Are Sleeveless Tops Appropriate for Work AND Play?

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Are you ready to bring out all the sleeveless summer tops? Are sleeveless tops appropriate for work? Do you know your best styles? Today I’m talking about clothes for real summer. I have suggestions for sleeveless tops for your body type and I want to encourage you not to allow anyone to make you feel self-conscious about showing your bare arms.

Are Sleeveless Tops Appropriate for Work?

Way back in the day, when I first started working in retail, the dress code strictly prohibited sleeveless. I bring it up because you may still find pockets, especially in the business world, where bare arms or legs are not considered professional. While the majority of this article is based on my thinking about sleeveless tops for leisure, scroll down for some ideas on answering the question: are sleeveless tops appropriate for work?

In the world of leisure, tho, there should be no age or condition limit on wearing shorts or sleeveless. And I confess to sometimes being tempted to cover up more than is situationally appropriate because of self-consciousness.

Allow me to be really clear here: IMO, wearing a swimsuit, shorts, or sleeveless top when you are going to the beach or the pool or the park in the summer is a RIGHT not a privilege.

When Self-Consciousness is Destructive

When I was a teenager, I was super-self-conscious about my legs. I could go into how I thought I ended up that way – reading fashion magazines, the 1970s version of instagram – but that’s not the point of this episode. This is how self-conscious I was: I would hide in the bathroom to avoid going to gym class. I would wear jeans to the beach when it was 100 degrees out. 

Eventually I moved past that insanity. But then I noticed people talking about not wanting to wear a sleeveless top because they were self-conscious about their arms! I’m like, great! Another body part to be self-conscious about! 

Ladies, please, don’t cover up unnecessarily when you’re going out to play, just because you don’t have “Michelle Obama arms”. If you choose to cover up because of sun exposure concern, that’s a completely different topic.

are sleeveless tops appropriate for work in summer?

Choosing Sleeveless Tops

But now let’s talk about how to choose styles in sleeveless tops. These concepts work for sleeveless dresses or even swimsuits too. First up, the answer to the question on everyone’s mind: are sleeveless tops appropriate for work?

How to Wear a Sleeveless Top at Work

Are sleeveless tops appropriate for work? That depends alot on your context, but I will make some suggestions here.

And I will tell you a little story. When I was meeting with the female principals at a local firm about bringing my Personal Branding & Your Style DNA workshop to their office (email hello@signaturestylesystems.com to talk about bringing that workshop to your office), the day was forecast to be 101 degrees fahrenheit! 🫠 And the meeting was at 1 in the afternoon!!

I had a bit of a dilemma. I wanted to present as really professional AND I didn’t want to be drenched in sweat from the drive over there (even in the air conditioned car). I did choose a sleeveless dress with the tiniest bit of a cap, in a navy (wonderful summer formal neutral!) and a full-skirted shirtdress style (collared and in a style that works for my silhouette). And I got the client! 🎉

If you feel a sleeveless style might work for you, here are some things to watch out for:

  • Make sure the armholes fit well, so none of your undergarment shows. You may have to alter your clothes to achieve this.
  • I always wear a colored bra anyway, just in case. A bright orange or aqua is gonna look alot better if it does happen to slip than a dingy white or nude.
  • A button-front, collared shirt (or dress) with no sleeves is more professional than a tank top.
  • Wearing a dress is a little more elevated than separates.
  • If all else fails, wear sleeveless under a jacket. Then at least you can take your jacket off for your commute home 🥵

The best way to know whether sleeveless tops are appropriate for work in your context (if there’s no official policy) is to observe what the women whose job you might aspire to wear. Read on for techniques to harmonize sleeveless styles with your body type.

Sleeveless Styles and Shoulder-to-Face Width

First principle to be aware of: do your shoulders appear narrow or wide relative to your face? 

  1. If narrow, you can wear things like
    1. Spaghetti straps
    2. Strapless
    3. Off the shoulder
    4. Hair off the shoulders
  2. If wide, you might choose things like
    1. Multiple skinny straps worn together
    2. Wider tank top straps, even muscle shirts
    3. Cut-in sleeves
    4. Shoulder-length or longer hair 
  3. If your shoulders vary in width (like mine do)
    1. Use asymmetry 
    2. Or alot of detail 
    3. Or diagonal lines, like v-necks and pointed collars

Sleeveless Styles and Your Silhouette

Second principal to be aware of: your silhouette (basically, are your shoulders narrow or wide relative to your body)

  1. Angled silhouettes (the two triangles and the hourglass) do well with angled sleeves too. Here are some examples:
    1. Cut-in sleeves
    2. Halters
    3. Cap sleeve
    4. French sleeve
  2. Rectangle silhouettes maintain the rectangle shape with
    1. Standard, shoulder-width sleeveless tops or 
    2. U-neck tanks
    3. Strapless, if that works with your other considerations
  3. Oval and figure-eight silhouettes
    1. Can use slightly cut-in sleeves
    2. Scoop-neck tanks
    3. Some of the flutter sleeves

This is just a starting place for you. Try some things on and see which are your favorites. And if you need help knowing what works for your body type AND your personality, you want to check out my style discovery packages. I take you on a self-discovery journey so you can show up confidently and share your gifts, knowing that you look like who you really are.