Pushing Sleeves Up

Woman wearing a buttoned shirt with the sleeves pushed up — Photo: Juice Team/Shutterstock

Q: Is it ok for a woman to scrunch the sleeves of her button-front collared blouses? I love rolling or pushing my shirt sleeves up to elbow length.

It's comfortable, and I think it looks cool. Actually I think it looks much better than a short sleeved blouse. Are scrunched sleeves ok or a big fashion mistake?

A: Not only is it okay, but it has become so popular it has its own term: "zhuzhing". It's the act of pushing the sleeves up a little. (Actually it applied to making such an adjustment to many things, but with sleeves it's pushing them upward a touch.)

This particular look is generally flattering because it converts long sleeves into a three-quarter sleeve look which generally appeal since they make the arms and torso appear longer, thus make the body appear slimmer.

The thing to avoid is falling into too many of the tricks that were common in the 80s. (Pushed up sleeves were the rage, as was big hair, and popped collars.) It's one thing to incorporate a retro element, but another thing entirely to appear anachronistic.

Woman who is rolling up the sleeves of her shirt — Photo: Pixelshot/Canva