Spring/Summer 2017 Trends: Hidden Hands

 

There’s no need for a manicure with the new Spring/Summer fashion trend. Statement sleeves are back and this season, hidden hands is the new craze.

Whether you wear bell, raglan, set-in, bishops or fluted sleeves, they should be oversized and slouching over your hands this spring.

Celebrities have already been spotted sporting the look. Kourtney Kardashian’s Valentine’s Day outfit consisted of a maxi shirt-dress, over a plain beige bodysuit, blue skinny jeans and black pointed heels. The extra large sleeves of her shirt-dress drowned her arms but she showed it was still possible to function with her hidden hands as she was pictured carrying her iPhone while her hands were covered.

Another big adopter of the hidden hand trend is American model Hailey Baldwin. She is known for wearing oversized clothing but has recently loved the hidden hands look. She was spotted in Manhattan in January visiting Gigi Hadid in an embroidered, khaki parka with oversized sleeves to match her khaki, pointed boots. Hailey really showed how to make the new trend casual for daywear.

House of Sunny and ASOS’s own collection have reflected inspiration from Adidas and Kanye West’s collaboration of Yeezy designs by applying the hidden hand trend to many of their garments. The elongated arms can be found on many of the casual dresses and tops online with slumped bell sleeves. High street stores such as Urban Outfitters and New Look have also begun to lengthen the sleeves of their sweaters to match this trend.

 

DKNY debuted oversized and cropped sweaters in their SS17 ready-to-wear collection. The sleeves have a dropped shoulder design and no cuffs or seams around the wrists. The thick, cotton, sweatshirt material simply hangs loosely covering the hands. This style is certainly the most comfortable and casual because it is oversized, simplistic and is a soft material. Buy a high street sweater/dress version at Asos for just £32.

Vera Wang’s SS17 ready-to-wear collection also launched an array of hidden hand fashion. These set-in sleeves are much slimmer and more elegant than DKNY’s casual-wear. Some of the more sophisticated garments in Wang’s collection have cuffs hanging below the hands and ruffles at the top of the arms, making the trend work for formalwear and dresses.

Pringle of Scotland showed another variation of hidden hand fashion in their latest collection, showing dropped shoulder sleeves of different lengths. Resembling a traditional picnic blanket, the tartan material has tassels varying in length at the bottom of the sleeve to hide the hand making it a unique way to augment the arms.

While this trend may not be the most practical design, it definitely has its perks. The extended arms and the disproportionate silhouette make the wearer appear taller than they actually are, great for short people like Kourtney (who is just under 5 feet tall).

Extra long sleeves are likely to keep your hands warm without the need for gloves. So the style may also be a sensible choice in the British weather, which can’t always be reliable in Spring.