It's All In The Elbow?

It all started with the V&A meet to see the Kitty and Bulldog exhibit in May...

I was looking at this outfit by Innocent World. I can't say that this outfit as a whole really stood out to me. It did however, awaken something inside of me. I now have an obsession with elbow details!

I really adore the lace around the elbow area of this outfit. By the looks of it, the lace is a part of the OP (do correct me if that is wrong!). EDIT- Yep, it is indeed part of the shawl you can see draped over the other shoulder! I am just being incredibly blind! And yet my blindness did give me some inspiration, so in a way it helped me in the end.

I noticed that the elbow area is not somewhere I would normally think of decorating. I usually wear skirts or JSKs and I only have one OP in my wardrobe (and that is only because Bodyline never released a JSK of their cosmetic print). This means that I wear a lot of blouses. But having a look at the current blouses in my wardrobe, I realised that they all seem to lack detail on the arms. Considering these areas are quite exposed usually, I am surprised that I hadn't noticed this before.

I recently purchased this blouse from Primark and I am hoping to use it with my lolita wardrobe in the future. In fact, I already have an idea for it! I love the blush colour (which is like a peachy pink) and the neck detail. I mainly brought this for the colour, but as you can see, the sleeves are quite basic. The sleeves don't quite reach my wrists, which I believe is how it is meant to be. I am always being told I have short arms!

But this leaves me wondering if I should do something to the ends of the sleeves to liven up the blouse. The problem with where the blouse ends is that any details could potentially stick out at a funny angle. So the detailing would have to be soft and delicate. I feel this is a lot different to full length sleeves. It is hardly going to look elegant if I have bulky elbows!

Whatever I do, I know I will be taking inspiration from the Innocent World outfit that opened my eyes. Any elbow detailing I add will be soft and not over-loaded. And in the future, I will be taking a closer look at any blouses I purchase!