What's the deal with the Dolmans?

Since Le Duc has sustained a horse-riding injury (doing much better but still ordered flat on his back), I've had time to do more fall store-trolling.

Though I prefer boutiques, the big department stores offer a wider vista, and I discovered: dolman sleeves abound, from blouses and sweaters to jackets. The bridge lines that offer dependable business clothes (like Anne Klein, at left from Nordstrom) have cloned the dolman, to my dismay.

Who looks good in this cut? The extra fabric under the arm extends the bustline and bunches at the side of the garment.

Originally a feature of the hussar's jacket, worn over the shoulders, the dolman's wide armhole was practical for the field. Emphasizing a wide chest was probably prized.

The dolman sweater is often twinned with ballon sleeves, as in the white Laura Keats number. I can almost hear a designer shrieking, "Do something to it! Do more to it!" Belts just make Miss Dolman look like a linebacker.

Somehow the big batwings cheapen even this $1,200 Stella McCartney top:


This sleeve sabotage amounts to an enforced savings plan for me- blocky and sacky won't open my wallet.

I'd have to float up (helium balloon up) to Armani, offering stunning jackets this fall, to find that precise, fitted armhole that takes off ten pounds and flatters the whole upper body.