The knotted dresses we recently spotted on Olivia Palermo and Selena Gomez are one thing; this outfit with knotted fake sleeves Penelope Cruz wore to The Counselor London photo call is another:
Penelope Cruz in a red tie-shoulder wool jacket and matching below-the-knee skirt at the press junket and photo call for The Counselor held at The Dorchester in London, England, on October 5, 2013 (Credit: Daniel Deme / WENN / Marcio Madeira / News Pictures)
At first, we thought she was doing the whole preppy “sweater over the shoulders” look, but it’s pretty clear that the sleeves are stitched right onto the neckline.
A quick search on Penelope’s outfit led us to this Nina Ricci jacket, which shows that the sleeves are indeed faux and just give the illusion of a draped sweater:
Nina Ricci Tie-Shoulder Wool Jacket, $2,490
Okay, so Penelope Cruz’s jacket-and-skirt outfit isn’t a dress, but it wasn’t very hard to find the following actual dresses that prove that, yes, knotted fake sleeves really are becoming a thing.
Starting with these sleeveless shifts from Theyskens’ Theory, the watercolor print of which we just recently featured:
Theyskens’ Theory “Dinta” Dress in Dark Call and Watercolor, $633.63
Purveyor of cool Phoebe Philo sent down these “be-sleeved” dresses down her fall/winter 2013 runway:
Dresses with sleeves tied at the waist from the Céline fall 2013 fashion show (Credit: Daniel Deme / WENN / Marcio Madeira / News Pictures)
3.1 Phillip Lim seems to be the most inspired by this trend, churning out shirts, dresses, and skirts, all featuring sleeves tied at the waist.
3.1 Phillip Lim Shirtdress, $450 / 3.1 Phillip Lim Moss Crepe Shirtdress, $450 / 3.1 Phillip Lim Skirt with Shirt Sleeve Ties, $450
Even Rihanna tuned in to this trend early and had sleeve-tied t-shirt dresses in her previous capsule collection for River Island.
As the reigning queen of street style, Rihanna had to be included, as her massive influence on pop culture taste cannot be ignored.
Rihanna x River Island Tied T-Shirt Dress
We’ve never been big fans of clothes that have non-functioning parts or are unnecessarily stitched together, but we do love that this trend has a distinct ’90s grunge-era vibe.
Will you be giving this trend a try or a pass? We understand if you’re for the latter; after all, it is pretty easy to get the look with a shirt or sweater that you can just actually tie around your waist!