ARTICLE

Fads From The Past: The ‘Monstrous’ Puff Sleeve

The Romantics, daintiness and ginormous sleeves.

HBO Max’s Gossip Girl has a penchant for showcasing contemporary runway fashion through their affluent protagonists. Take Monet’s shoulder pad look from the very first episode, that shall remain forever etched in my brain, and Julien’s more subtle one worn in the season finale.

The resurgence of exaggerated shoulders in the fashion cycle has reminded me of yet another trend that seems to stand the test of time: the Leg o’ Mutton or Gigot sleeve, known by many as the puff sleeve.

Romantic Influence

Big sleeves became fashionable in the 1820s and early 1830s. During this period, fashion was drifting away from the Neoclassical, subdued style to a more ornamental, romantic dress style.

This clearly reflects the cultural moment of the time, as the Romantic movement was in full swing. A myriad of artists, writers and poets conceptualized beauty through the representation of dainty, delicate women with pale skin, and “an air of melancholy”. (The Kyoto Costume Institute, n.d.)

The gigot sleeves, thus, helped give the wearer an illusion of a smaller waist, accentuating this delicate ideal of beauty. Additionally, it was thought that sloping shoulders gave the wearer a romantic, “pining” look that was widely sought after:

In the 1820s, sloping shoulders were viewed as a sign of beauty; this ideal, inspired by the Romantic Movement, was thought to imply that a woman was pining for her lover. (Marshall, 2016)

‘Monstrous’ Sleeves

‘Gigot’ is French for an animal’s leg, particularly a sheep or lamb’s. These sleeves were appropiately named, as their shape resembles a sheep’s hind leg: wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. When translated into English, we get ‘Leg of Mutton’ or ‘Leg o’ Mutton’.

As this style gained popularity, they ballooned in size:

Although eye catching, the bigger they became the more impractical women found them. It became difficult for those who embraced the fashion to use their arms because the armholes were tiny, and tightness of the lower portion restricted movement. In addition, sometimes the sleeves were so large women could not enter or exit through doorways without turning sideways. (Walton, 2019)

The trend died down by the time Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in the late 1830s. However, six decades later, the ginormous sleeves returned bigger than ever. In the 1890s, the gigot was ‘monstrous’, requiring 2½ yards of material. (Cunnington et al., 2017)

To maintain its ideal puffed shape, they were underlined with thick fabrics —sometimes even whalebone hoops—and stuffed with down (the delicate under feathers from birds), stiffened book-muslin or small steels.

As expected, they became the object of ridicule and scrutiny in many magazines. This person called them a “deformity”, and was not fond of them because it gave women characteristics of the “stronger sex”:

“The gigot sleeve was a positive deformity, as it gave an unnatural width to the shoulders. This defect which was further increased by the large collars which fell over the sleeves, was a violation of one of the first principles of beauty in the female form, which demands that part of the body be narrow — breadth of shoulder being one of the distinguishing characteristics of the stronger sex. […]” (The West-end Gazette of Gentlemens Fashions, 1870)

Personally, I’d love to hear their take on shoulder pads! They’re probably rolling in their grave, poor fellow.

Modern Manifestations

In the 1980s, the gigot sleeve briefly returned, as shoulders were a center piece in fashion. Some popular examples would be many prom dresses of this time, and Princess Diana’s wedding dress.

Additionally, since 2018, fashion designers have begun incorporating these sleeves in their runway shows. They’ve slowly but surely become more mainstream. In Gossip Girl’s latest episodes, for instance, a few of the characters are seen sporting a puff sleeve.

Looking forward to seeing how this trend develops, and is given a new life by skilled designers.

Thank you for reading! Next up are shoulder pads, stay tuned!

If you enjoyed it, you can tip me through Ko-fi or become a Medium member with my referral link!

More from this author…