Geeked out Post about Raglans & Dolman’s

I can’t be the only person who wonder’s where clothing trends come from can I?  

I hope not.  

If I am, then I have done the research and have my answers.  If I’m not, then you’re welcome.  

Raglan’s have been around a really long time.  Well, technically long is a relative term.  Relative being in terms of my life.  It’s been around since 1918, when during the battle of Waterloo a man by the name of Lord Raglan (also better known as Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset.) had to have his arm amputated.  His tailor wisely designed a fuller sleeve that allowed ease of getting dressed and movement. I’m sure the tailor didn’t think he was all that and a box of rocks, but I would venture a guess that he was proud of himself for coming up with something Lord Raglan could comfortably wear. 

 The tailor however was brilliant! 

Seriously!  Raglan’s are so comfortable.  I want to live in them.  *I may live in Raglans sometimes.*

The design of connecting the sleeve from the underarm to the collar made it so that the wearer could move the arm much more freely, which made the design popular for sports wear, hunting wear, shooting wear etc.  It began gaining popularity about 9 years after Lord Raglan’s death, so the world started seeing it about 1864.  

The Raglan sleeve has been huge in baseball shirts, particularly here in the states!  Shocking right?!?!  America’s favorite past time HAD to have raglan’s. It couldn’t be baseball if they didn’t have raglan’s. 

The Dolman is meant to be tighter fitting at the wrist and and really wide at the bodice.  The look a lot like a bat wing.  The word Dolman itself is a Turkish word meaning “robe”.  From what I understand it was named for something similar Catholic Priests wear.  I had no idea Priests had anything to do with what fashion!

It has been around for a VERY long time. Who knew!  Well, I guess those of you who went to design school or are really into fashion probably knew.  I however didn’t.

Apparently it was used in the Middle East as early as the Middle Ages.  Mostly likely because it was easier to sew than a set in sleeve and was cut as one piece with the rest of the top.  Sewing was fairly primitive as they didn’t have sewing machines.  So, by eliminating the need to attach a set in sleeve, they saved A LOT of time!  It was very popular until World War II hit and then there were fabric shortages, and as the Dolman sleeve requires quite a bit of extra fabric, sadly the Dolman quickly became a thing of the past.

Until the 80’s...shocking right?  And like many great 80’s styles (I’m not talking side pony tails or REALLY high bangs here), Dolman’s are back!  

The Dolman offers some great design features to those who wear them.
Because they slope at the shoulder, they appear to slim the waist.

So, as Paul Harvey would say..... “And now you know the rest of the story.”

Okay, maybe you don’t really.  However, you know a little bit more about where the Raglan and Dolman came from.
And to sweeten the pot just a little bit you can get a a combo of the two at Patterns for Pirates.


Patterns for Pirates is the inspiration for this post.  They are releasing the RagDoll Raglan...Raglan
Dolman...get it??? And I was curious as to where they came from.


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