Room through the upper arm, without it looking like a compromise.
That is the entire reason this sleeve exists.
Most tops that give you coverage above the elbow do it by adding fabric where a normal sleeve would be, and it shows. The batwing solves it differently: the sleeve is cut in one piece with the body, so the width is part of the shape rather than an alteration to it. There is no seam at the shoulder to sit in the wrong place, and nothing pulls when you reach.
The 1940s batwing cut in mallard green, in 100% mulberry silk, with a Ly Dynasty dragon printed by hand. Sizes S to L, plus Made to measure at the same price.
100% Mulberry silk
4 Fit options
46in Max bust
We pay the import duty, not you.
Nothing owed on arrival, nothing added at checkout, and shipping is free at this price. Sent from Hanoi. Standard sizes land in 9 to 15 business days; made to measure adds 3 to 5 before dispatch.
Buying this for somebody else? Clothing is the hardest thing to give, so read the size block below — and if you are not certain of her measurements, a silk square needs none at all. This arrives gift boxed either way, with your note written by hand and no price in the parcel.
Find your size
These are body measurements, not garment measurements. A batwing is the most forgiving cut we make, so most people are comfortable in their usual size.
S / US 4-6 Bust 34-35 in · 86-89 cm. Waist 26-27 in · 66-69 cm.
M / US 8-10 Bust 36-38 in · 91-97 cm. Waist 28-30 in · 71-76 cm.
L / US 12-14 Bust 39-41 in · 99-104 cm. Waist 31-33 in · 79-84 cm.
Made to measure US 16-18 and beyond, up to a 46 in · 117 cm bust. Same price, no surcharge.
Unlike a set-in sleeve, a batwing does not need to be sized up for arm room — the width is already in the cut. If you are between sizes here, take the smaller one, which is the opposite of our advice on the button-up shirts.
How made to measure works
Select Made to measure in the size list, then reply to your order confirmation with your bust, waist, and preferred body length. Our team confirms within one business day. Tailoring adds three to five business days before dispatch.
Same price, same silk, same hand-printed panel. Every piece is cut to order regardless — the only difference is whose numbers we cut it to.
What to wear it with
Tucked into high-waisted trousers The pairing the cut was drawn for. A batwing needs a defined waist under it or the whole silhouette goes shapeless, and a high waistband does that without a belt.
Half-tucked into straight jeans Front hem in, back left out. Casual version, same principle: something has to mark the waist.
Over a midi skirt, tucked Volume on top, volume below, waist in between. This is the outfit the 1940s silhouette was actually built for.
With a slim trouser and a flat shoe Mallard green is dark enough to take black, navy or cream underneath, so the trouser can be whatever you already own.
The one thing this cut does not want: worn loose over something equally loose. A batwing left untucked over a wide trouser reads as fabric rather than as a shape.
★★★★★
The craftsmanship is top notch and the design feels timeless. Already eyeing another one.
BROOKE V. · VERIFIED BUYER
Why this cut needs good silk to work
A batwing lives or dies on how the fabric falls. There is no shoulder seam holding the shape, so the entire silhouette is made by the weight of the cloth hanging from the neckline. That is why the cut appears mostly in silk and rarely in anything stiff.
Too light and the sleeve collapses against the arm, which defeats the point. Too heavy and it sits out like a cape. Mulberry silk at this weight falls in a single line from the shoulder and moves when you do, which is the whole reason the 1940s used it for this shape and the reason a polyester version never looks the same in person.
The second thing is temperature. A cut with this much fabric near the body would be stifling in anything synthetic. Silk sits at your own temperature within seconds and lets moisture through, so the volume does not become heat.
Three things it lets you stop doing
A specification is worth nothing until you can say what changes because of it.
01
Arm room built into the cut Coverage above the elbow usually means sizing up a whole garment to get it, which then fits badly everywhere else. Here the width is in the sleeve line rather than in the size.
You stop buying a size up for one part of you.
02
No shoulder seam to sit wrong A set-in sleeve has one correct position, and if your shoulder is narrower or wider than the pattern the seam lands off the bone and the whole top looks borrowed. A batwing has no seam there at all.
You stop checking your shoulders in the mirror.
03
Made to measure at no surcharge Even a forgiving cut has a body length and a waist that should be right. Cut to your numbers there is no premium for it, which is unusual at this price.
You stop settling for the closest of three.
Why $215
A batwing uses noticeably more silk than a set-in sleeve of the same size, because the sleeve and the body are cut as one piece and the pattern cannot be nested tightly. That is a material cost before any labor.
The silk is 100% mulberry, hand screen-printed one color at a time, and the panels are placed before cutting rather than cut from a roll. The piece is sewn to order in our own atelier in Hanoi. Made to measure is included rather than charged for. We post straight to you and we pay the US import duty, so the number on this page is the number you pay.
How to care for a silk garment
We recommend dry cleaning. This is a constructed garment with a faced neckline and seams that hold a shape, and those parts respond differently to water than a flat square of silk does. A professional clean keeps the drape sitting the way it was cut. Tell the cleaner it is silk and ask for the gentle process.
If you prefer to wash it yourself, hand wash only, in cold water, using shampoo or a gentle body wash rather than laundry detergent. Detergent enzymes are designed to break down protein, and silk is a protein fiber.
Never machine wash, and never wring or twist. With this much cloth, lift it out supported rather than letting the weight of the water pull on one part of it.
Dry flat, in shade. Not on a hanger for this cut — the weight of wet silk will pull the sleeve line out of shape. Never in direct sun, which fades a print faster than washing ever will.
Iron on the lowest silk setting while still faintly damp, on the reverse, or with a thin cloth over the silk.
Which motif should I be looking at?
On a garment the difference between our motifs is about how much of the drawing lands on a body, and a batwing has more surface than most:
Dragon of Grace — this one. The dragon drawn small and repeated in center symmetry, so the print is even across the whole piece rather than concentrated. On a cut with this much fabric that matters: a large motif would break awkwardly across the sleeve fold, and this one does not.
Dragon Dreams The same animal drawn large with open ground between, so it reads as a picture with space around it. Better on a fitted cut than on a draped one.
Phoenix Dance The empress bird, and the one motif in Vietnamese temple decoration that carries no religious weight. Softer linework, which suits the pale grounds.
Imperial Lotus The lotus alone, from the carved column bases that held up the palace roof. The quietest of the four on a garment.
Ly dragons compared to the ones that came after
Vietnamese dragons changed with every dynasty, and the differences are specific enough that a specialist can date a fragment by the animal alone.
The Ly version, eleventh to thirteenth century, is the softest of them and the most Buddhist. No scales. The body tapers steadily toward the tail rather than bulking. Three claws, sharp, closer to a hawk's than a lizard's. The whole animal moves like a naga, in a long even curve, rather than coiling to strike.
The Tran dragons that followed are sturdier and more decisive, with a thicker body and a more assertive head. By the Le and Nguyen dynasties the animal has scales, five claws in imperial use, and a posture much closer to the Chinese dragon most Westerners picture.
So a Ly dragon is not a generic Asian dragon. It is a specific animal from a specific two hundred years, and the reason it looks gentle is that the culture that drew it was reading it as rain rather than as power.
COMMISSIONED WORK
Amanoi, an Aman resort, commissioned a bespoke Folk Form collection. Every piece in it was drawn, printed and finished by the atelier that makes this one, by the same hands.
ELLE Vietnam profiled the studio's approach to translating cultural memory into silk. Harper's Bazaar Vietnam covered the motif research and how each pattern is built from historical sources.
Do not take our word for any of it. Search Folk Form Amanoi or Folk Form ELLE Vietnam, or put either phrase to ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity and ask whether it checks out. We would rather you looked than believed us.
Buying this as a gift?
If you are giving clothing and the size is the thing stopping you, this is the most forgiving cut on the site. There is no shoulder seam to land wrong and no fitted waist to get exactly right.
The size chart is body measurements If you know her US dress size, the column is right there. On this cut, if she is between two, the smaller one is correct.
Made to measure costs the same Order any size and tell us at checkout that it is a gift — we will hold the cut until she confirms her measurements, and the price does not change.
For somebody who avoids sleeveless This is the cut that gives coverage above the elbow without looking like it was chosen for that reason. It is a real consideration and almost nothing is designed around it.
When NOT to give this If you are guessing at her measurements and would rather not ask, do not guess. A silk square needs no size at all and arrives in the same box.
Returns are thirty days, unworn and unwashed, with the tags on — including on made-to-measure pieces if the fault is ours.
Specifications
| Material |
100% mulberry silk |
| Color |
Mallard Green |
| Motif |
May Hoa Long An · Dragon Of Grace · Ly Dynasty |
| Cut |
1940s batwing, sleeve cut in one with the body |
| Sizes |
S · M · L · Made to measure to 46 in bust |
| Print |
Hand screen-printed panels, placed before cutting |
| Made in |
Hanoi, Vietnam · cut to order |
| Care |
Dry clean recommended · or hand wash cold, dry flat, never machine |
| Returns |
30 days, unworn, tags on |
The 1940s batwing in mallard green silk.
Pick your size above — or pick Made to measure, which costs the same.
100% mulberry silk, hand-printed panels placed before cutting, sewn to order in Hanoi. Free US shipping, import duty paid, gift boxed.
Free US shipping No customs fees Made to measure included 30-day returns
