Dresses with sleeves

Just want to tell you that Topshop.com has some fabulous dresses with short sleeves. Have just bought two online - lovely material, well cut and not at all frumpy. Delivered in three days. Fantastic.

Roma fit jeans at Per Una I find fit well but other Per Una stuff I find so fussy ...always a frill or a sparkly belt and garish colours. Bit like Mothercare for big people. Like so many other people I find M&S confusing...they clearly haven't decided who they are targetting. Interestng to read in the press today that they are planning to have special stores for particular age groups...great idea...but only if there's one for my age group near me of course.

I don't live in the Uk but when I was there a week ago the shops were awash with dresses for the under 40s. Lined as well which is awful in warm weather. I couldn't find one even to try on. I'm lucky in that I learned to sew at school amd enjoy it, and can make my own tee shirts with any length of sleeve I want, but there are no patterns for flattering dresses either!

yes Townie.....meant Classic.....shows how much notice I took of it...I saw the elasticated waisted trousers and ran a mile.........lol

On the subject of sleeves, I love the Sommermann range of blouses, not least because the sleeves of the short-sleeved versions reach almost to the elbow. Not cheap but classic style and high-quality perfect with jacket / business suit and last for ever (as in I'm looking to replace some colours after 15 years' regular wear!) BUT my local stockist has closed down and I haven't managed to track down any other UK retail stockist. Can anyone help?

I always seem to end up in M&S, not much time for clothes shopping so I pick things up when I'm doing the weekend trip when I'm not looking after the grandchildren.
I too like Autograph and basic unfussy items from other ranges, Roma fit jeans cover the ample spread and are comfy.

The thing I dislike most is that someone else inevitably has the same, I hate that phrase 'oh, I've got that jumper, it's M&S isn't it!'

I am probably a lone voice here, but I disliked Portfolio - I thought they were frumpy, and also were aimed at women shorter than me (I'm 5'9'') so their stuff didn't fit my body anyway. But just because I was glad to see the back of the range doesn't mean I agree with people who did like it being deprived of choice.

I don't like the vast majority of Per Una on the whole either - far too fussy and too many garish colours. I really don't know what age group they're aimed at. Presumably 60 somethings as poor old Twiggy models their creations- but not at this 60 something!

As for the so-called Classic Collection - is that what they meant by the Casual range I wonder, HildaW ? - well, can't imagine ever wanting to wear that stuff.

Surprised noone has mentioned the Autograph range. It is far and away my favourite from M and S. More pared down and stylish. As with any other range, not all is good and you have to pick and choose, but their tunics - or dresses worn as tunics - are very much a staple of my everyday wardrobe (as are Boden tunics).

On the point someone raised about pieces which are otherwise OK being too short - that applies to some of the Autograph 'dresses' but is easily solved by wearing straight leg or skinny jeans, or jeggings, or leggings underneath. The Autograph type tunics are also easy to style with interesting belts, bold necklaces, etc.

Lol Dida, bless you for giving them credit! When I asked them about it they said that Per Una was good (I've never liked it, too many fiddly bits sewn on ) or the Casual range...which really is ....dare I say it..........dull!

Just want to add my voice to the general lament for the Portfolio range -hope M & S is listening.

Thank you Harebrain. Kettlewell looks a great site. What is the sizeing like? I will definitely give them a try

Going off at a slight tangent here, but it really worries me seeing all these 'celebrities' that are a size 8 2 weeks after giving birth. I can't imagine how upsetting it is for girls having babies these days with the pressure on them to look skinny almost immediately. There was pressure on me to look like Twiggy when I was young, but no pressure to get my figure [what figure!] back straight away. Actually, if there's a word that makes my flesh crawl these days it's celebrity; definition being someone who's famous for being...famous.

Valkyrie, I agree with you. I too have child bearing hips (!!) and struggle to find garments with smaller waists. Evans is the worst culprit for this and yes, M and S t shirts have silly little sleeves. I picked up some nice T shirts with decent length short sleeves from BHS yesterday. Don't normally shop there but was pleasantly surprised. East also do good sleeves on T shirts and waists on trousers, so I buy most of my clothes from there.

Just to echo Jan who posted about BHS t shirts. Have just come back from my local branch with two (and intend to go back for some more soon!) The fit is perfect, sleeve length spot on and the quality seems great. Added bonus was the fact that at the moment BHS has 30% off nearly everything in store. Bargain!

Go to the charity shops, you will find what you are looking for there, today I have bought, Chiffon cardy by per una, blouse by Next, Blouse by Top shop, top by Wallis, Blouse by Allison Taylor, pair of jeans by Dorothy Perkins, and pair of jeans by Wallis, and to top it all a lovely tweed jacket by David Brooks.
They are all in fab condition, if fact most have never been worn, my wardrobe is full of charity clothes, and my friends always comment on how trendy I look but not mutton dressed has lamb, also you can always look a bit different than anybody else.

I am seventy years of age but do not want to look it, I love clothes and dont want to look frumpish. I went on a cruise and everything I took with me was from a charity shop, It is not because that I am mean, I can well aford new clothes, but most of them I do not like and think they are far to expensive for what looks like a bit of butter rag.

I have saved the best untill last, the clothes that i bought today 8 garments cost. Total, £36.00.

Go on try it ladies and see what bargins with any size of sleeve you can buy, you will be surprised what you will find, Good hunting.

It would be lovely to find dresses with sleeves that hid some of my arms. While I agree little black shrug with long sleeves will suffice, it would be nice to cool and enjoy the summer like everyone else.

Try Adini; in small shops or their website. sleeves, well made and up to date. Cotton, well finished & lined AND not too expensive. If you buy on-line their service is great. Sizing much better than M & S!

Dear Fellow Grandmas and Nannas

I have just received my order of T shirts which have a scoop neckline and sleeves that reach the elbow!!!!!!!!

I found them on the BHS website - £8.00

I am over the moon and about to tell all my friends and relatives

Best Wishes to you all - Jan

Per Una stuff at Marks is good, especially their jeans, but I've found that, over the past few years the other M&S stuff quite often isn't good quality. Being boring I tend to go back and replace clothes that I wear on a regular basis; black trousers for work and v neck three quarter sleeved t shirts [by the way, the Kettlewell ones look perfect]. I replaced my black trousers with, what I thought was an identical pair, but there is no shape to them, and the t shirts were badly stitched around the shoulders. I try to check out the Laura Ashley sale after Christmas; they have some amazing bargains and the quality is as good as ever [their sizes are generous as well, so I can sometimes pretend that I'm still a size 10!]. I'm not a very big person but the tops of my arms are hideously massive these days and I sometimes feel that I'll burst out of my tops if I move my arms. The upside is the take off fashionwise of tunic tops..so flattering for hips and things!

to valkyrie, I have bought a couple of pairs of denim jeans, 95%cotton - 5% spandex, waisted and quite stylish from independent shop selling "In Town" a Danish make, not expensive!

Phase Eight dresses are wonderfully flattering [albeit rather expensive]. Tend to have three quarter length sleeves which I really like as I've got rather short arms and full length sleeves are too long. Very few women can get away with no sleeves at any age imo. Like the sound of those Kettlewell t shirts..will check them out.

Maybe the answer is, now that we have time to ourselves, to get back to the skills many of us learned in our school days which was to make our own clothes. I can remember learning to make beautiful skirts and dresses and receiving many complements when I wore them. As I see it, most of us spend too much money on clothes which are always a compromise in several directions (sleeves too tight, no sleeves, shoulders too narrow, hem too long, neckline too low, fabric too thin,) whereas we could once again be our own taylor choosing our own fabric, in texture and colour scheme, and designing proper, comfortable fitting clothes. Designers today do not deserve our particular custom simply because they seem to be all the same and designing for themselves and not for us. Lets give them one in the eye and show them how to do it.

I have a vague memory that Prima were running a campaign around dresses with sleeves, if I remember rightly they were contacting many big retailers about the issue.

The thing is jangly in a society that worships 'unreal' women, us women be we younger or older are all too often so sadly hung up on our bodies that we cover, cover, cover to conceal... even those of us that know its wrong and really unhealthy get carried away with the mags/TV 'unreal' women look.

You clearly are a confident woman who is not taken in, I envy you because I've read and studied this and still I am taken in... sometimes I am so annoyed with myself (because of the reading i've done and knowledge accrued on this subject) I am still not ok with my body.

I don't think we should be worrying about covering up parts of ourselves that we think don't come up to scratch. We should wear what we are cool and comfortable in, and if people don't like the look of us they can look the other way!

I think it is impossible to get over 'bat wings' once you hit your mid 50's, plus they are extremely ugly. Why the majority of shops pander to the younger woman is very very annoying. The stats say that the older woman usually has a bit more money to spend on clothes than the youngsters. Marks and Spencers is full of sleeveless tops. I am also getting fed up with tops with the drooping hems now as well.
Actually I really like the jeans in M & S, they fit me a treat.