The Sleeveless Dress Nightmare The First Lady Created

This morning as I was watching the pre-inauguration fashion news the commentators were discussing how fabulous Michelle Obama’s arms were and how she is the first First Lady to wear sleeveless dresses.  The talking heads went on to say how it has changed what women news people wear on TV and how most dresses are sleeveless these days.

Hey, this is not news to me.  I do not have arms that resemble Mrs. Obama’s.  I work out, I lift weights and the topside of my arms looks halfway decent… but then there is the bottom half, the chicken waddle.  If I were to wave my naked arm wildly in the air I could give someone two feet behind me a black eye.  I am sure that no matter how much weight I lose my arms will be the tale of two bodies; the upper, the toned and powerful and the lower, the giant chicken wing.

I am not alone.  For many women of a certain age their underarm from pit to elbow is not their most flattering part.  Most of us benefit greatly from a sleeve of some kind other than a cap.  Please fashion people of the world, don’t design dresses just for the first lady.  She can only wear so many.  If you want to sell a lot of dresses make a few with some sleeves.

The evening dress category is the worst offender in the no sleeve department.  I might as well just wrap a piece of chiffon around me like a towel since that is what eighty percent of the long dresses look like.  Besides wanting the arm camouflage, no sleeves are cold.  Of course you can wear a pashminia or wrap, but then your arms or hands have to work to keep it wrapped around you.  A sleeve or two is so much easier.

So thanks Michelle, for being a good role model and working on childhood obesity, but please, start buying some dresses with some sleeves and stop just wearing cardigans with your sleeveless dresses.  If you will do it I know designers will follow suit.  I will keep working on my arms, but I think my insurance company still finds my naked arms a potential liability.