Sleeve
Sleeve (
O. Eng. slieve, or slyf, a word allied to
slip, cf.
Dutch sloof) is that part of a
garment which
covers the
arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The pattern of the sleeve is one of the characteristics of fashion in dress, varying in every country and period. Various survivals of the early forms of sleeve are still found in the different types of academic or other
robes. Where the long hanging sleeve is worn it has, as still in
China and
Japan, been used as a pocket, whence has come the phrase
to have up one's sleeve, to have something concealed ready to produce. There are many other proverbial and metaphorical expressions associated with the sleeve, such as
to wear one's heart upon one's sleeve, and
to laugh in one's sleeve.
Batwing sleeve, a long sleeve with a very deep armhole, tapering towards the wrist. Also known as a "magyar" sleeve.
Bishop sleeve, a long sleeve, fuller at the bottom than the top, and gathered into a
cuff (1940s)
Cap sleeve, a very short sleeve not extending below
armpit level
Dolman sleeve, a long sleeve that is very wide at the top and narrow at the wrist
Gigot sleeve or
leg of mutton sleeve, a sleeve that is extremely wide over the upper arm and narrow from the elbow to the wrist
Hanging sleeve, a sleeve that opens down the side or front, or at the elbow, to allow the arm to pass through (
16th century)
Juliette sleeve, a long, tight sleeve with a puff at the top, inspired by fashions of the
Italian Renaissance and named after
Shakespeare's tragic heroine
Pagoda sleeve, a wide, bell-shaped sleeve popular in the
1860s, worn over an
engageante or false undersleeve
Paned sleeve, a sleeve made in
panes or panels, allowing a lining or shirt-sleeve to show through (
16th and
17th centuries)
Puffed or
puff sleeve, a short, full sleeve gathered at the top and bottom, now most often seen on children's clothing
Raglan sleeve, a sleeve that extends to the neckline
Set-in sleeve, a sleeve sewn into an armhole (
armscye)
Two-piece sleeve, a sleeve cut in two pieces, inner and outer, to allow the sleeve to take a slight "L" shape to accommodate the natural bend at the elbow without wrinkling; used in
tailored garments
In technical usage a
sleeve is a
tube into which another tube is
inserted, which in the case of small tubes is called a
thimble.
A
sleeve is also a liner for the
cylinder of an engine.
Oxford English DictionaryPicken, Mary Brooks:
The Fashion Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957.
