves. That’s why dress sleeves are often made of a much lighter fabric that the main part of the dress, perhaps something as light as chiffon or lace. While it would be nice to achieve a perfect fit, it would be nearly impossible to achieve, especially off the peg, so the lightness of the fabric keeps the dress lines as natural as possible. A lovely feature of even the most fitted sleeve is the flaring some offer down towards the wrists. This adds a complementary shape to the main body and nearly always looks very glamorous.

Now look at colour and fabric pattern options. Black is black, many would say, and it’s viewed as being a wardrobe staple for lots of good reasons. And popularity is rarely wrong. But when designers try to go into new territory and add patterns, most will stop at the sleeves and go for a block colour, so don’t try to be any more adventurous yourself. Remember that a dress can look a lot sleeker on the rail than on the body, so look loosely once you have the dress on and try not to focus too much of your assessment on the shape of yourself as opposed to how the dress itself looks.

For a complete wardrobe selection always a place for a classic long-sleeved dress, and because they are quite rare they really can make the wearer stand out from the crowd – if you need a dress for all occasions then the long sleeved dress will rarely disappoint and you probably find you’ll wear it more than any other.

Vintage fashion is still a popular trend, with styles such as long sleeve dresses and other versions of evening wear keeping the vintage fashion buoyant. James keeps us informed of the developments in the retro clothing scene.

Vintage fashion is still a popular trend, with styles such as long sleeve dresses and other versions of evening wear keeping the vintage fashion specialists like http://www.rokit.co.uk/ busy. James keeps us informed of the developments in the retro clothing world.

Author Bio: Vintage fashion is still a popular trend, with styles such as long sleeve dresses and other versions of evening wear keeping the vintage fashion buoyant. James keeps us informed of the developments in the retro clothing scene.

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