Sleeveless tea dresses are lovely right up until the moment you step into an over-air-conditioned restaurant or realise the garden party has a chill to it that the forecast absolutely did not warn you about. A sleeve solves that without sacrificing anything. This collection is specifically for tea dresses where the sleeve is not an afterthought but genuinely part of what makes the dress work. Puff sleeves that add a bit of romance. Floaty long sleeves in sheer fabric that move beautifully. Fitted sleeves that sharpen the whole silhouette. We’ve been looking for the versions where the sleeve earns its place rather than just covering your arms. The fabric matters enormously here. A flimsy sleeve on an otherwise lovely tea dress lets the whole thing down. What we’ve pulled together are the dresses where the construction is properly considered, where the sleeve length and weight is right for the style, and where you get the warmth and coverage without feeling like you compromised. A sleeved tea dress worn well is not the sensible option. It is simply the better one.