Mallard green silk that falls from the neckline in one long line.
A 1940s batwing, with room through the upper arm.
Picture it at a gallery evening: the silk batwing sleeve opening like a wing as she lifts a glass, the deep mallard green turning almost black in the fold and brightening wherever the light finds it. Most tops cover the upper arm by adding fabric, 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.
This is the 1940s batwing cut in mallard green, 100% mulberry silk printed by hand with a Ly Dynasty dragon. Sizes S to L, plus Made to measure for an extra 10% of the listed 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 someone else? Clothing can be the hardest gift to choose, so read the size block below, and if you are unsure 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 a forgiving cut, 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. For an extra 10% of the listed price.
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. Once your measurements are confirmed, we send a secure link for the 10% made-to-measure surcharge. Made-to-measure pieces are not covered by our 30-day return and include one complimentary alteration instead.
Same silk, same hand-printed panel, for an extra 10% of the listed price. 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: the waistband defines the waist, and the silk blouses softly above it with no belt needed.
Half-tucked into straight jeans Front hem in, back left loose, for an easy weekend version that still marks the waist.
Over a midi skirt, tucked Volume above, volume below and a narrow waist between them, the silhouette the 1940s loved.
With a slim trouser and a flat shoe Mallard green is deep enough to sit over black, navy or cream, so the trousers can be any pair you already own.
The cut loves a defined waist, so skip a wide untucked trouser underneath and let the sleeves carry the volume. For an evening in the same green, there is the mallard green Dragon of Grace strap dress.
How the silk makes the shape
A batwing is shaped by the way its fabric falls. With no shoulder seam to hold it, the whole silhouette comes from the weight of the silk hanging from the neckline, which is why the cut belongs to silk and so seldom to anything stiff.
Mulberry silk at this weight has enough body to open gently away from the arm and enough softness to fall back in a single line, so the sleeve moves when she moves and settles again when she is still. It is the same balance the 1940s prized in this shape.
What you notice when you wear it
Three details that make the cut easy to live in.
01
Arm room built into the cut Coverage above the elbow often means sizing up a whole garment, which then fits loosely everywhere else. Here the width lives in the sleeve line, so the rest of the blouse fits the size you are.
Your own size, with ease through the arm.
02
No shoulder seam to sit wrong A set-in sleeve has one correct position, and when a shoulder is narrower or wider than the pattern the seam lands off the bone. A batwing has no seam there at all, so the line runs unbroken from neck to wrist.
03
Made to measure, +10% Even a forgiving cut has a body length and a waist that should be right. Cutting to your numbers adds 10% of the listed price.
A fit drawn from your own numbers.
What $215 buys
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 charged at an extra 10% of the listed price. We post straight to you and we pay the US import duty, so the number on this page is the number you pay (plus 10% if you choose made to measure).
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, each of our motifs lands on the body in its own way, and a batwing offers more surface than most:
Dragon of Grace, the motif on this blouse. Small dragons set in center symmetry spread the print evenly across the whole piece, so it folds gracefully through the sleeve where a large motif would break awkwardly.
Dragon Dreams The dragons drawn larger, with open ground between them, so the print reads as a picture framed by space, lovely on a fitted cut.
Phoenix Dance The empress's bird moving through cloud, carved in old temples as a sign of peace; its fine lines love a pale ground.
Imperial Lotus A single lotus from the carved column bases of the palace, and the gentlest of the four on a garment.
The Ly dragon, and what makes it gentle
Vietnamese dragons changed with the dynasties, and the Ly dragon on this blouse, from the eleventh to thirteenth century, is drawn soft and flowing like the naga of Buddhist art.
It has no scales, and its slender body tapers toward the tail in a long even curve, with three sharp claws closer to a hawk's than a lizard's. It moves the way a river moves, unhurried and never coiled to strike.
The people who drew it read the dragon as rain arriving over the fields and a wish for a good harvest, which is why it looks so gentle on mallard green silk. Our journal tells more of the meaning of the Dragon of Grace motif.
Buying this as a gift?
If size is what gives you pause, take heart: this is a forgiving cut, with 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 is +10% Made to measure adds 10% of the listed price and 3 to 5 business days of tailoring before dispatch, and made-to-measure pieces are outside the 30-day return policy.
For someone who avoids sleeveless Coverage above the elbow, in a sleeve so graceful that no one wonders why she chose it.
If you are unsure of her size If you would rather not ask for her measurements, a silk square needs no size at all and arrives in the same box.
Returns are thirty days from delivery, unused, unwashed and unworn, in the original box. Made-to-measure pieces are outside the 30-day return policy and include one complimentary alteration.
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, unused, unwashed and unworn, in the original box |
Mallard green silk, cut to move the way the 1940s intended.
Pick your size above - or pick Made to measure, for an extra 10% of the listed price.
100% mulberry silk, hand-printed panels placed before cutting, sewn to order in Hanoi. Free US shipping on orders $90+, import duty paid, gift boxed.
Add M / US 8-10 to bag · $215Add S / US 4-6 · $215Add L / US 12-14 · $215
Free US shipping on orders $90+ No customs fees Made to measure +10% 30-day returns
