Puff sleeves date back to the Renaissance period of Europe, from the 14th to the 17th century. This form of the puff sleeve was called the Juliet sleeve, named after Shakespeare's heroine in “Romeo and Juliet.” It features a large puff near the shoulder that narrows for the rest of the arm's length.

puff sleeves in British English (pʌf sliːvz ) plural noun. the sleeves of a women's garment that are gathered at the shoulders and caught in at the cuff to create an inflated, puffy effect. Her arms are thin and sinewy under the puff sleeves of her summer dress.

1890s During the 1830s puffed sleeves became popular yet again, growing even larger than before. The gigot sleeve, a variation on the puffed sleeve, was wide over the arm and narrow from the elbow to the wrist and was all the rage in the 1890s.

Puff sleeves are short sleeves that have added fullness in the sleeve cap and/or the bicep. The bicep is either elasticized or has a cuff. Varying amounts of fullness can be added for more or less 'puff'. These sleeves are created with the derivative sleeve block – the Dartless Sleeve Block.

There are also periods when pads intended to exaggerate the width of the shoulders are favored. As such, they were popular additions to clothing (particularly business clothing) during the 1930s and 1940s; the 1980s (encompassing a period from the late 1970s to the early 1990s); and the late 2000s to early 2010s.

The puff sleeve in history They were a typical sixteenth-century wedding gift for new brides from their husbands. Mothers would also have passed them down as heirlooms to their daughters. In France, during the reign of the 'Sun King', King Louis XIV, power dressing was in vogue.

Evolution Of The Puffed Sleeves The 16th century saw the rise of puffed sleeves, especially amongst the elite. The puffed sleeve, which could be either ¾ length or full length, was gathered at either the top or bottom. To achieve this voluminous effect, the sleeves were often lined with fabric that had been stiffened.

The balloon dress has a full skirt, and the bottom of the skirt is gathered into a band that is narrower than the skirt. This gives the balloon effect as the fullness of the skirt balloons over the band, creating a round, puffy look. It is usually above the knee.

Puff sleeves are a transeasonal style staple that you can wear throughout the year; from dainty spring dresses and summery crop tops to dressy shirts perfect for layering and party-ready velvet bodysuits. As they say, the perfect trends are the ones that stick around for years to come…

Early Western medieval sleeves were cut straight, and underarm triangle-shaped gussets were used to provide ease of movement. In the 14th century, the rounded sleeve cap was invented, allowing a more fitted sleeve to be inserted, with ease around the sleeve head and a wider cut at the back allowing for wider movement.

The sleeve operates by putting gentle pressure on the outer skin surface. This has the effect of subtly increasing blood pressure in the arms, which helps increase the flow of blood throughout the body.

As the name would suggest, puff sleeves are the result of gathering fabric around the shoulders and cuffs to create an inflated silhouette on the arms.