Image: Jonathan Ong / Waterfall Frill Sleeve: d’Italia
Dreaming of the perfect finishing touch to complete your very own custom gown? Whether you’re getting married during the frosty months of winter or during the warm sunshine of summer, a sleeve can add the perfect statement feature to any bridal gown.
While sleeves are generally used to provide warmth and coverage to a dress or outfit, it can also be used as a beautiful statement feature to modernise any look. With many designers incorporating this stunning statement feature into their winter and summer collections, we can expect to see a great demand for sleeves of all styles.
For brides who love a touch of sparkle and a little bit of glam, then look no further. We’ve gathered some of our all-time favourite embellished sleeves to inspire you. From extravagant and fully beaded, flowy bohemian angel cuts, off-the shoulder designs, to a simple and elegant cap sleeve; finding the right one to complement your dress style, formality and personality can be quite the challenge.
When considering a bridal sleeve, it’s always important to consider many factors such as, the season and expected weather forecast, wedding venue, theme, body shape, dress style and desired fabrics. This can help guide you with narrowing down your options and to finding the perfect sleeve for you.
Image: Corey Wright Photographer / Designer: d’Italia
SHIMMERY EMBROIDERED LACE SLEEVE
If you’re not a fan of the heavy beading and extreme sparkle, we have the perfect look for you. An embroidered sleeve is one of the most popular and contemporary styled sleeves on the market at the moment.
This elegant and sophisticated design features a sheer tulle base with a gorgeous floral and leaf embroidered lace that has been carefully hand-cut and hand-applique. The beauty of an embroidered lace is that the design itself is raised slightly above the mesh base (meaning that the detail is not flat). This allows the design to stand out beautifully on your gown without being bulky, thick and heavy. Embroidered laces also come in various designs, from summery florals, intricate leaf and vine details, paisley inspired swirls and so much more.
Depending on your dress style, wedding theme and personal taste, you can have a lot of fun playing around with different options and mix and matching embroidered laces to create your very own unique design. But along with this, embroidered laces often feature, elaborate beading from clear bugle beads, and shimmery sequins. These minor details may not seem obvious on your gown, but they add a gorgeous and subtle touch of sparkle that shines beautifully in the light. It’s a great way to add a touch of shimmer without being too overpowering and glitzy.
Image: Clarisse Weddings / Designer: d’Italia
LIGHTLY BEADED CHANTILLY LACE SLEEVE
For brides wanting to keep it nice and simple, with a touch of traditionalism and class, the Chantilly beaded sleeve is the perfect option for you. This fitted design is created from a gorgeous, delicate French Chantilly lace that is applied all over the arm, right up to the wrist. The full-length design is extremely flattering and suitable for all brides wanting to keep it modest and refined. Alternatively, for brides getting married in the warmer months, consider opting for a three-quarter length.
A Chantilly lace is an extremely fine and delicate lace, quite often featuring a beautiful and intricate floral lace design with miniature detailed leaves and swirls. The pattern is quite often small in size, making it suitable for a greater range of body shapes and sizes. Along with this, the light weight and flexible nature of this fabric, makes it great for moulding to the body and arms, to achieve a gorgeous fit.
Because of its incredibly intricate design, Chantilly laces will rarely feature bulky beads and pearls. Instead, it will often showcase a gorgeous range of round and rectangular clear bugle beads, along with miniature clear sequins. This stunning feature allows brides to add a touch of glamour and sparkle to their bridal gown without having to worry about the bulkiness and heaviness of a fully embellished beaded gown. Chantilly beaded laces are also generally more affordable in price.
Image: Jerome Cole / Designer: d’Italia
DETACHABLE EMBELLISHED BAND
Are you getting married along the sandy beaches of Italy or in an exotic botanical garden? For brides opting for a summer wedding, it’s important to consider the temperature, along with whether your ceremony and reception is located indoors or outdoors. These are important factors to think about when looking for the perfect embellished bridal sleeve. It’s quite common for brides to fall head over heels with a fully beaded sleeve (and we definitely don’t blame you), but it’s quite easy to forget that beaded sleeves can often come with a lot of weight and sometimes a hefty price-tag.
For brides wanting a sleeve addition, or a little extra coverage on their arms, without the hassle and fuss of a fully embellished sleeve, then look no further than the versatile detachable band. The detachable band is often made with an elastic feature, to enable you to easily take it on and off throughout the day. This band can be custom created in various thicknesses, depending on the amount of coverage you prefer, the design of the dress and how much beading or sparkly lace you would like to feature.
The detachable band is a great way to add a touch of elegance and modernity to any bridal gown, whether you opt for something tight-fitted and bodycon, or something voluminous and extravagant. It’s also a brilliant way to add a bit of sparkle and beading, without having to break the bank.
Image: Julia Archibald / Designer: d’Italia
THE FLARED ANGEL SLEEVE
If you’re looking for something a little unique and different then look no further, the flared angel sleeve is the ideal addition for your custom gown. The flared styled sleeve is most flattering with a sheath and fit and flare style gown. It can also look extremely feminine and elegant when paired with a soft A-line style dress. Avoid large skirts and ball gown styles when opting for a flared sleeve as the two styles can sometimes clash due to the volume of fabric in both.
For brides wanting to achieve a modern and glamorous look, then consider opting for an all-over embellished beaded fabric. Clear bugle beads and sequins can add a gorgeous shimmer and shine without the bulkiness.To really showcase the intricate detailing and let the design shine, avoid lining your sleeve and opt for a lightly scattered pattern. To complete the look, you can add a gorgeous trimming or scallop edging along the sleeves border.
For all our boho-loving brides out there, the angel sleeve is also perfect for you too. To turn this extravagant sleeve into a more casual and spirited design, opt for a cotton guipure lace, a bamboo/viscose Chantilly lace or a paisley styled embroidered lace with a touch of sequins for added shimmer.
Image: Ashley K Wedding Photographer / Designer: d’Italia
PEARL BEADED BALLOON SLEEVE
Some might call it 80s fashion, but one thing’s for sure, this stunning puffy balloon styled sleeve is also a modern day hit! For brides wanting to turn this classic puffy statement into a contemporary look, consider pairing it with a slim-line fitted gown such as a mermaid, trumpet, sheath or column style. This voluminous feature can also look extremely dreamy and romantic when paired with a soft and subtle A-line styled skirt.
There’s no denying that this gorgeous balloon style sleeve has dominated the bridal market over the past couple years, with many designers, incorporating this statement feature into all their seasonal collections. That’s right, no matter what month you decide to tie the knot, this feature is sure to be on trend. The balloon style sleeve is a great way to add extra coverage and warmth to your bridal look, but it can also be a gorgeous way to add a statement feature.
For brides wanting to add a contemporary touch, consider opting for a scattered pearl fabric. It’s important to keep in mind that pearl fabrics can often be quite heavy to wear. Depending on the formality of your wedding and the weather, you may want to consider looking into alternate pearl designs such as one that features a smaller sized pearl and is sparsely scattered. The more tulle you see, the more breathable and airy it’ll be.
Image: Erin and Tara / Designer: d’Italia
EMBELLISHED CAP SLEEVE
If you’re not fully committed or sold on the idea of a full length embellished sleeve, then a cap sleeve style could be the perfect addition for your custom wedding gown. A cap sleeve is a sleeve that extends only a short distance over the shoulder and tapers into nothing under the arm. It can also be perceived as a slightly thicker strap.
Cap sleeves are completely customisable and can come in short, medium and long lengths, depending on your personal preference. The cap sleeve is a classic feature that looks gorgeous with every style dress. It is also suitable for a variety of body shapes, but looks particularly fabulous on anyone with a pear-shaped figure. The sleeve feature will draw more attention away from your hips and accentuate your top and highlight that gorgeous statement.
When opting for such a short style sleeve, you can also have a lot of fun with different laces and beadings. If you’re wanting to add only a subtle touch of shimmer then select a transparent sequin or clear bugle bead. If you’re wanting to add a touch of modernity and elegance, then look no further than a lightly scattered iridescent pearl. For more of a wow factor you can mix a variety of ivory, silver and clear sequins and beads together to add a unique shine.
Image: Haven Still and Moving Images / Designer: d’Italia
WATERFALL FRILL SLEEVE
From puffy pearl balloon sleeves, intricate fitted Chantilly lace sleeves and sparkly sequined angel sleeves, the options are limitless. But what about a short addition? The waterfall frill sleeve may be a rarity, but this incredibly elegant design can definitely add the perfect statement without the need to hide your arms and opt for volumes of fabric.
The waterfall design is featured in the wavy look, similar to a frill. It works incredibly well and drapes the best when created from a lightweight fabric. In this case, consider partially beaded materials such as scattered bugle beads, small and sparsely scattered pearls or even sequins. Sequins are extremely lightweight and often a lot more affordable than most beaded materials. The small, lightweight nature of a sequin allows the fabric to drape softly and achieve that gorgeous waterfall effect. Sequins are also a great way to add a touch of modern day glam and a gorgeous shimmer.
The waterfall frill sleeve can be customised to provide more coverage depending on your personal preference. It is also suitable for any style gown, however keep in mind that this sleeve style is slightly less formal, therefore the fabric you select will make a massive difference to the overall look.
OFF-THE-SHOULDER BEADED SLEEVE
Whether you’re after a touch of elegance or wanting to give a little extra coverage to your arms, the off-the-shoulder sleeve definitely doesn’t disappoint. This stunning trend has become increasingly popular over the past couple years and we can definitely see why. The off-the-shoulder feature is suitable for all dress styles, wedding venues and level of formality. This modest band may seem like just a simple, delicate feature, but it can change your bridal look dramatically.
This gorgeous statement is a great way to highlight your top and neckline, along with accentuating your collarbones and shoulders. It can be made detachable for brides wanting a little bit of versatility.
When opting for an off-the-shoulder sleeve, it’s important to consider practicality. Ensure that your sleeve is not too tight and that it drapes softly from the neckline, in order to allow for greater movement of your arms.
The band feature looks incredibly stunning when made from a scattered beaded design and non-lined to really show off the detail and pattern. This off-the-shoulder band can be custom created in various widths and lengths, depending on personal preference. It can even be turned into a sleeve to achieve an extremely regal and elegant look.
Image: Hakan Dalar Photography / Designer: d’Italia
About d’Italia: Bridal couture and custom made wedding dresses are a specialty of d’Italia. Whether you are looking for a vintage wedding dress stores in Melbourne, a lace wedding dress or any style at all – you are assured the exact bridal style you want, with custom-built corsetry to fit you perfectly, at a fraction of the cost of bridal-boutique gowns.
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