This holiday season, that show was Rivals on Disney+, a cutthroat, scandal-filled British drama based on the Jilly Cooper novel of the same name. The show is set during one of fashion's finest decades—the 1980s—so naturally, the menswear moments are pretty damn great. But even in a sea of tweed suits, suspenders, and frilly taffeta dresses, there was one 80s accoutrement that caught my eye more than any other: the sleeve garter.
Sleeve garters are adjustable bands, usually elastic or metal, originally meant to allow men to customize the length of their shirt sleeves without any actual cutting or sewing. They're worn just below the bicep and above the elbow—the idea is to adjust your sleeves by pulling the shirt fabric up or down through the garters.
Sleeve garters originated in the 19th century but were most popular for men between the 1920s and 1990s; if they look familiar, you've probably seen them many a-time on Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, if not on Tennant's Tony Baddingham in nearly every scene of Rivals.
Nowadays, of course, we don't always need sleeve garters; most of the time, shirts are designed with proper sizing, but I still believe there’s a place for sleeve garters in contemporary fashion. They add a unique stylistic flair that can elevate any outfit.
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