My thoughts on the 3/4 sleeve - which I dread, but all I encountered at three stores:
I went shopping this past weekend to spend some birthday money. I am far from ideal weight, but was tired of all my old items. I went to a major national dept store and pulled things off the rack that I liked colors/prints of - imagine my horror when about 3/4 of the items I pulled to try were with stupid 3/4 length sleeves. And why do they load the plus size department with such sleeve lengths? They don't in the misses or juniors, just the plus size. What gives? I loathe the sleeve length. I am from the upper midwest, I like a long sleeve when it's cold, I don't roll my sleeves up (thats another peeve - the old button and strap for plus size for sleeve roll up). I just want to know if any of the rest you find this design style a pain in the butt? And totally not flattering or essential.
I will also add - I hate tunics with no shape, maternity style tops for plus (gathers over the belly area/empire waist treatment), and limited colors (how much black or gray can one own?). I'd love to see lots of nicer options at all price points.
Sorry to post on this topic, I just wish designers and buyers for these stores would demand different things that were classic or stylish and consider though we may be of higher weight, something flattering is really a mood booster and maybe just maybe spur us to continue to reshape our bodies. Ugh - I hope the rest of you have better shopping experiences in your areas of the world. The place I had the best luck was Old Navy for sleeve length in the end, but that was all casual wear.