Wedding dresses with sleeves

Selection

The sleeve stopped signalling a modest dress a decade ago. Today it is a device in its own right: a sheer sleeve adds air, a voluminous one makes the silhouette architectural, a long narrow one lengthens the arm and the whole figure with it.

We have gathered the models where the sleeve genuinely works rather than merely exists. Detachable versions are noted in the description — with one of those a single dress lives two lives, closed for the ceremony and open for the evening.

At the fitting, test the sleeve in movement: raise your arms, hug someone, sit down at a table. A narrow sleeve in dense fabric can pull at the shoulder — the atelier corrects that, but it is better to know in advance.