sleeves, please
This post is sponsored by Nordstrom. All content and opinions are my own.
We’re coming up on THAT season: Passover/Easter, weddings, graduations…celebrations of various kinds that call for attire a bit more festive and special, and often that means a dress. One of the requests heard most often from women our age is, “but where are the dresses with sleeves???” And it’s true, many designers and brands seem to offer only sleeveless options. But one designer has always had our back (and arms): Diane von Furstenberg. She gets it; her iconic wrap dresses have included sleeves from Day One, and her current collection features dresses, tops and blouses with 3/4 and full sleeves.
Her line also includes accessories with a distinctly feminine and sophisticated attitude, perfect for the office or special occasions. Nordstrom carries an extensive collection of Diane von Furstenberg clothing and accessories, and offers free shipping on all orders. If you have questions or need a color or size, do call their customer service line. They are very knowledgeable about the products and can also sometimes hunt down limited stock items in stores.
Do you have any special occasions on the calendar for this Spring?
SHOP DIANE VON FURSTENBERG:
Affiliate links in this post may generate commissions for unefemme.net. See complete disclosure policy here.
Stay in touch
Sign up to be notified of new posts and updates from une femme d’un certain âge.
Sleeves please…my requirement for dresses and tops even in warm weather. The designer Fanny Karst who designs for those who are further along the aging spectrum offers and option of 3/4 length sleeves. I love the black and white wrap dress and that would be a great go to for all the graduations, christenings and anniversary parties on my spring and summer calendar.
Accidental Icon
http://www.accidentalicon.com
Oh yes! I’ve always loved DvF for that reason and the quality for the price, I wish she made at least a few of those dresses with longer skirts! As a tall woman now 66, I do not want a skirt at mid thigh. (These are called “knee length” but they are nowhere near mine.) I notice that some makers (Boden, LE) offer dresses in tall (as well as petite) but designer labels do not. Even the average-height women I know do not want skirts so short.
I second Duchesse’s thoughts…as a tall woman, it’s near impossible to find longer-length skirts and dresses (I don’t mean maxi-length, but gracefully below the knee. I have lousy legs at age 61, and I’m certainly not going to wear black tights or black leggings under an above-the-knee dress! In fact, things are so bad that I’m probably going to have to have something made especially for my upcoming stint as the mother-of-the-bride. I just can’t stand seeing bare legs on all but the youngest of women…ropey veins, spots, knobbly knees…even very thin women of a certain age don’t have nice looking legs. I just don’t understand why nude pantyhose are so disdained by the fashion set.
Joining the chorus here! Those dresses are gorgeous but they need to be a foot longer. I’m 5′ 10″ and 53 and I want my knees covered.
Dress #8 is so dreamy! I am OK with sleeveless for me – it’s Florida, after all. xox
I agee with Duchesse. The length of these dresses are all quite short, certainly not knee length. DVF seems to be designing with a younger customer in mind. I love the dresses but I don’t think they would work for many femmes d’un certain age.
lisette, on a tall woman, yes they would be short. Remember though, that most of the models are close to 6′ tall and mentally adjust accordingly for your height.
Although I understand the models are tall, the dress lengths are still well above the knee for most women. It seems from the comments that other femmes agree.
I second the Duchess. I am 5’9″ and although my husband loves my legs, I look ridiculous in dresses that hit the middle of my thigh. Could you imagine Claire Underwood or Michelle Obama in such a short dress?
I do like DVF, but her wrap dresses show every little bump. They are really too clingy for me. I recently shopped for a conservative black dress and ended up with a sleeveless Lafayette sheath and then added a jacket. There was not much with sleeves at my local Nordys.
Like many of your other readers, I would like to see longer skirts on these dresses. Although I am not quite 5’8″(any more), all of my height is in my legs. Just as a 30″ inseam is not full length on my 33″ inseam legs, so these mid-thigh skirts are no where close to being “knee length” on me. And when designers adjust lengths proportionate to size, I am doubly in trouble, as I wear a size 4 or vanity size 2. Incidentally, while runway models are often 6′ or more, catalog models are typically much shorter but with the body shape of a taller woman.
Sweet dresses and I love that they’re sleeved. Even though I’m short (5’3″) though, I suspect that those dresses are shorter than I’ve been wanting to wear lately. I don’t mind slightly above the knee in winter when I can pair up with dark tights, but in warmer weather, I no longer want that much bare leg exposed. I’m surprised to find myself saying so, frankly, as my legs are still, thanks to my running, pretty decent, and until the last year or so I told myself I was fine with the shorter length. But lately, I find I’m passing along those shorter skirts and dresses, especially now that there’s a variety of longer lengths available with the midi skirt in style. I’m also intrigued by dresses being worn over pants, as modeled by Allyson at That’s Not My Age recently, but that’s a whole other direction . . .
Yes to sleeves. In my 60s, I’m not about showing a whole lot of flesh. Unfortunately, I can’t wear DVF’s wrap dress. That apex of that overlapping neckline hits at almost my waist (designers couldn’t care less about petites). And wearing a tank underneath just looks…bad. I tried, but the only DVF wrap I ever brought ended up in my (taller) daughter’s closet.
I am so grateful to Nordstrom for including dress lengths in their descriptions, since I am not comfortable in a dress more than an inch or two above the knee. DvF makes some dresses at 33-34″, which could be knee-length on a shorter person, but for 5’10” me her 38-40″ dresses are perfect.
Marie, thanks, that’s good to know!
My personal thing is necklines, not sleeves. Since I moved to the south I’ve had no problem with wearing sleeveless, but I hate having to always be sneaking a look down to be sure my bra isn’t showing. I wish I could wear DVF dresses but those wraps are all J. Lo at the Oscars on me.
I love DVF dresses, but maybe find one in a season that I could wear. At 65, 5’4 in height, slim and relatively trim, I just don’t have the arms for sleeveless, and the length is too short in most cases, even for me. I love her fabrics and prints though, and sometimes find a top done in one of the dress fabrics that I can wear over slim, ankle length slacks or jeans. If you look at photos of Diane, she often wears sheer hose with the shorter dresses, and often some sort of wrap draped over her shoulders.
I am all over that gingham dress!