Making Statement Sleeves Wearable.

Statement sleeves are EVERYWHERE.

In every shop.

At every price-point.

Available to us all.

And there is no denying that they look cool.

Quirky.

Edgy.

Fun to wear.

BUT...

Statement sleeves are not very practical are they?

They trail in your lunch.

Dip in your tea.

Dangle in the washing up.

And forget about cooking the dinner... unless you fancy a trip to A&E!

How can we make them work for real life?
You could nod to the trend by wearing a smaller version of the sleeve, or an elbow length version, which is definitely more practical.

{Unless, of course, you have a butler and you never lift a finger around the house. In that case the bigger the better!}

The blouse I am wearing today has HUGE pleated full-length sleeves.
These sleeves look great but are totally impractical.
Long.
Wafty.
And, probably completely flammable.

Luckily, many of the current statement sleeve styles are tied (or banded) below the elbow (or on the forearm) so I DIY'd this top in order to make it work for me and my butler-free life.

{Although my husband might argue that he is the unpaid butler in our house. 😊}

In order to make the sleeves less 'wafty', I tacked a narrow ribbon to the inside of the sleeve, then tied the ribbon in the right spot.
The thin ribbon helped pull the sleeve just short enough to stop it trailing in my coffee, but long and puffy enough to still look like a 'statement'.

The top is actually tunic-length but is lightweight enough to tuck into these cream jeans.
Adding cream, pink and nude colours makes a soft-toned outfit, perfect for Spring!